5:01 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Catcher Travis d’Arnaud got a $40,000 raise from the New York Mets to $3,515,000 despite missing nearly all of last season following Tommy John surgery. D’Arnaud, who turns 30 on Feb. 10, has been on the disabled list in five straight seasons as injuries limited him to
MLB
4:41 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — The Indians avoided salary arbitration with new catcher Kevin Plawecki, who agreed to a one-year contract for $1,137,500 on Wednesday. Plawecki was acquired Sunday from the New York Mets. He made $557,471 last season, when he batted .201 with seven homers and a career-high 30 RBIs. Cleveland needed
7:44 AM ET Former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan has taken a permanent leave of absence from his radio job to battle brain cancer. Duncan, who is the son of former Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, hit 22 homers as a rookie during St. Louis’ 2006 title run. He played three more years in
5:33 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Left-hander Hector Santiago has agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Mets. Santiago would get a $2 million salary in the major leagues if added to the 40-man roster as part of the deal announced Tuesday. He would be able to earn $400,000 in
5:12 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia has been cleared to resume working out, including baseball activities. The 38-year-old left-hander had a blockage in one artery to his heart and had a procedure Dec. 11 to insert a stent to clear the blockage. Sabathia had a scheduled follow-up stress test
3:06 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Spending on Major League Baseball payrolls dropped last season for the first time since 2010, a decline attributable to drug and domestic violence suspensions and a player retiring at midseason. 2018 $4,227,041,948 2017 $4,245,058,541 2016 $4,068,461,034 2015 $3,895,420,334 2014 $3,632,734,929 2013 $3,348,014,908 2012 $3,149,029,053 2011 $2,999,068,349 2010
7:00 AM ET It’s time for a free-agency update! There are still a lot of free agents out there besides Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — including some quality second basemen, one of the best closers of all time, some past-their-prime outfielders, some lefty starters who don’t throw hard and a bunch of replacement-level relievers.
12:34 PM ET I think many of us share an idea of who makes up the cream of the MLB crop. In the American League, it would be a shock not to see the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros return to the playoffs. In the National League, the Los
1:10 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Free-agent outfielder Jon Jay agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal with the Chicago White Sox, a source confirmed to ESPN, adding another close friend of Manny Machado as the White Sox
9:18 PM ET Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani paid a visit over the weekend to an ailing baby boy in Japan who bears his name. At the hospital, Ohtani took 1-year-old Shohei in his arms and told the boy, “I hope you will always keep fighting,” according to the Japan Times. Shohei Kawasaki, born