MLB

12:48 PM ET JUPITER, Fla. — Umpire C.B. Bucknor declined to shake St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol’s hand before an exhibition game here Saturday, according to Marmol, and Major League Baseball is looking into that exchange. Marmol was upset by Bucknor’s response Saturday. “I don’t think he’s good at his job, and it just

7:57 PM ET Toronto All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk has formally withdrawn from the World Baseball Classic, Blue Jays manager John Schneider confirmed on Saturday. Kirk was in line to play for Team Mexico, but his arrival at Blue Jays spring training in Dunedin, Florida, has been delayed while he awaits the birth of a child.

8:43 PM ET Associated Press JUPITER, Fla. — St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said umpire C.B. Bucknor “has zero class” for refusing to shake his hand during the lineup card exchange at home plate before a game against the Washington Nationals on Saturday. Marmol was seeing Bucknor for the first time since being ejected

Feb 23, 2023 SURPRISE, Ariz. — Dozens of Texas Rangers players, coaches, front-office members and other staffers congregated between two of the back fields at Surprise Stadium’s sprawling complex on Thursday morning, keeping their eyes fixed on one of the furthest bullpens, where Jacob deGrom, about a week removed from suffering tightness in his left

Feb 22, 2023 Associated Press Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. says he will miss Opening Day for the World Series champions because of a strained muscle in his pitching arm. McCullers, sidelined for the first 4½ months of last season while rehabbing from a right flexor pronator strain, noticed soreness after a bullpen session

3:56 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” San Diego Padres star Manny Machado committed the first pitch-clock violation in a spring-training game, getting docked a strike in the first inning because he was not set and facing the pitcher

7:00 AM ET WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — On the opening day of spring training, manager Dusty Baker and his staff gathered their team before the first full squad practice. It was the first time the Houston Astros were back on the field together since celebrating their World Series victory in November, and there were

2:08 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Fans of the upcoming World Baseball Classic are going to see two versions, depending whether the games are in the United States or Taiwan, or in Japan. In the United States and Taiwan, fans can cheer and need not wear masks. Taiwan dropped most of its mask mandates

6:02 PM ET Associated Press Tampa Bay Rays reliever Ryan Thompson called for more transparency in the arbitration process after losing his case last week. “The biggest issue with this process to me is that the arbitrators get to make whatever decision they come to, but with no explanation or defense of the decision,” Thompson

7:00 AM ET A group of Los Angeles Dodgers hitters descended upon Kent, Washington, this offseason to swing abnormally heavy bats under the watchful eyes of Driveline analysts, all with one mission in mind: Survive. Hitting has never been more difficult, a truism that acts as the biggest impediment to Major League Baseball’s determined efforts

8:31 PM ET PEORIA, Ariz. — The San Diego Padres will play their first spring training game on Friday, but Fernando Tatis Jr. isn’t expected to be in the lineup. Given his absence throughout the 2022 season and the three surgeries he endured in the midst of it, the Padres are hoping to ease him

7:16 PM ET Associated Press CHATHAM, Ontario — Ferguson Jenkins’ hometown will honor the Baseball Hall of Famer with a statue. Chatham-Kent will unveil a 9-foot bronze figure of the 80-year-old former pitcher on June 10, a replica of the statue by sculptor Lou Cella that was unveiled outside Chicago’s Wrigley Field last May. Editor’s

7:00 AM ET After a fascinating MLB offseason of record-breaking contracts and free agency musical chairs, spring training camps have opened and games are about to start with Grapefruit League and Cactus League action beginning this weekend. As our brains start to refocus toward the action on the field, I’m thinking of 30 of the

8:20 PM ET ESPN News Services The Minnesota Twins on Tuesday agreed to a contract with veteran infielder Donovan Solano, according to multiple reports. The deal is for one year at the major-league level, according to The Athletic, and gives the Twins depth at several positions and a decent bat at the bottom of the

6:04 PM ET Associated Press Even after all these years, Terry Francona gets nervous before delivering the first speech of spring training to his players. This season, it came with a price for Cleveland’s manager. Francona broke a tooth while preparing to speak to the Guardians in Goodyear, Arizona. Because he wanted to work on

7:00 AM ET College baseball season is officially underway, and that makes it the perfect time to start looking ahead at the 2023 MLB draft. Since this is my first in-depth look at this year’s draft, which will take place July 9-11 in Seattle, here is a quick rundown of what to expect from a

7:40 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — Aaron Judge flashed a big smile when asked if he could repeat his accomplishments of last year, when he hit an American League record 62 home runs for the New York Yankees. “You never know,” he said after the Yankees’ first full-squad workout Monday. “I don’t really

5:36 PM ET Two-time All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis, who played nine of his 10 seasons in Cleveland, officially announced his retirement Monday. Kipnis, 35, last played in the majors in 2020 with the Chicago Cubs. The Chicago-area native was a second-round draft pick by the Cleveland franchise in 2009 and made his debut two