MLB

7:40 AM ET ESPN News Services Shohei Ohtani is expected to make a Major League Baseball-record $65 million for the 2023 season including endorsements, according to an annual list published Monday by Forbes, making the Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way standout the highest-paid player in the sport. The amount includes the one-year, $30 million contract extension

2:02 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Second baseman Andrés Giménez and the Cleveland Guardians are in agreement on a seven-year, $106.5 million contract extension that includes an eighth-year club option, sources told ESPN, locking up the biggest breakout

7:00 AM ET MLB Opening Week is here — and if you blinked this offseason, you missed a lot. With some of the game’s most recognizable faces in new places, it’s time to reset the rankings for 2023. Will newcomer Xander Bogaerts, plus a full year from Juan Soto and the return of Fernando Tatis

4:06 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Second baseman Nico Hoerner and the Chicago Cubs are in agreement on a three-year, $35 million contract extension, sources told ESPN, locking up the team’s most productive player last season for an

7:00 AM ET The opening week of the 2023 MLB season is just four days away following a baseball offseason that was, in a word, chaotic. Not long after the Houston Astros were done celebrating their 2022 World Series title, the hot stove season heated up and provided a little bit of everything — from

6:55 PM ET ESPN News Services An MRI on Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco‘s right quad Sunday returned “favorable” results, Rays manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay remains optimistic that Franco will play Thursday, when the Rays open the regular season against the Detroit Tigers. Franco, 22, hit .277 with six

5:11 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Top prospect Anthony Volpe will start at shortstop for the New York Yankees after an undeniable spring training performance vaulted him to the coveted job, the team announced Sunday. Volpe, 21, will

1:01 PM ET Atlanta Braves right-hander Kyle Wright will start the season on the injured list, a move that will open starting-rotation spots for rookies Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd. The Braves said Sunday that Wright will be placed on the 15-day IL in order to give him time to strengthen his ailing shoulder, which

9:52 PM ET Associated Press Jordan Walker has made enough of an impression this spring to earn the 20-year-old outfielder a spot on the St. Louis Cardinals‘ season-opening roster. The Cardinals announced that Walker and infielder Taylor Motter had made the 26-man roster to start the season. The Cardinals optioned left-handed pitchers Génesis Cabrera and

11:09 AM ET ESPN News Services New York Yankees right-hander Luis Severino again is dealing with what is being described as a low-grade right lat strain and will likely start the season on the injured list, manager Aaron Boone told reporters Saturday. Severino was scratched from his final spring training start and will miss at

7:24 AM ET Tristan H. Cockcroft You can’t win a fantasy baseball championship without taking some chances. Sign up for free fantasy baseball The 2023 fantasy baseball season is here! Get the gang back together, or start a brand new tradition.Join or start a league for free >> Whether it’s a player’s injury history, inexperience,

11:52 AM ET ESPN News Services Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski on Friday said “it’s clear” that first baseman Rhys Hoskins has a torn left ACL and is expected to be out for the season, but that the slugger will seek a second opinion. “He will need to have surgery,” Dombrowski told reporters. “I would

7:41 PM ET Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. — It was back to business as usual for Shohei Ohtani on Friday. The two-way star returned to Los Angeles Angels camp after his MVP performance in the World Baseball Classic. Three days after striking out Mike Trout to clinch the WBC title for Japan against the United

7:00 AM ET Can a change of scenery fix new Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger? Winner of the National League MVP Award in 2019, Bellinger has been on a downward spiral at the plate ever since. It led to him being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in December and eventually signed by the

7:45 PM ET Associated Press CLEARWATER, Fla. — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins needs surgery for a torn ACL after injuring his left knee Thursday fielding a grounder in a spring training game and is expected to miss a significant amount of time. The Phillies did not say when Hoskins would have the surgery

2:36 PM ET Major League Baseball franchise values are on the rise, according to Forbes, despite turmoil caused by the recent bankruptcy filing of Diamond Sports and the continued disintegration of the regional sports network model that could shake up baseball broadcasting for this season and beyond. The New York Yankees topped the list published

7:00 AM ET Who will be the best player of the 2023 MLB season? Opening Day is almost here, which means it’s time to break down how baseball’s elite stack up to each other. To create our annual MLB Rank list of the top 100 players in the sport, we presented a panel of ESPN

3:52 PM ET ESPN News Services Houston Astros star second baseman Jose Altuve had surgery to repair a fractured right thumb and will not resume baseball activities for at least two months, general manager Dana Brown said Wednesday. Altuve, playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, suffered the injury Saturday when he was drilled