MLB

10:12 PM ET Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani began the 2023 season with a twist: calling his own pitches through a PitchCom device hidden underneath his jersey near his left shoulder. Ohtani’s decision to call his own game is directly related to the pitch clock. “Shohei’s got so many pitches he can throw,” Angels

7:00 AM ET Welcome to MLB Opening Day 2023! After one of the most exciting preludes to a regular season in recent memory — from offseason chaos to players (and fans) learning baseball’s new rules and enjoying shorter, faster paced games to an epic World Baseball Classic — it’s time to play ball. All 30

6:51 PM ET ESPN News Services Colorado Rockies closer Daniel Bard will open the season on the injured list because of anxiety. “From my experience, knowing myself, I think just taking a step back, taking time to work through things, get it right, is the best approach,” Bard told reporters Thursday, according to MLB.com. The

7:00 AM ET WHEN ISABELLE DE LEON and Michael Volpe drive to and from work in Manhattan, New York, each day, turning on sports talk radio is automatic: WFAN’s Boomer Esiason in the morning, ESPN New York’s Michael Kay on the way home. When the couple met at SUNY Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn in

10:22 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Minor league baseball players and Major League Baseball struck a tentative deal Wednesday on the first collective-bargaining agreement between the sides that will more than double player pay, sources familiar with the

5:28 PM ET SAN DIEGO – Diamond Sports Group, the operator of 42 regional sports networks across MLB, the NBA and the NHL, paid the San Diego Padres their rights fee on Wednesday, which means the company will continue to broadcast the team’s games in the near future, sources told ESPN. Diamond, which operates under

7:00 AM ET It’s opening week, and you know what that means — season predictions! There are lots of questions going into the 2023 season: What does Year 2 of MLB’s expanded playoffs have to offer? How will rule changes play out over the season? Is this the year your favorite team will make a

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

1:02 AM ET Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Sergio Romo retired as a San Francisco Giant just the way he wanted, pitching one final time for the team he helped to win three World Series championships and then calling it a career Monday night. In a moment more special than he could have possibly imagined,

4:47 PM ET Cincinnati Reds veteran Joey Votto will begin the year on the injured list, snapping a streak of 14 consecutive seasons starting for the Reds on Opening Day. Votto said at a news conference Monday that he will begin a Triple-A rehab assignment later this week and rejoin the major league team when

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

8:00 AM ET The Philadelphia Phillies and ace pitcher Aaron Nola have broken off talks on a contract extension, tabling the negotiations until after the season. Nola, who is entering the final year of his existing deal with the Phillies, told reporters Saturday that he wants to focus on the upcoming season. “Sometimes it comes

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,