1:03 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” ORLANDO, Fla. — Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred called the possibility of missing regular-season games amid the league’s lockout of players “a disastrous outcome” but called himself an “optimist” and said,

Feb 11, 2022 Eric KarabellESPN Senior Writer Close ESPN contributor on TV, radio, podcasts, blogs, Magazine Charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame Author of “The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments” Follow on Twitter Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print The official start of the 2022 fantasy baseball season may be in a bit of

9:35 PM ET FORTH WORTH, Texas — The medical examiner who did the autopsy on Tyler Skaggs in 2019 — and ruled his death accidental — testified Thursday that he could not say for certain that the dangerous opioid fentanyl is what killed the 27-year-old pitcher. But Dr. Marc Krouse also said that fentanyl made

1:20 PM ET Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — Baseball officials “have a sense of urgency” to find a new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays after scrapping a plan to split seasons between Florida and Montreal when the team’s lease at Tropicana Field expires following the 2027 season. Major League Baseball gave the Rays the

9:37 PM ET FORT WORTH, Texas — Tyler Skaggs’ mother painted a portrait Wednesday of the late Los Angeles Angels pitcher as a loving son who first struggled with a Percocet “issue” in 2013. Debbie Hetman appeared as a prosecution witness in the federal criminal case against former Angels communications director Eric Kay, providing emotional

7:02 PM ET Jeremy Giambi, a former major league outfielder and first baseman who was a key figure on successful Oakland Athletics teams in the early 2000s, died at his parents’ home in Southern California on Wednesday, according to a statement from his agent, Joel Wolfe. Giambi was 47. No cause of death or other

3:26 PM ET Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — Jim Riggleman was hired Wednesday as manager of the Billings Mustangs of the independent Pioneer League. He takes over for Joe Kruzel, who left to become a minor league coordinator with the Los Angeles Angels. Riggleman, 69, has a 726-904 record as manager of San Diego (1992-94),

4:44 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The New York Mets are bringing back Old-Timers’ Day this year for the first time since 1994 — if there is a season. The team said Tuesday it will host an old-timers’ game before the Mets play Colorado at 7:10 p.m. ET on Aug. 27. New York

10:30 PM ET FORT WORTH, Texas — Both sides in the United States vs. Eric Kay trial that began Tuesday said jurors will see a number of major league players who received opioids from Kay in the Los Angeles Angels‘ home clubhouse. Kay, the team’s former communications director, faces felony charges of distributing opioids and

4:51 PM ET Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer will not be criminally charged by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. The ruling concludes a five-month review of the case, which stems from sexual assault allegations made against Bauer by a San Diego