7:28 PM ET Veteran left-hander Martin Perez has agreed to a one-year, guaranteed $5 million contract to return to the Boston Red Sox, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Perez’s agreement, which was first reported by the Athletic, includes a club option for a second year for 2022. The 29-year-old spent last season with

12:40 PM ET The New York Yankees finally crossed off the top item on their to-do list, agreeing with second baseman DJ LeMahieu on a six-year, $90 million contract. The deal keeps the 2020 batting champion in the Bronx through 2026, his age-32 though age-37 seasons. Here are some thoughts on the signing and what

6:30 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The New York Mets agreed to one-year contracts with eight players Friday to avoid salary arbitration, including shortstop Francisco Lindor, outfielder Michael Conforto and first baseman-outfielder Dominic Smith. Lindor will earn $22.3 million and Conforto gets $12.25 million in their final years before potentially becoming free agents.

10:13 PM ET Associated Press ST. LOUIS — – The St. Louis Cardinals and ace Jack Flaherty have not agreed to terms on a 2021 contract and they swapped figures for salary arbitration Friday. The 25-year-old Flaherty asked for $3.9 million and the team offered $3 million. The sides can come to an agreement until

3:11 PM ET ESPN News Services Slugging outfielder Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees avoided arbitration when they agreed Friday to a one-year contract worth $10,175,000, according to multiple reports. Judge had his third straight injury-interrupted season since winning the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year award, hitting .257 with nine homers and

7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN Glacial. Snail’s pace. Tortoise-like. Pick your favorite metaphor for slow, and that will aptly describe the free-agent market of the 2020-21 MLB offseason. Some numbers to paint that picture: The free-agent tracker at Baseball Reference lists three-year WAR totals for all the players who have signed with a new team,

4:45 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — New Dodgers reliever Corey Knebel agreed to a one-year, $5.25 million contract on Thursday to avoid salary arbitration. The 29-year-old was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on Dec. 2 ahead of the deadline for teams to offer 2021 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters. He

2:34 PM ET Former three-time World Series-winning executive Theo Epstein was hired by Major League Baseball on Thursday as a consultant to “on-field matters” as the sport contemplates rule changes to create more action and pace to the game. “As the game evolves, we all have an interest in ensuring the changes we see on

7:00 AM ET After a season ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, amidst a precedent-setting, slow-moving free-agency period, against the backdrop of MLB revenues in sharp decline, with multiple clubs nakedly dumping payroll and a bitter CBA fight on the horizon, baseball could use a purely positive story. Fernando Tatis Jr., the emphatic, electrifying, marketable 22-year-old

6:32 PM ET Right-handed reliever Pedro Baez has agreed to a two-year contract with the Houston Astros, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan, confirming multiple reports. The deal is pending a physical. Baez, 32, finished the 2020 season as the third-longest-tenured member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, behind only Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen.