11:12 AM ET The Boston Red Sox used their video replay room to steal signs from opposing pitchers and catchers during their 2018 World Series championship season, according to a report published Tuesday by The Athletic. Citing three anonymous people who were with the Red Sox in 2018, The Athletic reported that Boston players would
MLB
6:07 PM ET The Cincinnati Reds have signed Japanese outfielder Shogo Akiyama to a three-year, $21 million contract. The Reds, who announced the contract Monday, reportedly agreed to the deal with Akiyama last week. Akiyama, 31, needed to travel from Japan to Cincinnati and take a physical before the Reds announced the deal, according to
5:36 PM ET The Washington Nationals and first baseman Eric Thames are in agreement on a one-year, $4 million contract, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Thames, 33, batted .247 last season with 25 home runs and 61 RBIs for the Brewers. The left-handed-hitting Thames will likely share time at first
2:55 PM ET Free-agent reliever Craig Stammen has elected to return to the San Diego Padres, agreeing to a two-year deal for $9 million, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Saturday. The source said the deal includes a club option for 2022 that would raise the total value to $12 million. Stammen has spent the
10:28 AM ET The Washington Nationals are re-signing Asdrubal Cabrera to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Cabrera joins a Nationals free-agency haul that includes Stephen Strasburg, Howie Kendrick, Starlin Castro and Will Harris. The switch-hitting Cabrera batted .260 in 131 games last season with the Texas Rangers and Nationals.
7:00 AM ET An agent recently recalled the halcyon days for free-agent relievers, when teams aggressively bid on bullpen pieces — and it really wasn’t so long ago, in this rapidly evolving sport. There was that winter, the agent fondly remembered, when Tommy Hunter got $18 million from the Phillies. At about the same time,
Jan 3, 2020 Call it the Frankenstein Plan for building a reliever. Teams will sort through the graveyard of pitching careers and see if there are any pieces especially usable. A failed starter with great curveball spin, perhaps. A waived reliever who might’ve relied too much on a flat sinker. The analysts will find these
8:33 PM ET It’s rarely boring with the New York Mets. The latest example: a wild boar and Yoenis Cespedes. The New York Post reported Friday that the fractured ankle Cespedes suffered in the spring came after a bizarre incident the injury-plagued outfielder had with the animal at his ranch in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
5:42 PM ET Free-agent second baseman Starlin Castro has reached a two-year, $12 million deal with the Washington Nationals, a source familiar with the deal confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Friday. The deal is pending a physical, the source said. The Athletic was the first to report the agreement. Castro had a .270 batting
1:52 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Outfielder/pitcher Oscar Colás, one of the best baseball talents to emerge from Cuba in recent years, has left the island and intends to sign a contract with a major league team, sources