2:49 PM ET Reliever Brad Boxberger has agreed to a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. The deal is for $2.2 million with $1 million in performance bonuses, a source told ESPN. MLB Network first reported the agreement. Boxberger, 30, claimed the closer’s role for the Arizona

1:34 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are discussing potentially drastic changes to the on-field game and economic landscape of the sport in the middle of a collective-bargaining agreement, a significant

9:07 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech is throwing again after the touted prospect had Tommy John surgery in September. The team says Kopech had his first throwing session since the operation on Tuesday at the team’s spring training facility in Arizona. The 22-year-old Kopech says in a video sent

11:48 AM ET The Miami Marlins signed veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson to a minor league contract on Tuesday, the team announced. The contract includes an invitation to major league spring training. Anyone else ready for this offseason to end? Well, good news, baseball fans: Pitchers and catchers report in seven days! Granderson, 37, finished last

10:08 PM ET CHICAGO — Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts on Monday distanced himself from what he called “racially insensitive” email exchanges involving his father, Joe Ricketts, after they were publicly leaked by splinternews.com. “We are aware of the racially insensitive emails in my father’s account that were published by an online media outlet,” Tom Ricketts

4:31 PM ET Left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins has agreed to a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics, a source confirmed to ESPN. The deal includes an invitation to major league spring training. The news was first reported by the New York Post. It’s a homecoming for the 35-year-old Blevins, who pitched for the A’s

8:12 PM ET Former Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Bob Friend died Sunday at the age of 88, the team announced. Friend, a four-time All-Star, appeared in 568 games over 15 seasons for the Pirates and holds the franchise record for innings pitched (3,481), games started (477) and strikeouts (1,682). He won 18 games with a 3.00

5:03 PM ET Associated Press The home-run ball that prompted Jose Bautista’s notorious bat flip in 2015 has sold at auction for more than $28,000. According to the Lelands Auction House website Saturday, there were 17 bids. The winning one went for $28,252. The home run at Rogers Centre came during the seventh inning of

2:52 PM ET Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland Athletics closer Blake Treinen will receive a $6.4 million salary for 2019 after winning his arbitration case. Treinen’s case was heard Friday. He asked arbitrators Steven Wolf, Allen Ponak and Phillip LaPorte for a raise from $2.2 million to $6.4 million, while Oakland offered $5.6 million.