BRADENTON, Fla. -- They packed up the Pirates’ paraphernalia for the move from Pirate City to LECOM Park. With that, Spring Training has shifted from athletic acclimation to actual evaluation. As the Buccos begin their Grapefruit League season against the Orioles at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday at Sarasota’s Ed

With in-market, blackout-free streaming subscriptions available for 21 of MLB’s 30 clubs and with ESPN having acquired the rights to sell the popular MLB.TV streaming service, fans have more flexibility in how they consume baseball broadcasts. Watch select Spring Training games on MLB.TV all spring long. For a list of

BRADENTON, Fla. -- The cavalry came from the clubhouse to watch their guy, their ace and their axis. If it wasn’t the entirety of the Pirates’ Spring Training roster assembled around a back field Thursday at Pirate City to watch Paul Skenes throw a simulated session, it was pretty close.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- When the wiffle ball cleared not only the net set up in front of 8-year-old Jace Marshall, but even the chain-link fence that lines the perimeter of the Miracle League of Manasota Field, Pirates infield prospect Termarr Johnson let out a primal roar. “That’s what I’m talking

BRADENTON, Fla. -- He’s a well-established big leaguer and a two-time All-Star, but Brandon Lowe is also a new resident to this place they call Pirate City. “It’s almost like,” he said here Tuesday, “you’re in your first year again.”

BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates entered the offseason viewing Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna as, essentially, an either/or. They came out of it with both of them. That’s a good thing for a lineup that ranked last in runs (583) and dingers (117) last year, but it does create crowding

Spring Training is the time for position battles. But here in this annual exercise, we’re going to pit the positions … in a battle against each other. [Cue dramatic music here.] Following MLB Network’s ranking of the Top 10 Players Right Now at each position, let’s take a look at

At long last, player protest with ball or strike calls can be handled with something other than ineffectual arguing. Beginning with the 2026 MLB season, players will have the power to appeal the strike-zone judgments of human home-plate umpires by turning to the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System, powered by

While the introduction of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System is the biggest rule change for the 2026 MLB season, two other minor but notable changes in umpire guidance were approved by owners Thursday. The coaches’ boxes outside the first- and third-base lines will be something other than a suggestion

Spring Training has just begun, and yet hamate bone injuries have already impacted some of the biggest names in MLB. This week, we’ve learned that the Mets’ superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor and the Diamondbacks’ dynamic outfielder Corbin Carroll are both dealing with hamate bone injuries that could cloud their Opening

It has been a wild winter, featuring significant swings, crazy conditions and unpredictable outcomes. But enough about the weather. Let’s talk baseball.

Following the Americans’ first win in the World Baseball Classic in 2017, there was increased interest among big league stars to represent the States on this stage in '23. And after a close defeat at the hands of Japan in the '23 final, the enthusiasm to participate ramped up all

Now that our friends at MLB Network have unveiled an ironclad, can’t-possibly-be-argued list of the Top 100 Players Right Now, it’s time for me to unveil my equally irrefutable team of players who, for one reason or another, are worthy of a little more attention.

Every MLB team is chasing the Dodgers these days. But that race is particularly pertinent in the National League, where contending clubs know that the road to reaching the World Series likely runs through Chavez Ravine. The two-time defending World Series champs sure don’t make it easy. In what some

It’s the nature of the game that the first order of business for a first-time front office leader is often not fun stuff like signing a signature star to a mammoth contract, but painful stuff like trading away talented players. So it is for new Nationals president of baseball operations

In the room that will soon serve as their forever home, Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were surrounded by the plaques of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s previous 351 inductees. It was one thing to get the Hall call Tuesday when the results of the Baseball Writers’

Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones have gone from center field to center stage. Beltrán and Jones were elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in results revealed Tuesday night on MLB Network. The game’s highest individual honor went to Beltrán in his

In the wake of reports that Kyle Tucker has agreed to a mammoth four-year contract with the defending champs, you don’t need us to tell you this 2026 Los Angeles Dodgers lineup is nuts. But we’re here to tell you it could be historically nuts … which is the best

After barnstorming its way into softball fans’ hearts in its inaugural season, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League has selected the six cities that will serve as the lasting homes of its newly expanded field of teams. Say hello to the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas

It’s a lot of fun Photoshopping new uniforms on popular players this time of year, but there’s also something to be said for stability. This offseason, a record four players – Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham, Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff, Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga and Tigers infielder Gleyber Torres – accepted

Most acquisitions are pretty straight-forward. If you don’t know what’s for dinner and then your spouse comes home with a pizza, boom: That’s dinner. But some acquisitions create more questions. If your spouse comes home with a Himalayan salt rock, it might lead you to wonder: What is a Himalayan

Oh look, the guy who didn’t pick Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani to win MVP honors in 2025 is back with more awards predictions. This ought to go well. Hey, I could have used this space one year ago to predict repeats in those races, as well as the AL

Aaron Judge was welcomed into a certain guild of greatness when the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voted him the 2025 American League MVP. Having also won the AL award in 2022 and 2024, Judge became just the 13th player with at least three MVP honors in his career, joining:

It was 65 years ago next month that owner Philip K. Wrigley used the Cubs’ annual press luncheon to make a bold announcement about the club’s next manager. Namely, that there would not be one.

Tony Vitello might be first. But he’s also fate. When the Giants made Vitello the first college head coach to go directly to managing an MLB team earlier this offseason, people understandably described it as a shocking, sea-changing move. And people are justifiably curious to see whether Vitello, who won