Here we go: 16 years later, Puerto Rico is back hosting the World Baseball Classic at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. The crowd should be intense, the players are ready, Bad Bunny might land a helicopter on the mound and start performing. Who knows?

HOUSTON -- From the moment Team USA fell to Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, USA manager Mark DeRosa has been anxious for another stab at a title. That pursuit begins Friday night at Daikin Park, where one of the most impressive rosters ever assembled will attempt to

MIAMI -- The Dominican Republic was the first team in World Baseball Classic history to go undefeated en route to the title, but that feels like a long time ago for the baseball-crazed country. After being eliminated in the first round three years ago, the Dominican -- which features one

HOUSTON -- Team Mexico would like to shake off any memories of what happened the last time it played in the World Baseball Classic, if not erase them completely. On Friday, Mexico took one very big necessary first step toward creating a new narrative, topping Great Britain, 8-2, in game

Daikin Park isn't quite Buckingham Palace, although it shared some similarities on Friday. We can (sort of) explain: Pool B of the World Baseball Classic kicked off on Friday afternoon with Great Britain taking on Mexico in Houston, and over the course of the game -- which Mexico won, 8-2

MIAMI – Three years ago, Venezuela went undefeated in pool play, opening the World Baseball Classic with four straight victories before falling to the United States in the quarterfinals. The 2026 Classic started out in similar fashion for Venezuela, as a four-run fifth inning propelled them to a 6-2 win

MIAMI – Friday’s opener was a family affair for the Netherlands. Andruw Jones, who will enter the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer, is managing the team for the first time after playing for the Netherlands in 2006 and 2013. And while he had familiarity with most of his players

TOKYO – When Shohei Ohtani plays in Japan, he makes sure to put on a show. He regularly takes batting practice on the field -- something he rarely does in the Majors -- making sure to reward his home country’s fans who fill the ballpark.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Carlos Lagrange’s triple-digit heat is building a growing fan club around Yankees camp this spring, a group that now includes former Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole. “It’s like, silly. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cole said. “It’s wild. I’m just blown away by the velocity

The great NBA writer and podcaster Zach Lowe puts together an annual list called his NBA League Pass Rankings, based on watchability -- which teams, when you stumble across one of their games, you don’t dare click away. I’ve always loved this feature, because, as a sports fan, you understand

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Vance Honeycutt was never going to hit a home run every at-bat for the rest of his life. So, his homer streak -- which reached four consecutive spring at-bats on Wednesday -- was guaranteed to end eventually. The day came Friday, when Honeycutt made his fifth appearance

For the first time in a decade, Milwaukee is the cream of the crop. The Brewers have ascended to the top spot in the MLB Pipeline farm system rankings. The last time the organization sat atop such a list was the 2016 midseason version, when it claimed eight Top 100

Coming into the 2026 World Baseball Classic, there’d been so much talk of Cuba not having the kind of team, or the same historically strong footprint in the baseball world that they’d had for so many years. Still, outside of the noise, Cuba entered this year’s Classic looking to keep

PHOENIX -- Phase one of the Brewers’ introduction to MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) System was a feeling-out period. Now, it’s on to phase two, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that one of MLB’s innovative teams is trying something new. If you watched the dugout closely during the Brewers’ 10-8 win

All of MLB Pipeline's organizational Top 30 Prospects lists are updated, and our new farm system ratings are complete as well. Now we turn our attention to Spring Training and Spring Breakout. There's plenty of baseball and plenty of questions, so let's get to them ...

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Andrew McCutchen had the attire ready. On Thursday morning, as reporters percolated that the former National League MVP was signing a Minor League deal with the Rangers, McCutchen took to Twitter to confirm the deal. It took no words, just a cowboy hat, some boots and a

Recently, Red Sox beat reporter Ian Browne held an Ask Me Anything on Reddit with fans at r/redsox. This mailbag features questions and answers from there. You can read the full transcript here. Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Diamondbacks got good news about a pair of high-profile players when outfielder Corbin Carroll and right-hander Merrill Kelly each took steps forward in their return from injuries Friday, increasing the chances that both could open the season on the active roster.

TOKYO -- The defending champs and the most talented baseball player on the planet make for a dangerous combination. On Friday night, Samurai Japan began its World Baseball Classic title defense, taking on a Chinese Taipei team that upset it in the 2024 Premier12 tournament.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Angels are set to promote Molly Jolly as their next club president, as longtime executive John Carpino is retiring from his position as president, the club announced on Friday. It’s a historic hire for the Angels, as Jolly will become the ninth president and the first

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Every player knows that each Spring Training is a bit different from year to year -- but no Phillie knows that better than Otto Kemp. At this time a year ago, Kemp was just a Minor Leaguer trying to hit enough in camp to catch the Phillies'

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Right-hander Robert Stephenson took a big step in his bid to get ready for Opening Day, as he faced hitters for the first time this spring. Stephenson, who has been dealing with elbow and forearm issues over the last two seasons, looked sharp, hitting 95 miles per

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Ideally, the Nationals hoped Cade Cavalli would pitch into the fourth inning on Friday. They wanted the right-hander to get built up in his second Spring Training start, but not at the expense of a high pitch count. Cavalli is preparing for his first full