Dustin Pedroia will only be 41 years old when he makes his debut on the Hall of Fame ballot for the class of 2025.  Pedroia officially retired on Monday, closing the book on an unforgettable career for the Red Sox at just 37 years old. The injury to his left knee, the one that never healed properly despite every attempt to […]

Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995 When Nolan Arenado signed his eight-year contract extension with the Colorado Rockies in spring training of 2019, it appeared he would spend the rest of his career in a Rockies uniform. He had stated all along he wanted to play for a consistent playoff contender […]

Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson is in agreement on a one-year, $7 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, sources confirmed to ESPN. Pederson, 28, batted .234/.339/.479 with 123 homers and 108 doubles in 687 regular-season games for the Dodgers from 2015 to 2019, making an All-Star team and posting an .864 OPS against righties. Originally an 11th-round pick […]

After seven years with the New York Yankees, free-agent right-hander Masahiro Tanaka announced Thursday that he will return to Japan to pitch for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in the Nippon Professional Baseball League. “I have decided to return to Japan and play for the Rakuten Eagles for the 2021 season,” Tanaka wrote on Twitter. “I wanted to make sure and […]

In a move that hardly comes as a surprise, but underscores the current climate of Major League Baseball's free-agent market, Masahiro Tanaka will return to Japan to pitch for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in the Nippon Professional Baseball League.  Rakuten posted Tanaka seven years ago, making him available to play overseas. He signed a seven-year deal worth $155 million with […]

Mets fans got nervous this week when majority owner Steve Cohen’s hedge fund shelled out $750 million to help cover the losses of another fund in the GameStop/Reddit/WallStreetBets stock-short squeeze. The bailed-out fund went bust anyway. Is it back to the bad old days of the Wilponzis? Will Cohen have to dump salary if he eventually loses his shirt on […]

At some point in February, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America is expected to announce the voting results on a proposal to remove J.G. Taylor Spink’s name from the organization’s most prestigious member award, which has been given to writers “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing” since 1962. The winners are part of the annual Induction Weekend at the Hall of […]

Infielder Marcus Semien is in agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a one-year, $18 million contract, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Coming off a career year in 2019, Semien struggled in 2020 while dealing with a rib injury, as the shortstop hit just .223 with 7 home runs, 28 runs, 23 RBIs and 4 […]