NEW YORK — Houston’s Justin Verlander, the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole and Atlanta’s Max Fried won’t be active for the All-Star Game after weekend starts. Relievers Liam Hendriks of the Chicago White Sox, Jordan Romano of Toronto and Devin Williams of Milwaukee replaced them on the active rosters for Tuesday’s game at Dodger Stadium, Major League Baseball said Sunday. About a […]

ESPN MLB insider Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” AT FIRST, HE was a mascot, and then he was a marvel, and now, more than a decade after he first toddled into a major league clubhouse, Jackson Holliday’s transformation is complete. He talks like them. He looks like them. He plays […]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier admits he could miss the rest of the regular season with a left hip injury after being moved to the 60-day injured list Saturday. Kiermaier, a Gold Glove-caliber outfielder, hasn’t played since July 9. He is hitting .228 with 7 homers, 22 RBIs and 6 stolen bases in 63 […]

CLEVELAND — Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve won’t play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game after being hit by a pitch and will be replaced by Cleveland’s Andrés Giménez, who will now start in his first appearance. Altuve was struck on the left knee leading off Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. He was kept out of the lineup Friday […]

ESPN MLB insider Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Ten Kansas City Royals players, including four of their top hitters and their best two starting pitchers this season, will not travel to Toronto this week for the four-game series with the Blue Jays because they have not received the COVID-19 vaccination. […]

Senior Writer for ESPN The Magazine Columnist for ESPN.com Author of five books (3 NYT best-sellers) IT’S WEIRDLY INSTRUCTIVE to watch how baseball scouts watch baseball players. Everything they do is intended to hide what they’re actually doing, which has the unintended effect of making even their most subtle movements glaringly obvious. They also have another endearing quirk: They all […]

The Atlanta Braves activated star closer Kenley Jansen from the 15-day injured list before Wednesday afternoon’s game against the New York Mets. Jansen was placed on the IL last month because of an irregular heartbeat. The three-time All-Star underwent corrective heart surgery in November 2018 — his second procedure — after a recurrence of the irregular heartbeat prompted him to […]

Designated hitters J.D. Martinez and Garrett Cooper, and San Francisco Giants ace Carlos Rodon have been added to the All-Star rosters, MLB announced Tuesday. Martinez replaces Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez and becomes the third Boston Red Sox player to land on the American League roster along with Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers. Cooper steps in for reigning National League […]

As the all-star break nears, the Rockies’ stated goal is to reclaim a .500 record — at some point this summer. But in order to achieve that rather modest objective, the Rockies need sustained success. That’s something that continues to elude them. After taking three of four games in Arizona, Colorado returned to LoDo on a high note, then lost […]

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco will undergo surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone in his right hand on Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined for five to eight weeks. Franco left the Rays’ loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday in the middle of the first inning with discomfort in his right hand and wrist after fouling […]