6:49 PM ET SAN DIEGO — The Washington Nationals selected Thad Ward, a right-hander out of the Boston Red Sox‘s Triple-A affiliate, with the No. 1 overall pick Wednesday in the Rule 5 draft. But the most intriguing pick was the 11th, which saw the Philadelphia Phillies snag Noah Song, a once-promising starting pitcher who

8:30 AM ET Aaron Judge‘s bet on himself paid off in a big way. Judge has agreed to return to the New York Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million deal, sources confirmed to ESPN early Wednesday morning, giving the slugger nearly $150 million more than what the team had offered him in the spring. He

1:20 AM ET The Chicago Cubs bolstered their starting rotation Tuesday night, reaching an agreement with free agent pitcher Jameson Taillon on a four-year, $68 million deal, sources told ESPN. Taillon, 31, was among the top pitchers remaining in free agency and is the latest big acquisition for the Cubs, who earlier Tuesday reached a

6:27 PM ET ESPN News Services Outfielder Cody Bellinger and the Chicago Cubs are in agreement on a one-year, $17.5 million contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Bellinger continued to provide Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, in addition to

Dec 4, 2022 Chris Young, the head of baseball operations for the Texas Rangers, called Bruce Bochy on Thursday with news that stunned the new manager. “Jacob wants to come with us,” Young said. Bochy’s response: “Are you kidding me?” Bochy knew the Rangers were going to be aggressive in their negotiations with Jacob deGrom,

10:03 PM ET SAN DIEGO — The New York Yankees want to make clear that Aaron Judge is their top — and currently only — priority in free agency. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Monday at the MLB winter meetings that the team is continuing to have conversations with Judge and his representatives, and

6:37 PM ET SAN DIEGO — Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker confirmed his team is interested in free agent catcher Willson Contreras just months after a trade for him was nixed. “It’s not that I didn’t want him,” Baker explained on Day 1 of the winter meetings on Monday. “It’s just at the time I

7:00 AM ET For the first time since 2019, baseball’s winter meetings are back! All signs point to an action-packed week of rumors, signings and trades in San Diego — and we’ve got it all covered for you right here, from our MLB experts’ predictions going into the meetings to the latest updates and analysis

11:10 PM ET ESPN News Services CHICAGO — Mike Clevinger says he thinks the Chicago White Sox have everything in place for a big 2023 season. Plus, he loves the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field. The move just made sense for the long-haired pitcher. Clevinger officially joined the White Sox on Sunday, finalizing a $12

Dec 2, 2022 Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom agreed to a five-year, $185 million contract with the Texas Rangers, sources told ESPN, bringing the most talented pitcher in baseball to a pitching-starved organization that