FORT MYERS, Fla. — When a reporter approached Liam Hendriks with one of his earliest scouting reports, the veteran relief pitcher offered a prediction about what it would say.

“I’m assuming there is a little bit of short motion with a quick arm, 88-92 mph, with a little bit of arm side run,” Hendriks said. “Good changeup. Breaking ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — No man is an island. Unless that man is Bryce Harper and he has just reached base.

Last season, there wasn’t a lonelier lot in life than to be a Phillies superstar standing on first, second, or third. Only four players in the majors reached base as many times as Harper did and scored fewer runs. The 72 runs he did score were ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Yankees are adding another number to Monument Park.

The Bombers announced that they will be retiring CC Sabathia‘s No. 52 on Sept. 26 before their game against the Baltimore Orioles, the team announced on Wednesday. The ceremony will include the unveiling of Sabathia’s plaque in Monument Park.

The 2009 World Series ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Already well-known for selling out stadiums for baseball-themed spectacles that include choreographed dances, inventive trick plays and outlandish fan interaction, the Savannah Bananas have cemented their synergy with ESPN and Disney+ with a 25-game package in 2026.

Included in the deal will be a "Banana Ball Day" at Disneyland ...Read more

PEORIA, Ariz. — The team that bidets together stays together.

Or at least that’s the mantra of the Chicago White Sox after news that the team is introducing bidets in the clubhouse at the request of Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami.

The jokes write themselves when it comes to the subject of eco-friendly hygiene, but the Sox are using the...Read more

SEATTLE — It's harder to keep a stride in your step when you're feeling a pebble in your shoe.

You could say this about MLB's elite young players, just as you can their most ardent fans.

Because as stable as the sport seems to be right now — with the ungodly contract sizes and last year's exhilarating postseason — there is a looming ...Read more

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Konnor Griffin could only stare as a man wearing a Paul Skenes shirsey gamely thought he could catch the baseball after Griffin’s first home run of spring training cleared the Green Monster-like structure in left field at JetBlue Park.

Two innings later, the sport’s prospect did something even more impressive, crushing ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — What's not to love about Pete Crow-Armstrong? The young, talented Chicago Cubs center fielder is somehow simultaneously super cool and fiery. Nicknamed simply PCA, he should be an entertaining and accomplished player to watch for many years.

And he's Southern California born and bred, the product of esteemed diamond factory ...Read more

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The closer is a solitary figure, walking in from the bullpen to a banging beat and thunderous applause.

Hitters fear him, and managers depend on him. The very best among them have iconic and, often, edgy music to announce their arrival.

For Mariano Rivera, it was “Enter Sandman.” Trevor Hoffman had “Hells Bells.�...Read more

LAKELAND, Fla. — Tarik Skubal might be serving two masters in the early part of spring, but there is no confusion about his priority.

“I am trying to do both things,” he said. “I am going to pitch for Team USA (in the World Baseball Classic), but also I understand I really need to be here with these guys and get ready for the season.

�...Read more

MESA, Ariz. — Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell doesn’t have a ton of roster decisions to make this spring.

His starting lineup and rotation are mostly the same. Daniel Palencia returns as the closer, and most of the other bullpen pieces were signed over the offseason.

“That changes,” Counsell said Saturday morning at Sloan Park, ...Read more

BRADENTON, Fla. — The boisterous discussion among several Latin American Pittsburgh Pirates players had ended. Oneil Cruz, one of the last stragglers, ducked into the athletic trainer’s office. Left alone at his locker inside the home clubhouse at LECOM Park was Marcell Ozuna.

Ozuna’s days here have been busy — and Sunday was no ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. – Pungent sewage had the New York Yankees flowing across the street on Sunday morning, as the drainage issues that flooded parts of George M. Steinbrenner Field the previous day forced the Bombers to hold pregame workouts at their Himes player development complex before hosting the New York Mets.

The Sunday exhibition game took ...Read more

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — There are so many reasons why Cam Booser shouldn’t be here.

A horrifically broken left leg, a twice-fractured back, a torn labrum and Tommy John elbow surgery. Bad grades that cost him his spot at Oregon State. A poor attitude that made waste of his five years pitching in the Minnesota Twins system, during which he ...Read more

FORT MYERS, Fla. — An important piece of the puzzle that is the 2026 Red Sox was put into place Saturday morning when manager Alex Cora named Roman Anthony leadoff hitter.

Anthony impressed overall in his 71-game rookie season last year, but he proved an especially strong table-setter. He made 27 starts at the top of the lineup (31 games ...Read more

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Bo Bichette entered Saturday’s Grapefruit League game eager to see what he was facing at third base. A career shortstop who hasn’t played third base since travel ball, Bichette has to see how deep he wants to play, he has to figure out the angles of the balls hit to the left side, and figure out the timing of his ...Read more

NEW YORK — Amid the tidal wave of the Tony Clark scandal that rocked the MLB Players Association last week, the baseball owners were meeting at the Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla., to re-affirm their solidarity over the necessity of a salary cap. And when the dust cleared, and Bruce Meyer was quickly and just as unanimously installed as Clark’s...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees’ spring home opener was a real you know what show, and not just because the visiting Tigers surrendered 20 runs in the exhibition.

As putrid as some of the play on the field was, it hardly compared to the literal stench that came from the lower level of George M. Steinbrenner Field, where sewage water leaked into ...Read more

SARASOTA, Fla. — Don Kelly began a team meeting Saturday with news he didn’t want to share. But the Pirates manager also took time to properly honor a franchise legend in Bill Mazeroski.

Mazeroski died Friday at the age of 89, the Pirates announced Saturday morning. As news broke, Kelly took time to remind players of Mazeroski’s legacy as...Read more