A day after signing Cy Young Award winner and 42-year-old knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, the Braves have also agreed to terms with iconic veteran pitcher Bartolo Colon on Friday, according to MLB.com. The deal is for one year and $12.5 million, pending a physical, per Fox Sports. MORE: Best pitcher last names Despite his age, Colon was one of the better pitchers in the National League this past season. His 15 wins with the Mets were 10th-most in the NL and his 3....

According to USA Today, Harper’s camp is asking for an extension exceeding 10 years that would pay him more than $400 million. The massive contract number is forcing the Nationals to plan for other options, including the likely fate of parting ways with the All-Star during or after the 2018 season. MORE: Ranking, tracking every MLB free agent for 2017 While Harper’s camp is putting the Nationals in a tough spot, the $400 million number isn’t coming from agent Scott Boras, who told Yahoo Sports on Monday: “I have had no discussions with the Nationals regarding Harp and a long-term contract....

The contract has a reported average value of $34.42 million per season, breaking the record of $31 million most recently set this week by the Red Sox’s David Price. Heyman reported about $60 million of the money will be deferred over five years after the contract ends. The deal reportedly does not include an opt-out clause . MORE: Ranking the top free-agent starting pitchers The Diamondbacks previously looked into several other free-agent pitchers to bolster their lackluster rotation....

Acccording to The Associated Press, MLB is “talking to people all over the industry, former employees, competitors, whatever" as part of the expanded probe, which will also look into the team’s firing of assistant general manager Brandon Taubman after he reportedly harrassed a female Sports Illustrated journalist. “To the extent that we find other leads (about sign-stealing), we’re going to follow these leads,” Manfred said at the conclusion of the annual owner’s meetings, held this year in Arlington, Texas....

Albert Pujols added another accolade to his resume Monday, blasting the 547th, 548th and 549th home runs of his career to pass Phillies great Mike Schmidt for 15th on the all-time home run list. The first came in Game 1 of the Angels doubleheader against the Red Sox on Monday, when Pujols belted a homer in the second inning. During Game 2, he slammed his 548th homer, also in the second inning, and connected again in the seventh for No....

Nelson Cruz continued his early-season heroics Friday when he smashed a Junichi Tazawa offering against the left-field wall to break a deadlock in the bottom of the ninth and lift the Mariners past the Red Sox 2-1. Cruz leads MLB with 15 home runs, and he moved into a tie for the AL lead with 30 RBIs. MORE: Fantasy hitters to buy, sell | Pitching sleepers | Mets’ offense will rebound, eventually...

As of Sunday morning, though, the game is a pick ‘em at the Westgate SuperBook, where both teams are offered at -105 odds. Current MLB lines: Cardinals-Cubs | Monday’s card The Cardinals are looking for their fifth straight postseason appearance with their roster from last season pretty much intact. At the Westgate, they are 10-to-1 to win the World Series, the 6-to-5 favorite to claim the NL Central, and their season win total is set at 87....

MLB odds: Current Las Vegas lines The big difference between now and then is that the Dodgers bats have cooled considerably. Heading into their just-completed three-game series at San Francisco, the Dodgers were riding a seven-game win streak and had batted .288 and scored 63 runs. Against the Giants, they hit only .202 and scored just six times, and were swept. Now the Dodgers appear to have a few issues....

MLB odds: Current baseball betting lines Both teams had come-from-behind wins on Wednesday night. The Cardinals avoided losing a series at Wrigley Field thanks to Jhonny Peralta’s two-out, two-run go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth inning for the 6-5 win. Pittsburgh was down 2-1 at home to the Padres until tying it in the seventh and then tacking on three in the eighth to win 5-2. It was the Pirates’ 10th sweep of the season, which ties a franchise record, and we’re just barely past the halfway point....

MORE: MLB predictions 2022: The Sporting News experts pick division winners, awards, World Series champ This year features some fresh faces, some new faces in old places, and some very familiar dealers. Below, you’ll find every pitcher starting the year as their team’s ace (or, in some cases, replacement ace). Among the notable names on the list, Adam Wainwright will be getting his first Opening Day nod from the Cardinals since 2016, while Zack Greinke last opened the season for the Royals in 2010 (and has opened the season for two other teams in that span)....

There is sure to be some bad blood in this one with Noah Syndergaard, who purposely threw a hard inside pitch near the head of Alcides Escobar to start Game 3 of the World Series last year, starting, but that game was the only one the Mets would win in the fall classic. The Royals still aren’t happy about it. Chris Young went four innings (allowing two runs) in a Game 4 World Series start that allowed the Royals to take a 3-1 series lead, but what resonates more is that he was awful in spring allowing 18 runs (three unearned) in 19 innings....

Last season, the Blue Jays beat the Rangers in Game 5 of the Division Series, sparked by Jose Bautista’s memorable bat flip following a tie-breaking, three-run homer in the seventh inning. In May, Rougned Odor’s responded with a vicious punch to Bautista’s jaw. What will Game 1 have in store in the rematch? MLB PLAYOFFS 2016: Top 50 players in the postseason Blue Jays-Rangers ALDS TV schedule Best of five....

According to USA Today Sports, Liriano was on a stretcher and wearing a neck brace as he was transported from Globe Life Park for further evaluations at a local hospital. MORE: The 50 best players in the MLB postseason Liriano was able to walk off the field under his own power after he was hit in the eighth inning of Toronto’s 5-3 win, but is questionable at best for the remainder of the playoffs....

Manager John Farrell watched his two best pitchers get shelled at Cleveland and now heads to Boston in a must-win scenario to stay alive. With those kinds of stakes, anything can happen. “Well, we need to play better, bottom line, and we’re very capable of that,” Farrell said in a press conference Saturday. “Certainly confident of the guys that we have in our clubhouse in our uniform. We’ve demonstrated that for majority of the season....

NL finalists Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig AL finalists Rays pitcher Chris Archer Rays outfielder Wil Myers Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias.

The club's interest in free agent RHP Ervin Santana has increased since the Arizona Diamondbacks signed Bronson Arroyo, t he Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly reports . "Not sure of intensity, but they're still in on Santana," according to Connolly. Santana, 31, went 9-10 with a 3.24 ERA and 3.93 FIP for the Kansas City Royas in 2013. "It's hard to look at Santana's track record and consider him anything other than a high-ceiling risk," SN's Ryan Fagan wrote back in November ....

Was that a real threat, or just a bluff? MLB attempted a power move shortly after MiLB released a lengthy rebuttal to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s comments at the Winter Meetings this week about the negotiations. MORE: Bernie Sanders condemns plan to contract minors “If the National Association (which governs the minors) has an interest in an agreement with Major League Baseball, it must address the very significant issues with the current system at the bargaining table,” MLB said in a statement obtained by The Boston Globe....

According to ESPN, the MLB and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) have discussed the possibility of getting the season underway next month and have received the support of high-ranking federal public health officials. The MLB campaign was due to begin on March 26, but the league postponed the season indefinitely as sporting events in the U.S. ground to a halt as COVID-19 spread across the country. Like the NBA and the NHL did when they suspended proceedings last month, the MLB did not offer a timeline for its resumption, indicating it would follow the guidelines set out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which suggested events drawing crowds bigger than 50 people would have to be canceled or postponed until mid-May at least....

MLB announced Friday that every game on the final day of the regular season will start at the same time. The goal is to potentially increase excitement, as playoff spots could be determined within minutes of each other. MORE: Kershaw hit in the face, stays in game | Rangers still chasing Hamels | Angels hit four triples in one inning “We’re hopeful that the races will come down to the last day of the season....

THE RUMOR: The Braves want more for Justin Upton than they gotfor Jason Heyward, who in combination with reliever Jordan Walden returned right-handed pitchers Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins from the Cardinals. However the Padres, the favorites to land Upton, do not want to part with any of their top three starting pitchers in Tyson Ross, Ian Kennedy and Andrew Cashner. REPORTED BY: FOXSports’ Ken Rosenthal THE DETAILS: The Padres have a crowded outfield, but most of those players hold little trade value (i....