Tonight, ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news that Cubs fans have been waiting for.

We have no details as of yet on the length of the deal or how much money Pete Crow-Armstrong will get. Bob Nightengale reports that it will be more than $100 million, which is a safe report, honestly.

Most observers have used the extension that Corbin Carroll signed with the Diamondbacks before the 2023 season as a point of reference: eight years and $111 million. However, there has been three years of contract inflation since then and PCA has accomplished more at this point than Carroll had before 2023, so I’d expect whatever Crow-Armstrong signed to be north of that.

Crow-Armstrong has said before that he loves Chicago and that he wants to be a Cub long-term. The Cubs have indicated that they’d like him around for a while. It looks like both sides got their wish.

UPDATE: We now have the terms of the deal.

So this may not be as extensive as some of us may have hoped. It’s quite similar to what Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner signed back in 2023, although those were three-year deals. Basically, the Cubs get cost certainty over Crow-Armstrong’s arbitration years and they buy out two years of free agency. There are some escalators which complicate things from the Cubs point of view. Crow-Armstrong will be a Cub through the 2032 season. It also doesn’t put them on the hook for a ton of money after PCA turns 30, which, presumably, will be his decline years.

For Crow-Armstrong, he gets a guaranteed deal with life-changing money and can still hit free agency at age 31.

Of course, this deal also gives the Cubs and Crow-Armstrong six more years to come up with a second extension if they wish. It will also give more time for the Cubs and PCA to establish what those years past 2032 should be worth. We could be in a completely different economic framework by then.

But for Cubs fans, the good news is that Crow-Armstrong should be patrolling center field for the next six seasons.

It has been one of, if not the most asked question of the off-season: “How can I watch the Atlanta Braves this year?”

If you are rising from a Winter hibernation, ready to join the land-of-the-baseball-living just in time for Opening Day, here’s the executive summary of what has happened with Braves’ broadcasts since that sunny Sunday in September when Charlie Morton started the final game of Atlanta’s 2025 regular season.

• Main Street Sports Group (MSSG) – the company behind the regional sports channel known to Braves fans as FanDuel Sports Network – has been unable to find a buyer and missed payments to teams impacting MLB, NBA and NHL franchises whose games are/were carried on the network.
• The MLB teams, including the Braves, whose broadcasts were carried by MSSG opted out of their broadcast agreement for 2026.
• The Braves were amongst several clubs to ultimately announce the would produce their own broadcasts.
• The Braves announced BravesVision as the name of its new broadcast, which will return most of the broadcasters and behind-the-scenes staff who worked Braves games last year. It will also include pre- and post-game shows as part of each broadcast.

Here is the meat-and-potatoes of the announcement, if you missed it, as Braves.tv is now the way that viewers in “Braves Country” can stream games in-market without blackouts. That means every game not carried by a national exclusive rights holder will be available. Up to 18 games per team can be optioned as an exclusive to networks like TBS, ESPN, NBC, FOX, Apple TV, etc, but other than those games, the rest will be on Braves.tv in-market. Some answers to questions about that:

• What areas are considered in-market for the Braves? Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina and western North Carolina.
• What about the other areas of the country? Braves games are available on MLB.tv, as they have been, and are subject to blackouts based on the “local” blackout rules, same as last year.
• Is Braves.tv a stand-alone site? No, it is part of MLB.tv, which is now owned by ESPN.
• I live in-market, can I just sign-up for the overall MLB.tv package and watch the Braves? No, you have to add Braves.tv on top of the MLB.tv package, if you want to watch Braves game and other MLB teams via the service. If you just want the Braves, you can opt just for Braves.tv.
• How much does Braves.tv cost? It is $99.99 for the season or $19.99 per month.

Here’s another big question leading up to Opening Day: Where can I watch the Braves without having to buy a streaming package?

That’s a great question – and one with still a considerable amount of unknowns. Here’s a breakdown of what is known as of late in the evening on March 24.

• Will games be available over-the-air? Yes. The Braves and Gray Media will broadcast select number of games (total number of games and schedule not available as of this writing) via Gray Media’s over-the-air channels in the Braves home market again this season. This does include Opening Day. A list of Gray Media television stations broadcasting Braves games is available here.
• Will the Braves be carried on my local cable carrier or satellite provider? Yes? Maybe? Probably? As of this writing, the Braves have only announced a major carriage agreement with Spectrum to carry BravesVision in-market games on their service. Smaller services may have an agreement, but have not made as a formal announcement, but updates may be on the Braves’ official page or their list of exact channels here.
  • Agreements for BravesVision to be carried via DirecTV, Dish, Xfinity, Comcast and others still have not been announced, yet.
• Does this mean I can’t watch the Braves on my current provider this season? The Braves are likely to work out an agreement with all the major carriers – but it means that as of this writing, no formal agreement is in place. It also isn’t yet known if an agreement with those providers could require and up-grade from a “base” package to get the BravesVision network.
• So the Braves will not be on FanDuel Sports Network this season? No. Those channel are likely to end broadcasting after the conclusion of the NBA and NHL regular season, unless MSSG finds a buyer. Regardless, that will not impact the Braves in 2026.
• I don’t have cable or satellite nor will I sign-up for Braves.tv. How can I watch or listen to the Braves? The Braves Radio Network will continue to broadcast every game and the network of stations can be found here. Otherwise, you may be relegated to national broadcasts or over-the-air, if you are in-market.

Things aren’t as simple as they were with then-Braves owner Ted Turner put the Braves on TBS and made them available across-the-country. But, with BravesVision, a new generation of fans will be able to access the team via streaming without restrictions in-market for the first time, ever. Braves.tv is also offering a free, seven-day trail, which may be a requirement if you still have traditional cable or satellite and an agreement with your provider isn’t in place prior to Opening Day.

A reminder that Atlanta Braves game previews, game live threads and game recaps for all Braves games can be found on Battery Power throughout the season.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Flacco has agreed to terms to return to the Cincinnati Bengals, where he will serve as a backup for Joe Burrow.

Flacco was dealt to the Bengals from the Cleveland Browns in October and made six starts for Cincinnati while Burrow was out with a toe injury.

The 41-year-old Flacco played well despite going 1-5 as a starter with the Bengals. He threw for at least 200 yards in four of his six starts, and the Bengals offense averaged more than 27 points per game.

He also started the first four games for the Browns last season with two touchdowns with six interceptions.

Flacco, who was Super Bowl MVP with the Baltimore Ravens during the 2012 season, has played for the Broncos, Jets, Eagles, Jets again, Browns, Colts, Browns again and the Bengals.

He has thrown for 48,176 yards, 272 TDs and 172 INTs in 19 seasons. He is 10-6 in the playoffs with 3530 yards passing, 26 TDs and 12 INTs.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The Milwaukee Brewers finished up their spring exhibition season with a pair of games against the Reds at American Family Field. Next up, the regular season. There’s still so much more to learn about this team and what their plans are for the season and now that we’re in those final few days before Opening Day, that picture is becoming much clearer.

Manager Pat Murphy has been able to provide some more details and answers to questions that a lot of fans have been curious about.

– The Brewers will be utilizing a straight platoon for the most part in centerfield to begin the year between Garrett Mitchell and Brandon Lockridge. Mitchell figures to get the lion’s share of ABs given that he’s a LHH that will face righties. Lockridge has done well this spring and has earned some regular playing time, but we’ll see if he can carry that over to the regular season.

– Speaking of Lockridge, the Brewers gave him an inning at first base to end the second exhibition against the Reds. He was getting some work in at the cold corner pre-game and it could be a spot for him to see some action this year, with Murphy noting that they need a third first baseman in the event they have to pinch-run for Andrew Vaughn.

– As for Christian Yelich, he spent last year primarily as the DH with only a small handful of starts in the outfield. That could change this year, according to Murphy. Now another year removed from back surgery, physically he’s capable of handling that kind of workload, but it will largely hinge on what happens in that centerfield platoon between Mitchell and Lockridge.

Murphy noted that if that centerfield group isn’t “offensive enough” that they could put Yelich in the outfield more often, signaling that Jackson Chourio would move from LF to CF similar to how he did last year in the absence of Mitchell.

– Reliever Blake Holub pitched 1.1 IP in the first of the two exhibition games and Murphy said after the game that “he’s a young man that doesn’t realize how close he is [to the big leagues]”. Holub didn’t allow a run across his seven appearances this spring. He’s slated to be in Triple-A Nashville’s bullpen to start the year but could very quickly find himself in the big league bullpen when a need arises.

– The Brewers were still seeking more right handed bullpen depth, so they acquired Jake Woodford from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league reliever KC Hunt. Woodford provides a multi-inning option for the Crew and will be placed on the roster once he arrives. It’s still unclear if he will be activated in time for Opening Day, but he’ll have to be on the roster by game two on Saturday at the latest. Woodford is out of minor league options.

– Akil Baddoo was placed on the 60 day IL to accommodate the acquisition of Woodford. He’s not expected back from his quad strain until June.

– Brandon Woodruff and Logan Henderson will both throw simulated games on Wednesday in Nashville. Woodruff has been in Milwaukee so he will be flying down to the Volunteer State to make this sim game and continue his buildup for the regular season. Woodruff is scheduled to start next Tuesday against the Rays.

– Rob Zastryzny is very close to returning from his rhomboid injury. He’s slated to start the year on rehab assignment in Triple-A Nashville and has an estimated return of early April for this Brewers bullpen. He is also out of minor league options.

– Craig Yoho is a little further behind in his return from a calf injury, but not by much. He’s projected to return in early-to-mid April.

– Quinn Priester is continuing to ramp up his throwing program and threw a bullpen session on Tuesday. They’re estimated he could go on a rehab assignment in early April to build up and Pat Murphy projects an early May return to the big league rotation for Priester.

– Outfielder Steward Berroa is back to DHing in games in Arizona and is expected to return to full game action in early April. It’s likely he’ll be sent straight to Triple-A Nashville once he’s cleared to go.

MESA, AZ — New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole looked to his left, pulled out a bat from outfielder Jasson Dominguez’s bag Tuesday, and rapped his left knuckles on it for good luck.

Yes, things are going so good for the Yankees this spring, and Cole’s elbow recovery, that he wasn’t about to jeopardize anything now.

Cole, in his second outing of the spring, took another critical step in his rehab from Tommy John surgery with a dominant six-batter outing against the Chicago Cubs, and if everything keeps progressing, should be returning to the Yankees rotation within two months.

It may be premature to be counting down the days to his season debut, but after not pitching in a game that counts since the 2024 World Series, this torturous layoff has given him even further admiration and love for the game.

“Having not played much the last couple of years,’’ Cole said, “I think there’s just maybe a little greater appreciation for the game. The level of talent. The level of intensity. The demand of the game. It demands your focus, it demands your appreciation.

“I enjoy that, so that’s been nice to get back into that environment. It’s a good prep for what’s to come the next few weeks.’’

Cole looked a whole lot like his old self Tuesday, the one that has dominated hitters throughout his 12-year career, earning six All-Star berths, a Cy Young award and two ERA titles. He pumped 96-to-98-mph fastballs against the Cubs in the Yankees’ 8-3 victory, striking out three of the first four batters he faced without a walk. He threw 17 of his 26 pitches for strikes in his 1.2-inning outing, throwing 11 pitches at 96-mph or higher. He was satisfied with all but two pitches, he said, and that didn’t include the 416-foot homer he gave up to All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman on a 96.1-mph sinker low in the zone.

“That was a good pitch,’’ said Cole, “but a better swing. So it’s the way it goes with good players sometimes.’’

While the Yankees departed Tuesday for their 2026 season-opener against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, Cole will be heading back to their minor-league complex in Tampa. He will travel back to New York to be with the Yankees for their home opener April 3 against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium. He will then spend the next month training in Tampa before eventually beginning his rehab assignment with hopes of rejoining the Yankees in mid-to-late May.

“I felt good coming into camp,’’ said Cole, “and I feel good now. … My level of execution has been really strong, and the recovery for the most part has been really strong. Just kind of plugging away. It’s a long way to go, but a good body of work so far. …

“I’m confident, but there’s still a lot of pitching to go. We’ll see what challenges come my way. But so far, so good. I keep stacking as many good days together as I can. I’m very pleased with how things have gone.’’

Really, it’s the same sentiment the Yankees are feeling about themselves, having one of the best spring trainings during manager Aaron Boone’s tenure.

“I’m excited,’’ Boone said. “Look, I caution it’s only camp, but we’ve had a hell of a camp. Like, we’ve had a lot of the answers we were hoping to get. Knock on wood, a lot of good health. A lot of guys that are on their way back, trending in a really good direction with their rehab. I feel like the young players that are going to be future core of this, maybe sooner than later, really showed well.

“And I feel like we’re going to have competition brewing for opportunities throughout the year because of our depth right now. And hopefully that remains with good health and good performance. But camp-wise, it’s hard for it to go much better than it did, but that’s camp. Nobody cares about camp 10 days from now.

“It’s about the 162 now, and we’re excited to get after it.’’

It’s a whole different feeling leaving camp than a year ago, when Cole underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery, starters Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt were injured and missed the start of the season, and DH Giancarlo Stanton was sidelined most of the spring with tennis elbow that delayed his season debut until June.

This time, not a single major injury, with Gil expected to be called up and rejoin the rotation in early April and Carlos Rodon projected back in late April or early May.

Certainly, there will be no excuses for the Yankees, who will be judged differently than everyone else beginning in their season opener.

Every victory will be exaggerated.

Every defeat will be overblown.

All that matters is October.

Get to the postseason and lose, it’s a bust.

Get to the World Series and lose, it’s still a bust.

Win the World Series, OK, it’s about damn time.

“I’m 53,’’ Boone said. “This is my life. That’s all I’ve lived all of my life. October is a long way away. Obviously, we want to get there and play in it, and be the last team. But there’s just so many things you got to go through as a team and give yourself a chance to be in that position. …

“We’re just looking forward to getting going.’’

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees excited by spring training, Gerrit Cole Tommy John recovery

The Dodgers conclude their 2026 spring training against the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday evening, wrapping up the Freeway Series as the final tune-up before Opening Day. 

Shohei Ohtani makes his second start of spring training. Jack Kochanowicz takes the ball for the Angels. 

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Angels
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 5:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, Fan Duel Sports Network West (Angels), MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The good news is that Cincinnati Reds lefty Nick Lodolo isn’t really injured, per se. He’s once again dealing with a blister issue on his left (throwing) hand, one that popped up in his final appearance of Cactus League action down in Arizona during a record-touching heat wave.

Apparently, though, it’s bad enough that they want to be careful with him – so careful that they’re going to place in him on the IL to begin the season. Gordon Wittenyer of The Enquirer relayed the news on Tuesday evening, noting that the Reds will use their deep set of starters to stack Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, and Brandon Williamson in the rotation behind Opening Day starter Andrew Abbott and Brady Singer.

Given the decision to do the move to the IL right now, though, means that Lodolo will only miss the first 12 days of the regular season. That stretch of games includes a pair of days off, meaning the Reds are effectively going to skip him roughly one and a half times through the rotation (depending upon how they choose to line things up for a road trip that takes them first to Texas and then Miami.)

Is it great news? Obviously not.

Is it terrible news? Not really.

The Reds have five starting pitchers of incredible quality lined up right now to start the season despite the fact that Hunter Greene is on the 60-day IL and Lodolo, too, is now on the shelf. They’ll be able to carry an extra reliever now that their ‘six for five’ starting conglomerate has been thinned again, and while that’s a test of their depth to start the season it’s also an immediate testament to the depth they’ve built up.

The biggest hope here, of course, is that a blister issue that has haunted Lodolo multiple times already in his career has gotten itself out of the way right now, and won’t be a further problem down the road this season by taking the time right now to make 100% sure it’s right.

The fine folks at Razzball are still very much saying ‘giddy up’ about Cincinnati’s starting pitching.

To start, and going against all the advice I give my students about constructing effective persuasive arguments, feel free to disregard this idea from the jump. Tony Vitello already has. I can hear his disembodied voice, sounding suddenly a lot like Graham Chapman, tutting in my ear as I write this: Stop that, it’s too silly. 

Yes, having Heliot Ramos anywhere but left field in the Opening Day roster would be a silly thing to do, especially if the sole reason for doing so is to maintain the San Francisco Giants’ freak-streak of starting a different Opening Day left fielder every year since Barry Bonds in 2007. 

Yet it is late March. Baseball blooms. The days widen. Flowers throw color from their petals, and I remember Nori Aoki.  

The Streak lives — at least, for one more day. And while I believe thatthe list of left fielders, repeated enough, becomes a poem, a mantra, tied to a breath, a reliquary, its names cupped around a sacred pearl, I don’t believe in the cosmic jinx. Ramos is penciled in as the Giants’ starter for Wednesday’s Opening Day, and no soliloquy or ode or incantation will change that.   

Roberts…Lewis…DeRosa… 

Parker…Pence…Joe… 

Each successive name represents the un-fillable void. Physical manifestations of the player to be named at the last minute, the who-cares? At some point, the surnames should’ve been struck from the back of their jerseys. Instead: Not Bonds.  Nearly two decades later, with Cy Youngs and an MVP award won, division crowns, three World Series Championships, a franchise regular season win-record, among other club accolades, Barry’s absence is still felt to this day. 

One more day.

Is this streak a living tribute to the best there ever was? A memorial? Or is it a dubious log of ineptitude? A curse, with its true consequences finally rearing its ugly head? 

As Bryan points out, the Giants stand at the threshold of franchise notoriety, with four non-winning seasons under their belt. Are they about to start a fifth? One could certainly argue now is the time to exorcize some demons and end the streak at 19 with Ramos. Willy Adames’s 30 home runs in 2025 slayed another weird franchise bogeyman, and with it brought some perspective: It’s better when players hit 30 home runs than not. It stands to reason a consistent left fielder rather than a carousel of players is better too. Change should be invited by a club with one foot so often stuck in the mud of nostalgia. This, I suppose, is a problem for many franchises. We want the glorification of a successful past to boomerang fans to thinking about a successful present. Check this out: One unbroken line of winning by winners. But for so many, the “remember those guys!” celebrations serve as a distraction from the uncomfortable “who are these guys?” populating the field now. 

Time to slash through these tired and tarnished artifacts that were so burdensome yet felt oddly comforting.

Yes, it’s possible I’m reading too much in the meter of Dickerson and Slater // Pederson and Sabol. Sometimes the only way we can exert some semblance of control over these weights on our backs is to make them heavier with meaning.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers picked up another win at American Family Field on Tuesday afternoon, winning their final spring exhibition over the Reds by a 4-1 final.

With Brandon Sproat on the mound for one last tune-up outing, he worked around a Matt McLain walk for a scoreless first, including strikeouts of Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart. Righty flamethrower Chase Burns did him one better in the bottom of the inning, striking out Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras in order.

Sproat worked around another walk in the second, picking up another strikeout and a double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, the Spring of Jake Bauers continued, as he crushed a two-out solo homer 401 feet over the wall in right-center to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead. It marked Bauers’ seventh homer of the spring.

Sproat worked another strong inning in the third, picking up a pair of strikeouts to work around a two-out single. Milwaukee went down in order once again in the bottom of the inning, while Sproat had yet another solid frame in the fourth, giving up a single to Eugenio Suárez but nothing else.

That would mark the end of the day for Sproat, as he went four scoreless frames with two hits and two walks allowed, striking out five.

After Milwaukee went down 1-2-3 against Burns in the fourth, Kyle Harrison took over on the mound for the Brewers. He allowed a walk and a single but picked up two strikeouts as Milwaukee’s lead held at 1-0 halfway into the game.

The Brewers tacked on another in the bottom of the inning, as Bauers doubled and later scored on a David Hamilton single. Hamilton also stole second, his seventh of the spring, but he’d be stranded there.

In the sixth, Harrison allowed a leadoff homer to De La Cruz to cut the lead to 2-1. After Stewart followed with a single, Harrison settled in to get a strikeout, a groundout, and a lineout. Rhett Lowder took over for Burns in the bottom of the sixth and worked around a William Contreras single and an error that allowed Andrew Vaughn to reach.

Harrison allowed another single and hit a batter in the seventh, but didn’t allow either runner to come around. In the bottom of the inning, Sal Frelick reached on an error to begin the inning and Joey Ortiz singled two batters later. Frelick was replaced by Cooper Pratt, Luis Lara took Ortiz’s place on the basepaths, and both pinch runners came around to score on a two-run single by Brandon Lockridge to make it 4-1. Gary Sánchez also singled, but the inning would end on a pair of groundouts.

The eighth and ninth innings came and went without much excitement — Harrison picked up a double play in the eighth, the Brewers went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, and Brian Fitzpatrick picked up the final two outs in a scoreless ninth.

Bauers was once again the star, going 2-for-4 to finish his spring with a stellar .462/.571/1.154 line with seven homers, six doubles, nine RBIs, and 14 runs across 15 games. No other Brewer finished with multiple hits, as six others had a single apiece.

On the mound, Sproat took the win while Harrison got a hold over 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Opening Day is on deck this Thursday, as the Brewers will take on the White Sox in Milwaukee. Jacob Misiorowski gets the start in that one, with Shane Smith starting for Chicago. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.