In the letter, Manfred cited ESPN's lack of baseball coverage in its programming outside of the games as one of the reasons why he agreed to terminate the deal that was set to run through the 2028 season. However, CNN Sports' Kyle Feldscher reported that the breakup perhaps wasn't completely mutual.

While Major League Baseball has worked to expand their reach through streaming agreements over recent years, their TV rights contract with ESPN is poised to come to an end after the 2025 season.

ESPN and MLB are planning to end their decades-long relationship after the 2025 season. Jeff Bezos asks followers who they’d cast as James Bond minutes after Amazon announces control of 007 Canada’s win over Team USA had tension,

Merrifield bounced around the NL East last season with the Phillies and Braves while his batting average took a nosedive. After hitting .272 in his last full year with the Blue Jays in 2023, the 36-year-old batted .199 in 95 games with Philadelphia, then improved to .248 over 42 games in Atlanta.

The New York Mets open up Spring Training play against the Houston Astros on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 (2/22/25) at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida.