ESPN would "absolutely" love to have MLB back on its network in 2026. Edit by Liam McGuire, Comeback Media.
By Ben Axelrod on

As the New York Yankees’ 4-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series came to a close on Thursday night, Karl Ravech called attention to the elephant in the room. And while it’s still unclear what the entirety of MLB’s media rights package will look like in 2026, the ESPN play-by-play announcer insisted it will include the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

“Well, if this has been our final Wild Card game, we want to say thanks to everybody at ESPN that contributes to our baseball coverage,” Rach said before rattling off a list of executives and employees. “We will see you next year for sure.”

While Ravech didn’t specify how, his comment certainly seems to confirm MLB will remain on ESPN’s airwaves in some form next season. That may have seemed unlikely as recently as just a few months ago, after the Disney-owned network initiated a mutual opt-out of its current rights deal, which paid the league $550 million per year.

With the ESPN deal now set to expire following the 2025 season, MLB has spent the better part of this past year shopping its rights package, which included Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, Opening Day, the Wild Card Series and a few additional regular season games. Although MLB has yet to officially announce its new rights deals, commissioner Rob Manfred told Front Office Sports last month that agreements have been reached in principle, with previous reporting linking Sunday Night Baseball and the Wild Card Series to NBC and the Home Run Derby and Opening Day to Netflix.

As for ESPN, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported in August that the network reached a licensing deal to offer MLB.TV via its direct-to-consumer streaming service. ESPN is also expected to carry 30 nationally televised regular season games, although it’s still unclear what days those games will air on.

That appears to be what Ravech was referring to with his comment at the end of Thursday night’s broadcast. Following an initially bitter breakup and months of negotiations, MLB will remain in business with ESPN; it will just look different than it has in previous years.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod