PHOENIX -- Thirteen spring stadiums and over 60% of Cactus and Grapefruit League games will feature an automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system as MLB continues to inch closer to using it during the regular season -- though that won't occur any earlier than 2026.

The league is testing out the system at the big league level for the first time after years of experimenting with ABS in the minor leagues. The rules are as follows:

During the spring, each team will be given two challenges per game and will retain successful challenges.

Only the batter, catcher or pitcher can initiate a challenge, which must happen immediately after the umpire's call. The player must quickly tap his hat or helmet to indicate a challenge.

The results of the challenge will be displayed on the scoreboard and television broadcast to communicate whether a call was overturned or not.

The five dual-team stadiums in Arizona -- Seattle Mariners/San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox/Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals/Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds/Cleveland Guardians and Colorado Rockies/Arizona Diamondbacks -- will all have the system in use this spring.

The same is true for the eight teams that play in Florida -- Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals/Miami Marlins.

Every game in each of the above stadiums will employ the challenge system. The league plans to gather data throughout the spring in hopes of determining whether the system is ready to bring to the major league level a year from now.

Additionally, Triple-A baseball will employ the challenge system during the 2025 regular season, giving the league as much information as possible before a decision is made on 2026.

League officials are encouraging players to use the system liberally throughout spring training. After years of experimenting with ABS in the minors, the league determined that both players and fans prefer a challenge system to having every pitch call be automated.

The league believes a challenge system would be less disruptive while retaining the human elements of the game, including pitch framing by catchers.

The league says a challenge takes about 17 seconds to complete. Experiments in the minor leagues showed an overturn rate of about 50%. On average, there were 3.9 challenges per game during minor league testing.

After collecting data, including talking to players, coaches and umpires throughout the spring, and evaluating the Triple-A regular season, the league's competition committee will determine if ABS becomes a reality in Major League Baseball's regular season and postseason.

The first game to feature the challenge system will be between the Dodgers and Cubs on Thursday at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday called payroll disparity a principal concern throughout the industry but would not necessarily commit to a salary cap as a central point of negotiations leading up to the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have stoked concerns about payroll disparity with their spending over the past two offseasons, during which they signed five players to nine-figure contracts -- Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Will Smith and Tyler Glasnow, the latter two by virtue of extensions.

Speaking during a spring training media event, Manfred reiterated prior comments while saying the Dodgers have "gone out and done everything possible, always within the rules that currently exist, to put the best possible team on the field, and I think that's great for the game." But he acknowledged that fans and owners have expressed concern about their ability to blow other teams away monetarily.

The Dodgers' competitive balance tax payroll is currently estimated at about $392 million, well beyond the highest threshold, according to Spotrac. Only the New York Mets, a distant second at roughly $321 million, have even cracked $300 million. And while offseason spending has reachedroughly $3.3 billion, the Dodgers and Mets have accounted for more than 40 percent of that total. Nine teams, meanwhile, spent less than $20 million on free agents this winter.

"Disparity should be, it certainly is, at the top of my list of concerns about what's occurring in the sport," Manfred said. "When I say I can't be critical of the Dodgers -- they're doing what the system allows. If I'm going to be critical of somebody, it's not going to be the Dodgers. It's going to be the system."

The current Dodgers often have been compared to the New York Yankees teams of the 2000s that, under late owner George Steinbrenner, were commonly referred to as "The Evil Empire" for their ability to continually sign star players. But Manfred said these Dodgers are "probably more profitable on a percentage basis than the old Yankees teams were -- meaning it could be more sustainable, so it is more of a problem."

On top of residing in a major market and coming off a World Series championship, the Dodgers boast a regional cable deal that pays them about $334 million annually at a time when teams continue to fall out of their local media contracts. The Dodgers also benefit greatly from Ohtani, who deferred $680 million of his $700 million contract and has brought in massive revenue streams from Japan. The Dodgers have responded by investing the additional money back into their roster, making owners of even major-market teams such as the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs complain about their inability to keep up.

It has all worked to push MLB's long-held desire for a salary cap back to the forefront. Given that the MLB Players Association has been adamant it would never agree to one, it also has led to widespread concern about a lockout or a work stoppage after the current CBA expires in December 2026. The sides are expected to begin negotiations a year in advance, and payroll disparity -- tied strongly to the fading traditional cable model and MLB's hopes of fitting local media into a national umbrella -- will undoubtedly become a hot-button issue.

"I'm not going to get into what the answer is," Manfred said when asked whether he will seek a salary cap in the next round of bargaining. "We're a year away. I have owners with really strongly held views that I need to coalesce into a position that we'll ultimately take to the MLBPA. I don't think starting that debate publicly is a good start. Whatever we settle on, we're going to present in the collective bargaining process and try to handle it privately in order to get a deal."

Manfred addressed many other topics in his wide-ranging media availability, which lasted close to half an hour:

Manfred recently toured Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, California, which will house the Athletics for at least the next three years, and he said the level of excitement within the community for a major league team is "palpable." He added that the timeline for the A's new ballpark in Las Vegas has not changed. "I believe we're going to be on time to go in 2028," he said.

Manfred said he believes the Cubs would make a "good host" for the All-Star Game, which has not come to Wrigley Field since 1990. But he did not say whether there has been any progress in talks with city officials about closing down the streets around the ballpark for the event, which MLB and the Cubs consider a prerequisite. The Cubs are pushing to host the All-Star Game as early as 2027, the next available date.

Manfred reiterated his belief that a separate draft is the best remedy to clean up some of the corruption that occurs on the international market, particularly in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, where pre-deals, performance-enhancing drug use and age fraud have become especially prevalent in recent years. "The transparency of a draft, the inability to make secret deals because you don't know who's going to draft whom, is really the best systemic approach," he said.

Manfred said the San Diego Padres, who were previously in danger of violating MLB's debt-service requirement, have "really improved their revenue situation dramatically." Manfred said John Seidler, who recently was approved as the Padres' control person amid litigation from the late Peter Seidler's widow, "is committed to the Padres long term" and "shares the kind of vision" that Peter Seidler, one of his brothers, had for the team.

Manfred called the loss of local media deals a "temporal" problem that he believes will eventually affect every team, even the big-market clubs with contracts that are currently secure. He added that the issue won't be addressed significantly until, at the earliest, after the 2028 season, when MLB's prominent national deals expire.

"I do think baseball needs to alter its approach in advance of those negotiations," Manfred said. "I think we need more central control over all the rights, whether they're traditionally regarded as national or local, and we should be making an effort to make our product more national, because those national games are worth a lot more than games that are sold only in the local market."

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, a team spokesperson said Tuesday.

Demko will not join the Canucks on their five-game road trip coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break. The team will reevaluate him after returning from the trip, which concludes March 1 at Seattle.

Demko, last season's runner-up for the Vezina Trophy honoring the NHL's best goaltender, did not make his season debut until Dec. 10 because of a knee issue that surfaced during the 2024 playoffs.

According to The Athletic, Demko's current issue is not in that knee. He played only 32 games the year before that due to a groin injury.

The one-time All-Star is 6-6-3 with a 2.87 goals-against average and .891 save percentage in 17 games (all starts) this season.

Demko, 29, was selected by Vancouver in the second round of the 2014 draft and has played 236 career games, making 230 starts. He is 122-87-20 with a 2.80 GAA and .911 save percentage for his career.

As Demko's availability has fluctuated, Kevin Lankinen has made the most of his opportunities in net. He is 19-8-7 with a 2.53 GAA and .905 save percentage in 34 games (32 starts). Vancouver will lean on him and third-stringer Arturs Silovs for its five-game road trip, which begins Saturday at Vegas.

The Canucks recalled Silovs from AHL affiliate Abbotsford on an emergency basis and also added a practice goaltender, Nikita Tolopilo, on Tuesday.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

The Connecticut Sun denied guard Marina Mabrey's request to be traded, a move that she asked for earlier this month.

Mabrey arrived in Connecticut last summer after requesting a trade from the Chicago Sky prior to the All-Star break. She averaged 14.4 points and 4.1 assists in 2024, mostly operating as the first player off the bench for the Sun, who pushed the Minnesota Lynx to five games in the WNBA semifinals.

Mabrey's agent, Marcus Crenshaw of The FAM agency, fired back at the franchise's decision in a statement provided to ESPN on Tuesday.

"In this current age of women's empowerment and support of the players, the CT Sun threatening to force Marina Mabrey to play for them after her trade request is mind-boggling," Crenshaw said. "Why would anyone try to force someone to play on their team when they don't want to be there? It's counterproductive in a ton of ways and everyone we have spoken to is perplexed about how they are handling Marina, after trading away Hall of Fame caliber players.

"The coach parted ways. No free agents returned and they are doing all they can to try and force Marina to stay when she clearly doesn't want to be there. It's interesting."

Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti told ESPN that the organization decided it "wasn't in our best interest to move her because of the value that we gave up to get her, but also that we place on her."

The Sun sent their 2025 first-round pick, a 2026 pick swap, as well as guards Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson to Chicago to acquire Mabrey.

"The reasons that we have for not trading Marina are rooted in positivity," Rizzotti told ESPN. "It's rooted in a desire to build around her, have her here, have her be the catalyst for what we want to do offensively, taking advantage of her versatility, knowing that the style that [coach] Rashid [Meziane] plays with will suit her game, and knowing that we can put her in an individual situation to be really successful as this current CBA closes and a new one opens."

The Sun, who are coming off a sixth consecutive semifinal appearance, have experienced massive roster turnover this offseason. Free agent Alyssa Thomas was cored and later traded to the Phoenix Mercury. Fellow All-Star free agents DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones signed with the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream, respectively. Connecticut also traded young guards DiJonai Carrington, a restricted free agent, and Ty Harris to the Dallas Wings.

The Sun are the first team in WNBA history -- and in NBA history, since starters were first tracked in 1970-71 -- to lose all five starters from their final playoff game in the ensuing offseason.

The team also had to replace coach Stephanie White after she departed for the Indiana Fever. The Sun hired Meziane, the former Belgian national team head coach.

Mabrey, who had previous stints with the Los Angeles Sparks and Wings prior to getting traded to the Sky, has yet to publicly express why she would like to move on from the organization.

"I think there's probably a lot of professional athletes that are on teams that they don't necessarily prefer to be on," Rizzotti said. "I don't think that this would be an isolated situation. ... I think Marina is as competitive as they come. It's one of the reasons that we wanted her here ... it might also be seen as counterproductive for us to give in to every single trade request, right? So I think sometimes you get put in a no-win situation, and I think we're trying to be as fair as we can to a lot of different constituents."

In the past few weeks, the Sun have reshaped their roster by bringing in Tina Charles, Diamond DeShields, Natasha Cloud, Jacy Sheldon and Lindsay Allen via trades or free agency and signing 2024 draft pick Leïla Lacan to her rookie-scale contract.

The Sun looked to achieve a balance of veterans and rookies on their roster to "stay competitive while also building for the future," general manager Morgan Tuck told ESPN, "so we're not having as much turnover going into next season or in the seasons in the future."

The vast majority of WNBA free agents are signing one-year deals this offseason, as a new collective bargaining agreement with expected salary bumps is set to come into effect in 2026.

LAFC striker Olivier Giroud lost approximately $500,000 worth of jewelry when his Los Angeles home was burglarized earlier this month, a source told ESPN.

The LAFC forward and his family were not at the property when burglars broke in by smashing a window and stole jewelry and other items -- including 10 luxury watches -- belonging to the 2018 World Cup winner.

The source added that Giroud's wife, Jennifer, reported the incident to police on Feb. 5, after returning home and finding the items missing.

The 38-year-old former Chelsea and Arsenal star is in the final stages of preparation with LAFC for the upcoming MLS season, with his team kicking off against Minnesota United at home Saturday.

Giroud has not scored in 14 games for LAFC since his move from AC Milan to MLS.

He is the latest high-profile athlete to be the victim of such an incident after the likes of NFL stars Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Joe Burrow had their homes burglarized in recent months.

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating.

Elsewhere in Dubai, Gauff suffered a third successive defeat as she fell to world number 53 Kessler.

Third seed Gauff, 20, started the year on red-hot form, winning nine matches in a row.

However, since losing to Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, Gauff has lost in the second round at the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships after receiving a bye in the first round at both tournaments.

Kessler saved five of the six break points she faced against her fellow American before wrapping up a 6-4 7-5 victory in one hour and 29 minutes.

It is the first top 10 victory of her career, while the 25-year-old is also into the third round of a WTA 1,000 event for the first time.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka claimed a 6-3 6-4 victory over qualifier Veronika Kudermetova, while second seed Iga Swiatek stormed past two-time major winner Victoria Azarenka in a 6-0 6-2 win.

Jasmine Paolini continued her title defence with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Germany's Eva Lys, while Ons Jabeur fell to a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 defeat by American Peyton Stearns.

Sixth seed Elena Rybakina beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-3 6-2 to set up a last-16 meeting with world number 10 Badosa, who won 6-2 6-1 against Elise Mertens.

Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies snatched a last-gasp equaliser against Celtic for a 1-1 draw on Tuesday to advance to the Champions League Round of 16 with a 3-2 aggregate win.

They will next face either Bayer Leverkusen or Atlético Madrid depending on Friday's draw.

Davies scored in stoppage time after former Bayern reserve player Nicolas Kuhn had given the Scots a shock lead in the 63rd minute in their bid to overturn a first leg deficit and win a first game in Germany in 16 attempts.

Having lost the first leg 2-1 in Glasgow, Celtic came agonisingly close to forcing extra time with a bold performance that had the hosts on the backfoot for much of the game.

"If you watched the first leg, I don't think it was surprising," said Bayern midfielder Leon Goretzka. "Of course we could have made it easier for ourselves by not conceding a goal.

"We have played three games in six days now and it was all about getting results, which we did and we're happy about that."

With the Bavarians made to sweat from the start, Celtic's Kuehn saw a shot cleared on the line by Raphaël Guerreiro in the 16th minute before Daizen Maeda narrowly missed connecting with an Arne Engels cross in front of goal a little later.

Bayern, who drew 0-0 at reigning German champions Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, had to wait until the stroke of half-time for their own opportunity, striker Harry Kane hitting the woodwork with a shot.

The England captain, who made little other impact and was also nursing a knock to the head from the Leverkusen game, was taken off at the break. Bayern came close again seconds after the restart with Goretzka failing to beat keeper Kasper Schmeichel in a one-on-one.

It was Celtic, however, who broke the deadlock with a deserved goal when Kuhn slotted home following two defensive errors by the hosts to put Brendan Rodgers' team in the driving seat.

Bayern upped the tempo and came close with Goretzka and Leroy Sané before Schmeichel pulled off another superb save to deny Joshua Kimmich.

The keeper did everything right to stop Goretzka's effort in front of goal in stoppage time but could do nothing when Davies tackled the ball over the line on the rebound for the equaliser that sent the Germans through to the knockout stage.

"It was just such a cruel way to not even lose the game but to go out of the competition," said Rodgers. "A real heroic performance, just unfortunate at the end.

"I think our European credibility has been restored this season, I think we built that up from last year, that's my takeaway from this season."