ESPN and Major League Baseball have quietly reopened negotiations on a new media-rights agreement, according to multiple people briefed on the talks. The discussions mark the first formal contact between the sides since their acrimonious split in February, when ESPN opted out of the final three years of its 35-year partnership with the league. The network’s exit voided a contract that paid MLB about $550 million annually for marquee properties including “Sunday Night Baseball,” the Home Run Derby and up to a dozen early-round playoff games. MLB responded by terminating the deal as well, with Commissioner Rob Manfred calling ESPN a “shrinking platform.” The revived talks remain in the early stages and are expected to concentrate on combining portions of ESPN’s former national package with newly available local rights. Manfred has told club owners he aims to have a framework in place by the All-Star Game in mid-July, while ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro has signaled interest in folding baseball content into the company’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer service. ESPN’s leverage has been buoyed by strong viewership: this season’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup delivered the highest “Sunday Night Baseball” audience in seven years. Even so, MLB continues parallel conversations with Apple TV+, NBC and Fox, raising the prospect that the remaining rights could be split among several outlets if the league and ESPN cannot close a deal.