KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — The New York Yankees reached into the remainder of the free-agent market to bolster their ailing rotation, agreeing Monday to a minor league contract with Gio Gonzalez.If added to the 40-man roster, the 33-year-old left-hander would get a $3 million salary while in the major leagues and the chance to $9 million in performance bonuses: $300,000 for each start through 30. He was a far cheaper alternative to higher-priced options such as Dallas Keuchel."Being a couple guys down, to have a guy like him still available, a luxury to be able to add him just for some depth," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "He's certainly good enough to be very much in the mix of things. But we'll see how far along he is and if we're at a point where he's in play actually for the next couple, few weeks."New York ace Luis Severino is sidelined by right shoulder inflammation and will not be available until May at the earliest. In addition, CC Sabathia is likely to miss the first week or two... [More]

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — The New York Yankees reached into the remainder of the free-agent market to bolster their ailing rotation, agreeing Monday to a minor league contract with Gio Gonzalez.If added to the 40-man roster, the 33-year-old left-hander would get a $3 million salary while in the major leagues and the chance to earn performance bonuses. He was a far cheaper alternative to higher-priced options such as Dallas Keuchel."Being a couple guys down, to have a guy like him still available, a luxury to be able to add him just for some depth," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "He's certainly good enough to be very much in the mix of things. But we'll see how far along he is and if we're at a point where he's in play actually for the next couple, few weeks."New York ace Luis Severino is sidelined by right shoulder inflammation and will not be available until May at the earliest. In addition, CC Sabathia is likely to miss the first week or two as he recovers from an offseason that included... [More]

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Gio Gonzalez and the New York Yankees agreed to a minor league contract Monday.If added to the 40-man roster, the 33-year-old lefty would get a $3 million salary while in the major leagues and the chance to earn performance bonuses.New York had been seeking more pitching following a shoulder injury to ace Luis Severino, who will not be available until May at the earliest. In addition, CC Sabathia is likely to miss the first week or two as he recovers from an offseason that included knee surgery and the insertion of a stent after a blockage was found in an artery from his heart.Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka heads a rotation that includes lefties James Paxton and J.A. Happ. Jonathan Loaisiga, Luis Cessa and Domingo German are competing for two open rotation spots.Gonzalez was 10-11 with a 4.21 ERA last year for Washington and Milwaukee, which acquired him on Aug. 31. He was 3-0 in five starts for the Brewers down the stretch, then started Games 1 and 4 of the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was pulled after two innings of the opener and one inning of his second appearance, allowing one run in each.Gonzalez is a two-time All-Star and was 21-12 in 2012, his first season with the Nationals. He just finished the second option season of a contract that wound up being worth $65.5 million over seven seasons.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Judge got a $62,000 raise from the New York Yankees up to $684,300 in the right fielder's last season before becoming eligible for salary arbitration.Catcher Gary Sanchez was given a $49,400 hike to $669,800 as the team reached agreements with its young players whose salaries are under club control. He also will be eligible for arbitration next winter.Second baseman Gleyber Torres agreed to $605,200, up from last year's $545,000 minimum, and third baseman Miguel Andujar struck a deal for $617,600, an increase from $545,800.Outfielder Clint Frazier, sidelined for most of last season following a concussion, gets $563,300, a slight rise from $559,200. First baseman Luke Voit agreed to $573,200, up from the $546,500 in the majors last year as part of the contract he agreed to with St. Louis, which traded him to New York.All players have split contracts with lower salaries should they be sent to the minor leagues: Judge would get $311,150, Sanchez $310,200, Torres $240,210,... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees ace Luis Severino expects to resume a throwing program in two weeks.Severino will miss his scheduled start on opening day on March 28 because of right shoulder inflammation. He was scratched from his first planned start of spring training on Tuesday after feeling discomfort after throwing his first slider in a pregame bullpen session."It's going to be tough for a little bit, but it's better it happened now than into the season or at the end of the season," Severino said Wednesday. "I think it's something that we can treat now and move forward into the season and I'll be able to pitch."Severino underwent an MRI on Tuesday."I wasn't scared because I knew it was nothing bad," Severino said. "Nothing about my shoulder. I think it was something about my muscles."The 25-year-old right-hander will receive a cortisone shot."You get optimistic from the MRI," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "Obviously it's a concerning situation until he's on the mound... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees ace Luis Severino expects to resume a throwing program in two weeks.Severino will miss his scheduled opening-day start on March 28 because of right-shoulder inflammation. He was scratched from his first planned spring-training start on Tuesday after feeling discomfort after throwing his first slider in a pregame bullpen session."It's going to be tough for a little bit, but it's better it happened now than into the season or at the end of the season," Severino said Wednesday. "I think it's something that we can treat now and move forward into the season and I'll be able to pitch."Severino underwent an MRI on Tuesday."I wasn't scared because I knew it was nothing bad," Severino said. "Nothing about my shoulder. I think it was something about my muscles."The 25-year-old right-hander will receive a cortisone shot."You get optimistic from the MRI," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "Obviously it's a concerning situation until he's on the mound for... [More]

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez is headed for Tommy John surgery and out for the season. New York Yankees ace Luis Severino is shut down, too — at least through opening day.Hours after Severino stopped warming up in the bullpen because of an inflamed right shoulder, the Royals announced more damaging news Tuesday: Perez will have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow, keeping the six-time All-Star off the field for the entire year.Perez hurt the elbow during a workout last week and said over the weekend that he was harboring a slim hope he might be able to play through it. Instead, he is expected to undergo surgery Wednesday."There was nothing that can prepare us for this. There was no information we had that led us this direction," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "Salvy was having no issues. He's asymptomatic. He has wear and tear, just like any 28-year-old catcher who's been squatting and catching since he was 12 years old. There was no warning sign... [More]

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez is headed for Tommy John surgery and out for the season. New York Yankees ace Luis Severino is shut down, too — at least through opening day.Hours after Severino stopped warming up in the bullpen because of an inflamed right shoulder, the Royals announced more damaging news Tuesday: Perez would have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow, keeping the six-time All-Star off the field for the entire year.Perez hurt the elbow during a workout last week and said over the weekend that he was harboring a slim hope that he might be able to play through it. Instead, he is expected to undergo surgery on Wednesday."There was nothing that can prepare us for this. There was no information we had that led us this direction," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "Salvy was having no issues. He's asymptomatic. He has wear and tear, just like any 28-year-old catcher who's been squatting and catching since he was 12 years old. There was no warning... [More]

New York Yankees ace Luis Severino will miss opening day because of an inflamed right shoulder that acted up while he was getting loose for his first spring training start.Severino felt something wrong when he threw his first slider in the bullpen and was immediately scratched. He won't throw for two weeks, manager Aaron Boone said after a 5-1 win over Atlanta."Obviously, anytime a starting pitcher and a guy like Sevie walks off while he's warming up to start a game, you always get worried and concerned about that," Boone said. "But it sounds like the shoulder is pretty clean, it's just the inflammation issue. So if that's the case, then hopefully two weeks is something that will do the trick, then he can start ramping back up with his throwing program, but we'll re-evaluate it also at the same time."Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ are also projected to be in the Yankees' rotation. Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo German are possible short-term replacements... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees ace Luis Severino will miss opening day because of an inflamed right shoulder that caused him to be scratched from his first scheduled spring training start on Tuesday.Severino won't throw for two weeks, manager Aaron Boone said after a 5-1 win over Atlanta."Obviously, anytime a starting pitcher and a guy like Sevie walks off while he's warming up to start a game, you always get worried and concerned about that," Boone said. "But it sounds like the shoulder is pretty clean, it's just the inflammation issue. So if that's the case, then hopefully two weeks is something that will do the trick, then he can start ramping back up with his throwing program, but we'll re-evaluate it also at the same time."Severino, a 25-year-old right-hander, was slated to face the Braves but was replaced by Stephan Tarpley after feeling discomfort after throwing his first slider during his pregame bullpen session."Obviously a bummer," teammate J.A. Happ said. "Glad to hear that... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees ace Luis Severino will miss opening day because of an inflamed right shoulder that caused him to be scratched from his first scheduled spring training start on Tuesday.Severino won't throw for two weeks, manager Aaron Boone said after a 5-1 win over Atlanta."Obviously, anytime a starting pitcher and a guy like Sevie walks off while he's warming up to start a game, you always get worried and concerned about that," Boone said. "But it sounds like the shoulder is pretty clean, it's just the inflammation issue. So if that's the case, then hopefully two weeks is something that will do the trick, then he can start ramping back up with his throwing program, but we'll re-evaluate it also at the same time."Severino, a 25-year-old right-hander, was slated to face the Braves but was replaced by Stephan Tarpley after feeling discomfort after throwing his first slider during his pregame bullpen session."Obviously a bummer," teammate J.A. Happ said. "Glad to hear that... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees ace Luis Severino will miss opening day because of an inflamed right shoulder that caused him to be scratched from his first scheduled spring training start.Severino won't throw for two weeks, manager Aaron Boone said after Tuesday's game against Atlanta.Severino was slated to face the Atlanta Braves but was replaced by Stephan Tarpley."When he was getting warmed up for the game, he just threw a pitch and felt something around the lat or back of the shoulder and just didn't feel right, so walked off," Boone said during the telecast on the Yankees' YES Network. "He's going to see the doctor and get an MRI this afternoon and kind of hope for the best."Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ are also projected to be in the Yankees' rotation, and Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo German are possible replacements.Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez are available as free agents.Severino avoided an arbitration hearing with the Yankees and... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — All rise — again. Aaron Judge is back.Judge hit his first two homers of spring training, helping the New York Yankees to a 7-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers in a split-squad game on Sunday.Brett Gardner also connected twice and Gary Sanchez had a solo drive as New York went deep six times. The Yankees set a major league record with 267 homers last season.Gardner and Judge hit consecutive homers off Daniel Norris in the first. Judge went deep again in the fifth, belting a two-run drive to right that went off the glove of a leaping Victor Reyes and just over the wall.Norris allowed three runs and four hits in 1 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old left-hander is trying to win a spot in Detroit's rotation."Just trying to throw strikes and stay out of the middle of the zone, which I didn't do very good today," Norris said.Masahiro Tanaka tossed three scoreless innings for the Yankees in his first spring start. Traditionally one of baseball's most deliberate workers, the right-hander... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees view Troy Tulowitzki as their starting shortstop until Didi Gregorius returns from Tommy John surgery this summer.Still, general manager Brian Cashman won't rule out trying to sign Manny Machado, one of the top free agents on the market.And, in his first question-and-answer session of the year, Cashman revealed he has dragged talks to trade Sonny Gray until the Yankees know CC Sabathia will be ready to pitch following surgery to implant a stent in an artery from his heart.Tulowitzki, a five-time All-Star absent from the major leagues since July 2017, finalized his one-year contract for the major league minimum $555,000 on Friday after passing a physical."It doesn't mean we're going to get vintage Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockie years when he was there," Cashman said, "but it's exciting to dream on what he might be capable of when his health is there on a consistent basis because he was quite the player for quite a long time."Tulowitzki missed last season... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees view Troy Tulowitzki as their starting shortstop until Didi Gregorius returns from Tommy John surgery this summer.Still, general manager Brian Cashman won't rule out trying to sign Manny Machado, one of the top free agents on the market.And, in his first question-and-answer session of the year, Cashman revealed he has dragged talks to trade Sonny Gray until the Yankees know CC Sabathia will be ready to pitch following surgery to implant a stent in an artery from his heart.Tulowitzki, a five-time All-Star absent from the major leagues since July 2017, finalized his one-year contract for the major league minimum $555,000 on Friday after passing a physical."It doesn't mean we're going to get vintage Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockie years when he was there," Cashman said, "but it's exciting to dream on what he might be capable of when his health is there on a consistent basis because he was quite the player for quite a long time."Tulowitzki missed last season... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees are in danger of going an entire decade without reaching a World Series for the first time since the 1910s.Aaron Boone's rookie season as a manager ended in failure when New York fizzled in the AL Division Series against Boston and was eliminated in four games."You're always chasing utopia," Boone said after the Yankees' final rally of the season fell short Tuesday night.A year after losing in the AL Championship Series was perceived as success, elimination by Boston left a feeling of failure for the title-worshipping Yankees.New York went 100-62 for its best record since its last World Series championship in 2009, yet finished eight games back of the Red Sox. The Yankees have gone six straight seasons without a first-place finish.They're set to retool around the young core of Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar and Luis Severino, plus in-prime regulars Giancarlo Stanton, Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks. The Yankees got the power but were... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Left-hander Justus Sheffield was put on the roster by the New York Yankees and could make his major league debut this week.The 22-year-old Sheffield was 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA in 15 starts and five relief appearances for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre this year after going 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA in five starts for Double-A Trenton. New York moved him to the bullpen in late August as preparation for a possible callup as a reliever."I know that early on it was kind of rocky just because getting the routine down was a little hard," Sheffield said of the bullpen move. "But I'm feeling comfortable."Sheffield was selected by Cleveland with the 31st overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft and was acquired by the Yankees in the July 2016 trade that sent left-hander Andrew Miller to the Indians."He's someone that potentially gives us a little bit of length," manager Aaron Boone said. "He's not built up like he was a starter for most of the season, but he's still a guy that we feel like could give us a couple of innings if we needed it."Outfielder Clint Frazier, also obtained by New York in that trade, was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to open a spot for Sheffield, whose contract was selected to the 40-man roster. Frazier has been bothered by a concussion since spring training.New York also recalled right-hander Domingo German from Scranton before Tuesday's series opener against Boston.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Left-hander Justus Sheffield was put on the major league roster by the New York Yankees and could make his major league debut this week.The 22-year-old Sheffield was 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA in 15 starts and five relief appearances for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre this year after going 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA in five starts for Double-A Trenton. New York moved him to the bullpen in late August as preparation for a possible callup as a reliever.Sheffield was selected by Cleveland with the 31st overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft and was acquired by the Yankees in the July 2016 trade that sent left-hander Andrew Miller to the Indians.Outfielder Clint Frazier, also obtained by New York in that trade, was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to open a spot for Sheffield, whose contract was selected to the 40-man roster. Frazier has been bothered by a concussion since spring training.New York also recalled right-hander Domingo German from Scranton before Tuesday's series opener against Boston.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said All-Star slugger Aaron Judge could return to New York's lineup this week during a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.Boone said Sunday that Judge is "getting real close" to returning from a broken right wrist. Judge has been cleared to play the outfield and run the bases, and he played two innings in right Friday night. He's still working his way back at the plate, though.Judge hit off a high-velocity pitching machine prior to a 3-2 loss to Toronto on Sunday. He's been taking batting practice on the field, and he might face rehabbing closer Aroldis Chapman in a simulated game Monday or Tuesday.Judge said he's experiencing no pain while swinging, but still has some discomfort on more standard movements."Swinging I'm fine," he said.Chapman is working back from left knee tendinitis. He threw a bullpen session Saturday, and Boone says the left-hander came out of it feeling well.Boston leads the AL East by 11½ games and has a magic number of two to clinch the division.Top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield will join the Yankees on Tuesday looking to make his major league debut. He and Domingo German will be called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, which finished its season Saturday.___Follow Jake Seiner: https://twitter.com/jake_seiner___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone says All-Star slugger Aaron Judge could return to New York's lineup this week during a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.Boone said Sunday that Judge is "getting real close" to returning from a broken right wrist. Judge has been cleared to play the outfield and run the bases, and he played two innings in right Friday night. He's still working his way back at the plate, though.Judge was scheduled to hit off a high-velocity pitching machine prior to a game Sunday against Toronto. He's been taking batting practice on the field, and he might face rehabbing closer Aroldis Chapman in a simulated game Monday or Tuesday.Chapman is working back from left knee tendinitis. He threw a bullpen session Saturday, and Boone says the left-hander came out of it feeling well.Boston leads the AL East by 10½ games and has a magic number of four to clinch the division entering Sunday.Top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield will join the Yankees on Tuesday looking to make his major league debut. He and Domingo German will be called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, which finished its season Saturday.___Follow Jake Seiner: https://twitter.com/jake_seiner___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports