DETROIT (AP) — It could be another long season for the Detroit Tigers, but fans in the Motor City may not have to look far for signs of hope.About 60 miles down Interstate 75.“We've got some pretty good ones going to Triple-A Toledo," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They ought to be pretty happy down there. They're going to see some pretty good pitchers.”Gardenhire and general manager Al Avila indicated Thursday that some of Detroit's top prospects will likely spend time at Toledo this season. The Tigers are hoping to improve after losing 114 games in 2019, but they're also leery of rushing young players too quickly.Avila was asked about right-handers Casey Mize and Matt Manning, two of the game's top 20 prospects according to Baseball America. Although Avila didn't say anything certain about the organization's plans, it does not sound like those two will be joining the Tigers right away in the big leagues.“I think it would be our preference for them to start in Toledo — have a great... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers agreed to terms Monday on a $1.5 million, one-year deal with Iván Nova, keeping the right-hander in the AL Central after he spent last season with the Chicago White Sox.Nova, who turned 33 on Sunday, went 11-12 with a 4.72 ERA last season, making a career-high 34 starts. He is 89-76 with a 4.32 ERA in 10 big league seasons with the White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.Detroit's deal with Nova includes $500,000 in performance bonuses: $250,000 each for 10 starts and 75 innings pitched. In recent years, the rebuilding Tigers have typically added pitchers on short-term deals, who can then become trade candidates if they pitch well. Nova fits that trend.Earlier this offseason, the Tigers signed catcher Austin Romine, who was a teammate of Nova's with the Yankees.The Tigers also designated left-hander Matt Hall for assignment.Nova went 16-4 with the Yankees in 2011, but he has not had an ERA under 4.00 since 2013.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers agreed to terms Monday on a $1.5 million, one-year deal with Iván Nova, keeping the right-hander in the AL Central after he spent last season with the Chicago White Sox.Nova, who turned 33 on Sunday, went 11-12 with a 4.72 ERA last season, making a career-high 34 starts. He is 89-76 with a 4.32 ERA in 10 big league seasons with the White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.Detroit's deal with Nova includes $500,000 in performance bonuses. In recent years, the rebuilding Tigers have typically added pitchers on short-term deals, who can then become trade candidates if they pitch well. Nova fits that trend.Earlier this offseason, the Tigers signed catcher Austin Romine, who was a teammate of Nova's with the Yankees.The Tigers also designated left-hander Matt Hall for assignment.Nova went 16-4 with the Yankees in 2011, but he has not had an ERA under 4.00 since 2013.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DETROIT (AP) — Austin Romine tried to put his tussle with Miguel Cabrera in the past.They're teammates now.Romine and the Tigers finalized a $4.15 million, one-year deal on Friday that gives the 31-year-old catcher a chance for a bigger role. It also puts him in the same clubhouse as Cabrera after the two were involved in a brawl in 2017. During a game between Detroit and the New York Yankees, Cabrera shoved Romine, and the two wrestled each other to the ground.“No hard feelings,” Romine said on a conference call. “You move on.”Romine made his big league debut with the Yankees in 2011, and that has been the only big league team he's played for. He batted a career-best .281 with eight home runs and a .748 OPS in 72 games last season.Romine was a backup to Gary Sánchez with the Yankees. He's never played more than 80 games in a season, and the Tigers are a good fit for a catcher looking for more at-bats. Catcher Grayson Greiner hit just .202 for Detroit this year. Jake Rogers, acquired by... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Austin Romine tried to put his tussle with Miguel Cabrera in the past.They're teammates now.Romine and the Tigers finalized a $4.15 million, one-year deal on Friday that gives the 31-year-old catcher a chance for a bigger role. It also puts him in the same clubhouse as Cabrera after the two were involved in a brawl in 2017. During a game between Detroit and the New York Yankees, Cabrera shoved Romine, and the two wrestled each other to the ground.“No hard feelings,” Romine said on a conference call. “You move on.”Romine made his big league debut with the Yankees in 2011, and that has been the only big league team he's played for. He batted a career-best .281 with eight home runs and a .748 OPS in 72 games last season.Romine was a backup to Gary Sánchez with the Yankees. He's never played more than 80 games in a season, and the Tigers are a good fit for a catcher looking for more at-bats. Catcher Grayson Greiner hit just .202 for Detroit this year. Jake Rogers, acquired by... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Austin Romine tried to put his tussle with Miguel Cabrera in the past.They're teammates now.Romine and the Tigers finalized a $4.15 million, one-year deal on Friday that gives the 31-year-old catcher a chance for a bigger role. It also puts him in the same clubhouse as Cabrera after the two were involved in a brawl in 2017. During a game between Detroit and the New York Yankees, Cabrera shoved Romine, and the two wrestled each other to the ground.“No hard feelings,” Romine said on a conference call. “You move on.”Romine made his big league debut with the Yankees in 2011, and that has been the only big league team he's played for. He batted a career-best .281 with eight home runs and a .748 OPS in 72 games last season.Romine was a backup to Gary Sánchez with the Yankees. He's never played more than 80 games in a season, and the Tigers are a good fit for a catcher looking for more at-bats. Catcher Grayson Greiner hit just .202 for Detroit this year. Jake Rogers, acquired by... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Outfielder Brett Gardner is staying with the New York Yankees after the best offensive season of his career, agreeing to a one-year contract that guarantees $12.5 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday became the agreement had not be announced.Gardner gets a $2 million signing bonus and an $8 million salary for next season. The Yankees have a $10 million option for 2021 with a $2.5 million buyout.He earned $7.5 million last season plus a $2 million buyout after New York declined his $12.5 million option for 2019 under his previous contract. Gardner he hit .251 and set career highs with 28 homers and 74 RBIs, a rare left-handed bat in a Yankees lineup dominated by right-handed hitters.“The constant that he is means a lot to the organization as well as the production on the field," assistant general manager Mike Fishman said.Originally slated to be a fourth outfielder, Gardner saw increased... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers and catcher Austin Romine agreed to a $4.15 million, one-year contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced and was pending a successful physical. The 31-year-old Romine has backed up Gary Sánchez for the New York Yankees the past four seasons. Praised mostly for his defense and management of the pitching staff, Romine has steadily improved as a hitter. He batted .281 with eight home runs and a .748 OPS in 72 games last season.Romine made $1.8 million last season. He will likely become Detroit's starter, with Grayson Greiner the primary backup.Romine is the younger brother of Andrew Romine, who was a utility player for Detroit from 2014-17.In 2017, Austin Romine and Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera were at the center of a nasty brawl between the Tigers and Yankees. Cabrera shoved Romine, and the two wrestled each other to the ground.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A mostly dreary winter meetings lacking spectacular swaps will be remembered as the Scott Boras show.Baseball's most prominent agent dominated each of the three full days of meetings with a nine-figure contract, deals for Stephen Strasburg, Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon that totaled $814 million.Just two trades were announced: The San Francisco Giants acquired shortstop Zack Cozart and infield prospect Will Wilson from the Los Angeles Angels for a player to be named or cash, and the Chicago White Sox obtained outfielder Nomar Mazara from the Texas Rangers for outfield prospect Steele Walker."I think it's hard to say that there hasn't been a trend," new Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said. "It's important not to get too focused on artificial timetables. You want to be prepared to do something when you think it's going to help you, but you don't want to force anything."The podium and dais remained in nearly pristine condition, hosting just one player announcement:... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers and catcher Austin Romine agreed to a $4.15 million, one-year contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced and was pending a successful physical. The 31-year-old Romine has backed up Gary Sánchez for the New York Yankees the past four seasons. Praised mostly for his defense and management of the pitching staff, Romine has steadily improved as a hitter. He batted .281 with eight home runs and a .748 OPS in 72 games last season.Romine made $1.8 million last season. He will likely become Detroit's starter, with Grayson Greiner the primary backup.Romine is the younger brother of Andrew Romine, who was a utility player for Detroit from 2014-17.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Of course, the Yankees are the Bronx Bombers. Turns out this group is filled with fancy fielders, too."I don't think they want the attention," catcher Austin Romine said Thursday ahead of the AL Championship Series against Houston. "You got a bunch of guys that go out there and play good defense, and it's just now getting noticed."First baseman DJ LeMahieu, shortstop Didi Gregorius, second baseman Gleyber Torres and right fielder Aaron Judge may not necessarily be Baryshnikovs of the ballfield, but they can cha-cha and jitterbug quite nicely around the diamond. A series of outstanding defensive plays led to key outs in Monday's win that completed a Division Series sweep of Minnesota."Gleyber has made huge strides this year defensively," manager Aaron Boone said. "Overall defensively, I feel like we're a better club."New York was in the middle of the major leagues, with a 1.7 defensive runs above average according to Fangraphs, quite a turnaround from the -15.7 of the sclerotic... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Of course, the Yankees are the Bronx Bombers. Turns out this group is filled with fancy fielders, too."I don't think they want the attention," catcher Austin Romine said Thursday. "You got a bunch of guys that go out there and play good defense, and it's just now getting noticed."First baseman DJ LeMahieu, shortstop Didi Gregorius, second baseman Gleyber Torres and right fielder Aaron Judge may not necessarily be Baryshnikovs of the ballfield, but they can cha-cha and jitterbug quite nicely around the diamond. A series of outstanding defensive plays led to key outs in Monday's win that completed a Division Series sweep of Minnesota."Gleyber has made huge strides this year defensively," manager Aaron Boone said. "Overall defensively, I feel like we're a better club."New York was in the middle of the major leagues, with a 1.7 defensive runs above average according to Fangraphs, quite a turnaround from the -15.7 of the sclerotic Yankees of 2015 and the -1.9 a year ago.Oakland... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge showed up at his news conference wearing a T-shirt with a Major League Baseball logo.Just not the logo that’s been familiar for the past half-century.On closer inspection, the silhouetted batter in white between fields of blue and red was not in a hitting position as designed by Jerry Dior of Sandgren & Murtha in the 1960s, but rather was holding the lumber vertically _ and smashing it into the top of the logo , creating a red spark.Yup, just like New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner did during dugout tantrums , hammering the ceiling and leading to ejections in July and August.“I don’t know who makes the shirts up, but they send them for the guys,” Gardner said Thursday. “It’s funny. Guys have fun with it.”Catchers Gary Sánchez and Austin Romine, and designated hitter Edwin Encarnación also wore the shirts for workout, a day ahead of the AL Division Series opener against the Minnesota Twins.New York’s most famous T-shirt this year was "Savages in the Box," manager Aaron Boone's infamous comment on his batters during his July 18 ejection by rookie umpire Brennan Miller. While those garments were on sale at Yankee Stadium for $29.99, there was no immediate word on whether a Gardy Goes Batty merchandise line was in the offing.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Yankees first. DJ LeMahieu grounds out to shortstop, Elvis Andrus to Danny Santana. Giancarlo Stanton homers to center field. Gleyber Torres singles to left field. Luke Voit called out on strikes. Gary Sanchez strikes out swinging.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Yankees 1, Rangers 0.Rangers first. Shin-Soo Choo flies out to deep center field to Brett Gardner. Elvis Andrus singles to center field. Willie Calhoun reaches on a fielder's choice to second base. Elvis Andrus out at second. Danny Santana homers to center field. Willie Calhoun scores. Nick Solak doubles to deep center field. Rougned Odor strikes out on a foul tip.2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rangers 2, Yankees 1.Yankees second. Brett Gardner called out on strikes. Gio Urshela called out on strikes. Cameron Maybin homers to center field. Mike Ford called out on strikes.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 2, Rangers 2.Yankees fourth. Brett Gardner homers to center field. Gio Urshela singles to right center field.... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — CC Sabathia impressed his manager and teammates in his first regular-season relief appearance.The 39-year-old left-hander, who is retiring at the end of the season, worked a perfect fourth inning in the New York Yankees' 2-1, 12-inning loss Tuesday night to the Tampa Bay Rays.Sabathia had made 560 regular season starts but is being moved to the bullpen along with J.A. Happ ahead of the postseason."I thought he threw a lot of good cutters to their righties," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Good that he was able to walk in from the bullpen, which is unique for him. And then talking to him, once he was out there, he was normal."Sabathia will come out of the bullpen again in a game this weekend at Texas for the AL East champions."So good first step," Boone said. "Hopefully he bounces back well from it tomorrow and then we'll try it again in Arlington."Sabathia struck out Travis d'Arnaud, induced a groundout from Choi and retired Matt Duffy on a called third strike."I... [More]

Yankees third. Cameron Maybin homers to center field. Austin Romine grounds out to third base, Matt Duffy to Ji-Man Choi. Tyler Wade grounds out to first base to Ji-Man Choi. DJ LeMahieu grounds out to shortstop, Willy Adames to Ji-Man Choi.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 1, Rays 0.Rays fifth. Daniel Robertson pinch-hitting for Joey Wendle. Daniel Robertson grounds out to third base, Gio Urshela to DJ LeMahieu. Willy Adames strikes out swinging. Kevin Kiermaier homers to right field. Tommy Pham singles to center field.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 1, Rays 1.Rays twelfth. Ji-Man Choi homers to right field.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Rays 2, Yankees 1.

Yankees first. DJ LeMahieu strikes out swinging. Aaron Judge homers to center field. Giancarlo Stanton walks. Luke Voit walks. Giancarlo Stanton to second. Brett Gardner homers to right field. Luke Voit scores. Giancarlo Stanton scores. Gio Urshela grounds out to third base, Brandon Drury to Rowdy Tellez. Cameron Maybin grounds out to third base, Brandon Drury to Rowdy Tellez.4 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 4, Blue jays 0.Yankees second. Austin Romine singles to shortstop. Tyler Wade pops out to Rowdy Tellez. DJ LeMahieu homers to center field. Austin Romine scores. Aaron Judge strikes out swinging. Giancarlo Stanton grounds out to shortstop, Richard Urena to Rowdy Tellez.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 6, Blue jays 0.Yankees fifth. DJ LeMahieu singles to center field. Aaron Judge singles to shortstop. DJ LeMahieu to second. Giancarlo Stanton out on a sacrifice fly to deep left center field to Derek Fisher. Aaron Judge to third. DJ LeMahieu scores. Luke Voit singles... [More]

Blue jays fourth. Cavan Biggio doubles to deep right center field. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. strikes out swinging. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singles to shallow center field. Cavan Biggio scores. Randal Grichuk pops out to Austin Romine. Teoscar Hernandez flies out to right field to Clint Frazier.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Blue jays 1, Yankees 0.Yankees fourth. Aaron Judge homers to center field. Didi Gregorius strikes out swinging. Gleyber Torres lines out to left field to Anthony Alford. Luke Voit strikes out swinging.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Blue jays 1, Yankees 1.Blue jays fifth. Justin Smoak lines out to center field to Brett Gardner. Danny Jansen homers to center field. Richard Urena grounds out to shortstop, Didi Gregorius to Luke Voit. Anthony Alford strikes out swinging.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Blue jays 2, Yankees 1.Yankees fifth. Brett Gardner singles to shallow infield. Clint Frazier pops out to shallow infield to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. Austin Romine strikes... [More]

Yankees second. Cameron Maybin walks. Brett Gardner reaches on a fielder's choice to first base. Cameron Maybin out at second. Clint Frazier flies out to right field to Kole Calhoun. Austin Romine singles to shallow infield. Brett Gardner to second. DJ LeMahieu homers to center field. Austin Romine scores. Brett Gardner scores. Giancarlo Stanton strikes out swinging.3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 3, Angels 0.Angels fourth. Kole Calhoun homers to center field. Albert Pujols lines out to shortstop to Didi Gregorius. Jared Walsh grounds out to first base, Luke Voit to Masahiro Tanaka. Andrelton Simmons grounds out to shortstop, Didi Gregorius to Luke Voit.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 3, Angels 1.Yankees fourth. Cameron Maybin called out on strikes. Brett Gardner homers to center field. Clint Frazier flies out to deep right field to Kole Calhoun. Austin Romine pops out to second base to David Fletcher.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 4, Angels 1.Yankees... [More]

Yankees second. Gleyber Torres singles to left field. Luke Voit walks. Gleyber Torres to second. Brett Gardner strikes out swinging. Gio Urshela singles to left field. Luke Voit to second. Gleyber Torres scores. Cameron Maybin doubles to deep left field. Gio Urshela to third. Luke Voit scores. Austin Romine strikes out swinging. DJ LeMahieu walks. Aaron Judge lines out to center field to Brian Goodwin.2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 3 left on. Yankees 2, Angels 0.Yankees fourth. Brett Gardner lines out to first base to Jared Walsh. Gio Urshela singles to left center field. Cameron Maybin singles to shallow infield. Gio Urshela to second. Austin Romine flies out to right field to Kole Calhoun. Gio Urshela to third. DJ LeMahieu singles to left field. Cameron Maybin to second. Gio Urshela scores. Aaron Judge walks. DJ LeMahieu to second. Cameron Maybin to third. Didi Gregorius doubles to deep right field. Aaron Judge to third. DJ LeMahieu scores. Cameron Maybin scores. Gleyber Torres homers to center field. Didi Gregorius scores. Aaron Judge scores. Luke Voit walks. Brett Gardner singles to center field. Luke Voit to second. Gio Urshela flies out to deep right field to Kole Calhoun.6 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Yankees 8, Angels 0.