Jharel Cotton had planned to build off a promising rookie campaign for the Oakland Athletics.He'll have to wait another year.The 26-year-old righty will undergo elbow surgery and not pitch in 2018, a setback for a young club trying to improve on a last-place finish."It's tough. I'm missing the 2018 season with my boys, so it's kind of hard to take. I'm trying to take it as best as I can and just get ready for the long process, the long road that's ahead," Cotton said Saturday.Cotton had been diagnosed with a sprain and had a second scan Friday, then was told he would need Tommy John surgery.Cotton was 9-10 with a 5.58 ERA average in 24 starts. This spring, he had a 3.75 ERA in four exhibitions, striking out 16 in 12 innings."Unfortunate. Just of him having to go through what a lot of guys have to go through," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "But we felt like he was on the cusp of really coming into his own and it's going to be delayed a year, unfortunately."The A's figure to go into the 2018... [More]

Jharel Cotton had planned to build off a promising rookie campaign for the Oakland Athletics.He'll have to wait another year.The 26-year-old righty will undergo elbow surgery and not pitch in 2018, a setback for a young club trying to improve on a last-place finish."It's tough. I'm missing the 2018 season with my boys, so it's kind of hard to take. I'm trying to take it as best as I can and just get ready for the long process, the long road that's ahead," Cotton said Saturday.Cotton had been diagnosed with a sprain and had a second scan Friday, then was told he would need Tommy John surgery.Cotton was 9-10 with a 5.58 ERA average in 24 starts. This spring, he had a 3.75 ERA in four exhibitions, striking out 16 in 12 innings."Unfortunate. Just of him having to go through what a lot of guys have to go through," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "But we felt like he was on the cusp of really coming into his own and it's going to be delayed a year, unfortunately."The A's figure to go into the 2018... [More]

Jharel Cotton had planned to build off a promising rookie campaign for the Oakland Athletics.He'll have to wait another year.The 26-year-old righty will undergo elbow surgery and not pitch in 2018, a setback for a young club trying to improve on a last-place finish."It's tough. I'm missing the 2018 season with my boys, so it's kind of hard to take. I'm trying to take it as best as I can and just get ready for the long process, the long road that's ahead," Cotton said Saturday.Cotton had been diagnosed with a sprain and had a second scan Friday, then was told he would need Tommy John surgery.Cotton was 9-10 with a 5.58 ERA average in 24 starts. This spring, he had a 3.75 ERA in four exhibitions, striking out 16 in 12 innings."Unfortunate. Just of him having to go through what a lot of guys have to go through," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "But we felt like he was on the cusp of really coming into his own and it's going to be delayed a year, unfortunately."The A's figure to go into the 2018... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was rocked for seven runs and seven hits over 1 1/3 innings in his second major league spring training start for the Los Angeles Angels, allowing long home runs to Colorado's Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado that went over the left-field berm on Friday in an 18-6 loss.The 23-year-old Japanese two-way star made his first big league exhibition appearance since Feb. 24, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings against Milwaukee and gave up Keon Broxton's home run leading off the second.Desmond hit a solo homer and Arenado had a three-run shot. Charlie Blackmon had a two-run single, and DJ LeMahieu a run-scoring infield single.Desmond also hit a solo homer off Tyler Warmoth. Kole Calhoun homered for the Angels and Justin Upton went deep for the third time.ELSEHWERE AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESROYALS 12, PADRES 4Mike Moustakas hit a two-run single in his first spring training appearance for Kansas City after rejoining the Royals. Salvador Perez homered twice,... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was rocked for seven runs and seven hits over 1 1/3 innings in his second major league spring training start for the Los Angeles Angels, allowing long home runs to Colorado's Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado that went over the left-field berm on Friday in an 18-6 loss.The 23-year-old Japanese two-way star made his first big league exhibition appearance since Feb. 24, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings against Milwaukee and gave up Keon Broxton's home run leading off the second.Desmond hit a solo homer and Arrenado had a three-run shot. Charlie Blackmon had a two-run single, and DJ LeMahieu a run-scoring infield single.Desmond also hit a solo homer off Tyler Warmoth. Kole Calhoun homered for the Angels and Justin Upton went deep for the third time.ELSEHWERE AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESROYALS 12, PADRES 4Mike Moustakas hit a two-run single in his first spring training appearance for Kansas City after rejoining the Royals. Salvador Perez homered twice,... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — David Price made his delayed spring-training debut for Boston, allowing one hit over four scoreless innings in a 7-5 win over Toronto on Thursday.Price struck out five and walked one. An elbow injury limited to a career-low 11 starts last season."Felt good," Price said. "I had really good fastball command early. I made good pitches when I needed to. I stayed away from the big part of the plate with the exception of a couple of fastballs. I thought it was a good day."Price was 6-3 with a 3.38 ERA last year. The 32-year-old left-hander is entering the third season of a $217 million, seven-year contract."This is March 15 and I've never had a four-pitch mix this early in spring training," he said. "I've never been this far along even though I've only thrown in one game. I'm excited about it."Andrew Benintendi drove in two runs with a pair of doubles for the Red Sox, while Christian Vazquez hit his first home run — a two-run drive. Teoscar Hernandez had two hits and two... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — David Price made his delayed spring-training debut for Boston, allowing one hit over four scoreless innings in a 7-5 win over Toronto on Thursday.Price struck out five and walked one. An elbow injury limited to a career-low 11 starts last season."Felt good," Price said. "I had really good fastball command early. I made good pitches when I needed to. I stayed away from the big part of the plate with the exception of a couple of fastballs. I thought it was a good day.Price was 6-3 with a 3.38 ERA last year. The 32-year-old left-hander is entering the third season of a $217 million, seven-year contract."This is March 15 and I've never had a four-pitch mix this early in spring training," he said. "I've never been this far along even though I've only thrown in one game. I'm excited about it."Andrew Benintendi drove in two runs with a pair of doubles for the Red Sox, while Christian Vazquez hit his first home run — a two-run drive. Teoscar Hernandez had two hits and two... [More]

Mike Moustakas is staying with the Kansas City Royals in a surprising turn dictated by a historically slow free-agent market.Kansas City agreed Thursday to a one-year contract that guarantees the third baseman $6.5 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The deal could be worth up to $22.7 million over two seasons, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.Moustakas gets a $5.5 million salary this year and has the chance to earn $2.2 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. The agreement, reached exactly three weeks before opening day, includes a $15 million mutual option for 2019 with a $1 million buyout.The 29-year-old infielder turned down a $17.4 million, one-year qualifying offer from the Royals in November. But he found the interest of many other teams dimmed because a deal would have required compensation such as a loss of draft picks and/or international signing... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Lucas Duda's arm was challenged by Eric Hosmer, who made a delayed dash home on the high throw to score the tying run in the ninth inning of what turned out to be the finale of the Kansas City Royals' five-game win over the New York Mets in the 2015 World Series.Now Duda is replacing Hosmer."It's funny how baseball works out," Duda said Wednesday after agreeing to a $3.5 million, one-year contract with the Royals that allows him to earn $1.3 million more in performance bonuses. "You definitely learn from failure. It makes you strong as a person, as a player. For the Kansas City fans out there that don't think maybe I'm the right fit or whatever it may be, I'm out to prove them wrong."Royals manager Ned Yost said he will not mention the play to Duda."It's not an elephant in the room," Yost said. "It's a one-time play. If we make the play again, he might have thrown Hos out by 10 feet. You don't know. It's just something that happened."Hosmer became a free agent and... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Lucas Duda's arm was challenged by Eric Hosmer, who made a delayed dash home on the high throw to score the tying run in the ninth inning of what turned out to be the finale of the Kansas City Royals' five-game win over the New York Mets in the 2015 World Series.Now Duda is replacing Hosmer."It's funny how baseball works out," Duda said Wednesday after agreeing to a $3.5 million, one-year contract with the Royals that allows him to earn $1.3 million more in performance bonuses. "You definitely learn from failure. It makes you strong as a person, as a player. For the Kansas City fans out there that don't think maybe I'm the right fit or whatever it may be, I'm out to prove them wrong."Royals manager Ned Yost said he will not mention the play to Duda."It's not an elephant in the room," Yost said. "It's a one-time play. If we make the play again, he might have thrown Hos out by 10 feet. You don't know. It's just something that happened."Hosmer became a free agent and... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Lucas Duda's arm was challenged by Eric Hosmer, who made a delayed dash home on the high throw to score the tying run in the ninth inning of what turned out to be the finale of the Kansas City Royals' five-game win over the New York Mets in the 2015 World Series.Now Duda is replacing Hosmer."It's funny how baseball works out," Duda said Wednesday after agreeing to a one-year contract with the Royals. "You definitely learn from failure. It makes you strong as a person, as a player. For the Kansas City fans out there that don't think maybe I'm the right fit or whatever it may be, I'm out to prove them wrong."Royals manager Ned Yost said he will not mention the play to Duda."It's not an elephant in the room," Yost said. "It's a one-time play. If we make the play again, he might have thrown Hos out by 10 feet. You don't know. It's just something that happened."Hosmer became a free agent and agreed to a $144 million, eight-year contract with San Diego. Before adding Duda,... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Lucas Duda and the Royals have agreed to a one-year contract, giving Kansas City a replacement for Eric Hosmer at first base.The 32-year-old Duda hit .217 with 30 homers and 64 RBIs last year for the New York Mets and Tampa Bay, which acquired him on July 27.Drafted by the Mets in 2007, he has a .242 with 138 homers and 405 RBIs in eight major league seasons.Duda was 5 for 19 (.263) with two RBIs against the Royals in the 2015 World Series.Hosmer left as a free agent and signed with San Diego.To clear a roster spot, the Royals designated outfielder Billy Burns for assignment.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

A team-by-team look at the American League East entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Boston Red SoxManager: Alex Cora (first season).2017: 93-69, first place, lost to Houston in ALDS.Training Town: Fort Myers, Florida.Park: JetBlue Park.First Workout: Feb. 14/19.He's Here: Manager Alex Cora.He's Outta Here: Manager John Farrell, RHP Doug Fister, INF Eduardo Nunez, OF Chris Young, RHP Addison Reed, OF Rajai Davis, LHP Henry Owens, LHP Fernando Abad, RHP Blaine Boyer.Going campin': The Red Sox won 93 games for the second straight season and claimed the franchise's first back-to-back AL East titles. But Farrell was fired after they failed to advance in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. They are virtually the same team as last year; boss Dave Dombrowski said he was looking for a bat with power and still might add one of the free agents remaining on the market, including... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays will have a new look in 2018.A lingering question entering spring training is to what extent.Evan Longoria is gone. So are Alex Cobb, Logan Morrison and Lucas Duda.Jake Odorizzi, and maybe even two-time All-Star Chris Archer or closer Alex Colome, could be on the way out, too, with the budget-minded team committed to trimming payroll while also trying to remain competitive in the tough AL East.Closing the gap on defending division champion Boston and the big-spending New York Yankees, who've added Giancarlo Stanton after coming within one victory of reaching the World Series, won't be easy.The Rays finished 80-82 in 2017, their fourth consecutive losing record on the heels of a stretch in which they made the playoffs four times in six seasons."It's a challenge. You can't sugarcoat it," manager Kevin Cash, entering his fourth season, said of the Yankees adding Stanton, baseball's home run leader, to an already potent batting order."I've already... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Todd Frazier stood a few feet away, wearing the No. 21 Mets jersey of Cleon Jones, Carlos Delgado and Lucas Duda. New York general manager Sandy Alderson smiled.In a depressed free-agent market, Alderson added the third baseman to New York's offseason haul with a $17 million, two-year contract. For a commitment of just $72 million, the Mets brought in Frazier, outfielder Jay Bruce and reliever Anthony Swarzak while retaining shortstop Jose Reyes."Profligate," Alderson said wryly."I think we've tried to be opportunistic," he went on during a news conference at Citi Field. "Some opportunities arose for us that probably would not have been expected right after the end of the World Series."New York hunted the free-agent market for bargains like savvy shoppers at a season closeout. The ever-chatty Frazier, from Toms River, New Jersey, preferred to stay in the area after an enjoyable stay with the New York Yankees last summer.Peripatetic at calm times, Frazier's was even more... [More]

1B Lucas Duda matched his single-season career high for home runs with his 30th in Saturday's 9-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Duda's third-inning home run to right field off Orioles starter Jeremy Hellickson also set the Rays' franchise record with 217 as a team this season. Duda last hit 30 home runs in a season as a member of the New York Mets in 2014. He needed 153 games to hit that many for the Mets. This season, he has accomplished the feat in 122 games.

1B/DH Lucas Duda continued his all-or-nothing stint with the Rays on Tuesday, when he went 1-for-4 with a first-inning double in a 2-1 win over the Yankees at Citi Field. Each of Duda's last 13 hits -- three homers and 10 doubles -- have gone for extra bases dating back to Aug. 15, a stretch in which he is hitting just .171 with 21 strikeouts in 76 at-bats. Duda's streak is the longest in Rays history and the longest in the major leagues since former OF Jim Edmonds had 13 straight hits for extra-bases with the San Diego Padres in 2008. Overall this season, Duda is batting .230 with 29 homers, 60 RBIs and 56 extra-base hits in 114 games between the Rays and New York Mets, who dealt him to Tampa Bay on July 26.

1B Lucas Duda was 1-for-3 with his 28th home run of the season on Wednesday against the Twins, a three-run shot to center field in the third inning. Duda has three home runs in the past four games.

1B/DH Lucas Duda was 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double and two RBIs. Duda hit his 27th home run of the season off former teammate Bartolo Colon in the fourth inning. Duda has seven home runs and two doubles over the past 18 games.

1B Lucas Duda belted his seventh homer with Tampa Bay in the first, a two-run shot off Mike Leake, who he's owned in his career. Duda is now 8-for-12 with three homers against Leake, who he faced a few times as a member of the New York Mets. Duda is batting only .202 with the Rays, but is making his hits count. Of his last six hits, five have left the ballpark.