A team-by-team look at the National 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:___Atlanta BravesManager: Brian Snitker (fourth season).2018: 90-72, first place, lost to Dodgers in Division Series.Training Town: Kissimmee, Florida.Park: Champion Stadium.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, C Brian McCann, C Raffy Lopez, pitching coach Rick Kranitz.He's Outta Here: C Kurt Suzuki, RHP Anibal Sanchez, RHP Brandon McCarthy, RHP Brad Brach, 3B Ryan Flaherty, RHP Peter Moylan, 1B Lucas Duda, C Rene Rivera, OF Lane Adams, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.Going campin': The 2018 Baby Braves were a surprise breakthrough team, winning the club's first NL East championship since 2013. A repeat title in a tougher NL East might be a bigger challenge. A key to the start of spring will be the health of Donaldson, who signed a one-year, $23 million deal after a left... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National 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:___Atlanta BravesManager: Brian Snitker (fourth season).2018: 90-72, first place, lost to Dodgers in Division Series.Training Town: Kissimmee, Florida.Park: Champion Stadium.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, C Brian McCann, C Raffy Lopez, pitching coach Rick Kranitz.He's Outta Here: C Kurt Suzuki, RHP Anibal Sanchez, RHP Brandon McCarthy, RHP Brad Brach, 3B Ryan Flaherty, RHP Peter Moylan, 1B Lucas Duda, C Rene Rivera, OF Lane Adams, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.Going campin': The 2018 Baby Braves were a surprise breakthrough team, winning the club's first NL East championship since 2013. A repeat title in a tougher NL East might be a bigger challenge. A key to the start of spring will be the health of Donaldson, who signed a one-year, $23 million deal after a left... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Michael Conforto received a late-night phone call from New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway, who asked whether he wanted to fill an open spot as Friday's designated hitter."Absolutely," Conforto recalled responding. "I wasn't going to say no."In his first big league game action since surgery Sept. 6 to repair a tear in the posterior capsule in his left shoulder, Conforto went 1 for 4 in a 5-1 loss to St. Louis."It's a good way for me to kind of dip my toe into it and just focus on hitting. Maybe tomorrow we'll see what happens," the 25-year-old outfielder said.Callaway said Conforto will play in the outfield on Saturday. The Mets have publicly projected May 1 as a target date for his return, but Callaway says Conforto is ahead of schedule."That's really Michael. That's probably on him more than anything, and he's feeling more and more comfortable," Callaway said.Conforto had not played in a game since Aug. 24, when he swung through a 95 mph fastball from Arizona's... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Michael Conforto received a late-night phone call from New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway, who asked whether he wanted to fill an open spot as Friday's designated hitter."Absolutely," Conforto recalled responding. "I wasn't going to say no."In his first big league game action since surgery Sept. 6 to repair a tear in the posterior capsule in his left shoulder, Conforto went 1 for 4 in a 5-1 loss to St. Louis."It's a good way for me to kind of dip my toe into it and just focus on hitting. Maybe tomorrow we'll see what happens," the 25-year-old outfielder said.Callaway said Conforto will play in the outfield on Saturday. The Mets have publicly projected May 1 as a target date for his return, but Callaway says Conforto is ahead of schedule."That's really Michael. That's probably on him more than anything, and he's feeling more and more comfortable," Callaway said.Conforto had not played in a game since Aug. 24, when he swung through a 95 mph fastball from Arizona's... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets right-hander Rafael Montero probably will miss the season after tearing a ligament in his pitching elbow.New York said Thursday that the 27-year-old has a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament and will likely need Tommy John surgery.Montero was 5-11 with a 5.52 ERA in 18 starts and 16 relief appearances last year. He gave up 13 runs — nine earned — and 12 hits in nine innings during spring training.He has a salary of $558,025 in the majors and will be eligible for salary arbitration next winter.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — With at least five necessary hurdles ahead of him, Jacob deGrom is running out of time to be the New York Mets' starting pitcher on opening day.The right-hander tossed a 40-pitch bullpen alongside Rafael Montero, A.J. Griffin and Zack Wheeler on Sunday before the Mets' home game against Washington. He did not, as way anticipated, face any hitters.DeGrom said two days ago he would be facing batters on Sunday, but somewhere along the line that plan changed. Instead, rehabbing Michael Conforto stepped into the batter's box and tracked pitches without swinging in the bullpen outside the stadium."I honestly did not know what I was doing today. I thought I would probably face batters, but the plan was, I guess, to throw a bullpen. I think the plan is not to anything dumb and make sure everything's right," deGrom said."I'm looking to feel good, and that's been the case so far," said deGrom, who flashed an impressive fastball and didn't hold anything back as he faced... [More]

RHP Rafael Montero will make what is expected to be his final start of the season on Tuesday night, when he takes the mound for the Mets in the third game of a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Montero lost his second straight start last Wednesday, when he gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out two over four innings as the Mets fell to the Miami Marlins 9-2. It was the fourth consecutive start in which Montero lasted fewer than six innings, a stretch in which he is 2-2 with a 6.16 ERA. Montero also has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 16-to-14 in that span after producing a 72-to-30 ratio in 15 games (11 starts) from June 15 through Aug. 30. He is 0-3 with a 7.27 ERA in five career appearances (one start) against the Braves.

RHP Rafael Montero (5-11) lasted just four innings on Wednesday against the Marlins. He allowed seven hits, two walks and five runs, driving his ERA to 5.30.

RHP Rafael Montero (5-9, 5.05 ERA) makes the start in Friday's weekend series opener against the Braves. He's 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA over his last six starts while striking out 32 and walking 21 in that span. He's 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in four relief appearances against Atlanta.

RHP Rafael Montero will look to win his third straight start Saturday night, when he takes the mound for the Mets in the third game of a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field. Montero won a second consecutive start for the first time as a big leaguer last Monday, when he allowed four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out three over 5 1/3 innings as the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-7. The winning streak began against the Reds on Aug. 30, when Montero had the best game of his career by tossing 8 1/3 scoreless innings in the Mets' 2-0 victory at Great American Ball Park. Montero carried a one-hit shutout into the ninth before RHP A.J. Ramos recorded the final two outs. Since being promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas for the fourth time this season June 14, Montero has gone 4-5 with a 4.44 ERA to lower his overall ERA by more than three runs from 8.24 to 5.21. Montero is 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA in two career starts against the Reds.

RHP Rafael Montero solidified his case for a spot in the Mets' rotation by allowing just three hits through 8 1/3 innings with four walks and eight strikeouts on Wednesday against the Reds. He only gave up one hit through seven innings and retired 12 straight batters entering the ninth. "He got easy outs," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He didn't have deep counts. That saved him. He was the guy in charge tonight." It was Montero's 13th start and 27th appearance. He credited his changeup for getting most of the outs on Wednesday. "The changeup was working really well, so I used that a lot," he said. "I spent a lot of time in the Dominican working on it, and now it's a pitch I can rely on."

RHP Rafael Montero will look to win consecutive starts for the first time as a major-leaguer on Thursday when he faces the Diamondbacks at Citi Field. Montero earned the victory last Saturday, when he allowed one run on six hits and three walks while striking out five over six innings as the Mets beat the Marlins 8-1. It was the first time this season, and only the third time in 23 big league starts, that Montero threw at least six innings and allowed only one run. He has given up three runs over 12 innings in his past two starts, a stretch in which Montero has lowered his overall ERA from 6.06 to 5.47. Montero is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Diamondbacks.

RHP Rafael Montero will look to win for the first time in nearly two months Saturday night, when he takes the mound for the Mets in the middle game of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. Montero didn't factor into the decision in his most recent start last Monday night, when he gave up two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings as the Mets fell to the New York Yankees, 4-2. The two runs allowed were the fewest Montero has allowed in his last seven starts, a stretch in which he's thrown at least six innings just four times. Since his most recent win on June 25, Montero is 0-4 with a 5.95 ERA in eight games (seven starts). Montero is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in 10 career appearances (three starts) against the Marlins.

RHP Rafael Montero allowed two runs and five hits in six innings Monday. While he allowed a homer to RF Aaron Judge on a 94 mph fastball, manager Terry Collins liked his outing. Among the things Collins cited was improved pitching to the inside part of the plate.

RHP Rafael Montero allowed a career-high 10 hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts. His fifth-inning single gave Montero his first career RBI. He went 1-for-3, raising his lifetime average to .063 (2-for-32).

RHP Rafael Montero continued to pitch well Sunday, when he took the loss but also achieved a career milestone at the plate as the Mets fell to the Oakland Athletics 3-2. Montero allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four over a season-high seven innings. It was the second-longest major league start for Montero, who gave up solo homers to SS Marcus Semien, LF Khris Davis and 3B Matt Chapman. Since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 14, Montero is 1-3 with a 3.34 ERA while striking out 32 and walking just nine over seven appearances (four starts), a span of 32 1/3 innings. He has lowered his overall ERA from 8.24 to 5.19 during the stretch. Montero singled Sunday for his first hit in 29 big league at-bats. He is 1-7 in 20 games (six starts) for the Mets this season.

RHP Rafael Montero will look to continue his gradual improvement Sunday afternoon, when he takes the mound for the Mets in the finale of a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics at Citi Field. Montero took the loss in his most recent start last Tuesday night, when he allowed four runs (two earned) and seven hits and one walk while striking out five over six innings as the Mets fell to the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-0. Since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 14, Montero is 1-2 with a 3.20 ERA in six games (three starts), a stretch in which he's lowered his overall ERA from 8.24 to 5.40. Montero has never faced the Athletics.

RHP Rafael Montero continued his recent stretch of decent pitching Tuesday night, when he took the loss for the Mets after allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out five over six innings as the Mets fell to the Cardinals, 5-0. It was the second straight six-inning start for Montero, who has a 3.20 ERA with 28 strikeouts and eight walks over 25 1/3 innings in six games (three starts) since he was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 14. Montero opened the season by recording an 8.24 ERA in his first 13 appearances, during which he struck out 20 while walking 17 over just 19 2/3 innings. Overall this season with the Mets, Montero is 1-6 with a 5.40 ERA in 19 games (five starts).

RHP Rafael Montero will face the St. Louis Cardinals for the second straight time Tuesday night, when he takes the mound for the Mets in the second game of a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. It will be the first appearance for Montero since July 8, when he faced the Cardinals for the first time in his career and allowed one run in two-thirds of an inning of relief in the Mets' 4-1 loss at Busch Stadium. Montero last started on July 2, when he took the loss after giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out six over 6 1/3 innings as the Mets fell to the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1. It was the second-longest major league start for Montero, who threw 7 1/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 17, 2014.

RHP Rafael Montero will look to continue his rebirth Sunday afternoon, when he takes the mound for the Mets in the finale of a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. In his most recent start on June 25, Montero earned his first win in more than two-and-a-half years by allowing one run on five hits and two walks while striking out seven over 5 2/3 innings as the Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-2. It was the first win for Montero since Sept. 10, 2014. The strong outing was the third straight for Montero, who allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings of relief in his previous two appearances. He lowered his overall ERA from 8.24 to 5.62 in June. Montero is 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA in five career games (one start) against the Phillies.