TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — CC Sabathia knows what Phil Hughes is going through.Sabathia has learned to cope with a loss of velocity and the 37-year-old left-hander went 14-5 for the New York Yankees last year in his best season since 2012.Hughes, a 31-year-old right-hander, was limited to 26 games during the past two seasons because of injuries, mostly to his shoulder as a result of thoracic outlet syndrome, which that required a rib to be removed. Hughes went just 4-10 with a 5.92 ERA in 112 2/3 innings over the last two years.He had an encouraging outing for Minnesota on Monday night, limiting the Yankees to one run and four hits over four innings. He struck out three and walked none"Keep these guys off balance," Hughes said. "If my velocity isn't what it used to be, and that's a permanent thing, at least I have some fall back options. I'm going to try to adapt and adjust as much as I can to be productive without that 93, 94 (mph)."Hughes and Sabathia were teammates on the 2009 Yankees' World... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The unusually slow free-agent market took Lance Lynn's wait to find a team through the winter and well into spring training.The offer he settled on from the Minnesota Twins also came with the expectation of pennant race and perhaps postseason pitching."I wanted to go somewhere where they had a chance to win no matter what," Lynn said on Tuesday at his introductory news conference. "It seemed like the perfect fit, and I look forward to doing what I have to do, which is take the ball when it is my turn."Lynn agreed to a $12 million, one-year contract that includes bonuses of $1 million each for 170 and 180 innings. He was given a turn right away and struck out five batters in three hitless innings of an exhibition against Baltimore. He walked one."Other than that, everything went about as smooth as it possibly could," Lynn said. "Get ready for the next and kind of keep the buildup for opening day."Twins manager Paul Molitor said Lynn will make another start on Sunday."We're... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The unusually slow free-agent market took Lance Lynn's wait to find a team through the winter and well into spring training.The offer he settled on from the Minnesota Twins also came with the expectation of pennant race and perhaps postseason pitching."I wanted to go somewhere where they had a chance to win no matter what," Lynn said on Tuesday at his introductory news conference. "It seemed like the perfect fit, and I look forward to doing what I have to do, which is take the ball when it is my turn."Lynn agreed to a $12 million, one-year contract that includes bonuses of $1 million each for 170 and 180 innings. He was given a turn right away and struck out five batters in three hitless innings of an exhibition against Baltimore. He walked just one.The Twins are banking on more performances like that when the wins and losses actually count, stretched out over a full game."When you talk about a competitor and the makeup every time he takes the mound, this is somebody... [More]

Neil Walker became the latest free agent to take a big pay cut as opening day approaches, joining the New York Yankees on Monday with a one-year deal for $4 million.The veteran infielder made $17.2 million last season while playing for the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers. He can earn $1 million in performance bonuses this year.The 32-year-old Walker hit .265 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs last season, then became a free agent. He will likely start at second base, giving prospects Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar more time to mature in the minor leagues."It's certainly a crazy offseason, but more than anything my hope was that I'd land somewhere that's going to be competitive and have a chance to win," Walker said. "I'm happy to be here, happy to be on a contending team."Starting pitcher Lance Lynn got right to work with Minnesota after finalizing his $12 million, one-year deal. He turned down a $17.4 million offer to stay with St. Louis, and looked for a richer contract in free agency.Lynn... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Patiently monitoring baseball's slow-moving market, the Minnesota Twins made several significant improvements to the team that made a surprise run last season to the AL wild card game.Right-hander Lance Lynn became the latest addition when the Twins finalized a $12 million, one-year contract on Monday, another low-risk move to strengthen a pitching staff that ranked 19th in the major leagues last year with a 4.59 ERA."I think there was at least, my take on it, a real interest of the player to make this a marriage and I think that helped our cause," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.Lynn, who joined his new teammates on the field for an afternoon workout in Fort Myers, will be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday before taking the mound for an exhibition against Baltimore.Molitor thinks there's a chance that Lynn could be ready to pitch the first time through the regular-season rotation."I told him this is different circumstances, if you're not ready to throw 100 pitches... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Patiently monitoring baseball's slow-moving market, the Minnesota Twins made several significant improvements to the team that made a surprise run last season to the AL wild card game.Right-hander Lance Lynn became the latest addition when the Twins finalized a $12 million, one-year contract on Monday, another low-risk move to strengthen a pitching staff that ranked 19th in the major leagues last year with a 4.59 ERA."I think there was at least, my take on it, a real interest of the player to make this a marriage and I think that helped our cause," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.Lynn, who joined his new teammates on the field for an afternoon workout in Fort Myers, will be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday before taking the mound for an exhibition against Baltimore.Molitor thinks there's a chance that Lynn could be ready to pitch the first time through the regular-season rotation."I told him this is different circumstances, if you're not ready to throw 100 pitches... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — By patiently monitoring baseball's slow-moving market this winter, the Minnesota Twins have made several significant improvements to the team that made a surprise run last season to the AL wild card game.The Twins finalized a $12 million, one-year contract on Monday with right-hander Lance Lynn, another low-risk move toward strengthening their pitching staff that ranked 19th in the major leagues in 2017 with a 4.59 ERA.Lynn, who joined his new teammates on the field for an afternoon workout in Fort Myers, Florida, will be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday before taking the mound for an exhibition against Baltimore.After missing the 2016 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Lynn went 11-8 with a 3.43 ERA in 33 starts for St. Louis in 2017 last year. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Lynn was an All-Star in 2012, his first full season in the majors. He was the 39th overall draft pick in 2008 by the Cardinals out of Mississippi.With the Twins, Lynn will join fellow... [More]

This was not how Felix Hernandez hoped to start spring training.Slowed by injuries last year, the Seattle ace was struck in his pitching arm by a line drive Monday and left his exhibition debut early.The Mariners said a precautionary X-ray of his right forearm was negative. Hernandez was listed as day-to-day and will be re-evaluated Tuesday.Hernandez was hit by a liner from Victor Caratini of the Chicago Cubs. The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner immediately grabbed his arm and didn't chase the ball on the infield grass.Hernandez went down to a knee, hopped up and walked around in obvious pain. He headed to the dugout with a trainer holding his arm, and Caratini gave him a tap of encouragement.The 31-year-old Hernandez spent considerable time on the disabled list last season because of shoulder trouble. He was 6-5 with a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts.OHTANI'S A HITTwo-way star Shohei Ohtani had a much better big league debut as a hitter than he did as a pitcher.After patiently drawing walks in his... [More]

This was not how Felix Hernandez hoped to start spring training.Slowed by injuries last year, the Seattle ace was struck in his pitching arm by a line drive Monday and forced to leave his exhibition debut.The Mariners said a precautionary X-ray of his right forearm was negative. Hernandez was listed as day-to-day and will be re-evaluated Tuesday.Hernandez was hit by a liner from Victor Caratini of the Chicago Cubs. The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner immediately grabbed his arm and didn't chase the ball on the infield grass.Hernandez went down to a knee, hopped up and walked around in obvious pain. He headed to the dugout with a trainer holding his arm, and Caratini gave him a tap of encouragement.The 31-year-old Hernandez spent considerable time on the disabled list last season because of shoulder trouble. He was 6-5 with a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts.OHTANI'S A HITTwo-way star Shohei Ohtani had a much better big league debut as a hitter than he did as a pitcher.After patiently drawing walks in... [More]

This was not how Felix Hernandez hoped to start spring training.Slowed by injuries last year, the Seattle ace was struck in his pitching arm by a line drive Monday and forced to leave his exhibition debut.The Mariners said a precautionary X-ray of his right forearm was negative. Hernandez was listed as day-to-day and will be re-evaluated Tuesday.Hernandez was hit by a liner from Victor Caratini of the Chicago Cubs. The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner immediately grabbed his arm and didn't chase the ball on the infield grass.Hernandez went down to a knee, hopped up and walked around in obvious pain. He headed to the dugout with a trainer holding his arm, and Caratini gave him a tap of encouragement.The 31-year-old Hernandez spent considerable time on the disabled list last season because of shoulder trouble. He was 6-5 with a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts.OHTANI'S A HITTwo-way star Shohei Ohtani had a much better big league debut as a hitter than he did as a pitcher.After patiently drawing walks in... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins acquired right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi from the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night for minor league infielder Jermaine Palacios, securing some needed depth for their rotation after missing out on several free agents.The 27-year-old Odorizzi will join his third major league team in the Twins, who won't have right-hander Ervin Santana for the first several weeks of the regular season while he recovers from surgery on his middle finger. Kyle Gibson, Jose Berrios and Adalberto Mejia are the only other returning pitchers who made more than 10 starts for the Twins in 2017.Phil Hughes is also in the mix, recovering from a second thoracic outlet surgery on his ribs in as many years, but the Twins were concerned enough about their lack of proven candidates to make the trade for Odorizzi. They've also, according to multiple reports, reached an agreement with right-hander Anibal Sanchez, who has made 262 starts for the Tigers and Marlins over the last 12 seasons.For... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — On the first day of spring training for the Minnesota Twins, it was difficult to watch the drills on the field without thinking about the potential starting pitchers who weren't there.Twins pitchers and catchers held their first official workout on Wednesday, but there's room for more."It's not hard to see, even if you're not trying, that we have a need, rotation-wise, where we will have to fill some spots," manager Paul Molitor said.The Twins in 2017 became the first team in major league history to reach the postseason after losing 100 or more games the year before. Molitor is the AL Manager of the Year award holder, entering his fourth season. There's a strong nucleus of drafted-and-developed players who are entering their peak years.The glaring omission, however, is a front-line starting pitcher or two to lead a rotation that was improved last season but still ranked just 19th in MLB with a collective 4.73 ERA. The tenuous depth was thinned further when Ervin... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The turnaround for Minnesota last year was sharp, with 26 more wins than the miserable 2016 season on a march to the AL wild card game.This year, the Twins are in position to actually measure progress by postseason advancement. The entire starting lineup stayed intact, with five core players age 25 and under, and the bullpen was given a big boost with three free agent additions .For the first time in seven years, the previous appearance in the playoffs, Minnesota is a desired destination."I feel like this team is on the edge of being really good for a while," said left-hander Zach Duke, who joined right-handers Fernando Rodney and Addison Reed as veteran relievers who signed this winter. "Maybe a pitcher or two away, and it's there. It's a very exciting thing."The pitcher or two could still materialize, with Yu Darvish at the top of the list of unsigned logjam of free agents around the game. The Twins, who hold their first official workout for pitchers and catchers on... [More]

A team-by-team look at the American League Central 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:___Cleveland IndiansManager: Terry Francona (sixth season).2017: 102-60, first place, lost to New York Yankees in ALDS.Training Town: Goodyear, Arizona.Park: Goodyear Ballpark.First Workout: Feb. 15/19.He's Here: 1B-DH Yonder Alonso, OF Melvin Upton Jr., RHP Alexi Ogando.He's Outta Here: 1B Carlos Santana, OF Jay Bruce, RHP Bryan Shaw, RHP Joe Smith, OF Austin Jackson, LHP Boone Logan.Going campin': Poised to possibly end their 70-year-old World Series title drought, the Indians, who reeled off 22 straight victories in 2017, didn't even make it back to the AL Championship Series after squandering a 2-0 playoff lead against the Yankees. Unlike last winter, when the club signed DH Edwin Encarnacion in free agency, the Indians were relatively quiet, counting on their core to carry them in... [More]

RHP Phil Hughes (thoracic outlet syndrome), who has been on the 60-day disabled list since July 18, underwent a battery of tests at the Mayo Clinic last week. "To me so far, in general, I think they've ruled out a lot of things arm-related to the potential symptoms he's encountering, and a lot of things are pointing back to the root of it still being related to the thoracic outlet syndrome," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. Hughes underwent season-ending surgery last year in July to relieve thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms. He is expected to be examined by Dr. Gregory Pearl, a vascular surgeon in Dallas, who performed his surgery. "So he's going to take all the data from all the tests that were run and take it and have it evaluated by a guy that he has some experience with," Molitor said.

RHP Phil Hughes was placed on the 60-day disabled list Tuesday with recurrence of symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. Hughes had surgery last season to remove part of a rib to alleviate the symptoms, but manager Paul Molitor said he could be headed to another surgery. At the very least, Hughes' season is over after 14 games and nine starts with a 4-3 record and 5.87 ERA.

RHP Phil Hughes returned from a rehab assignment and was reinstated from the 10-day disabled list. Hughes (4-3, 5.74 ERA) was sidelined with right arm soreness. He went 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three relief appearances with Triple-A Rochester from June 21-25, allowing a run on two hits in an inning last Sunday.

RHP Phil Hughes, on the disabled list with right biceps soreness, will make his fourth rehab appearance Wednesday and rejoin the team this weekend -- as a reliever, at least at first. "I'd like to see him get extended to 35-40 pitches, so he's going to go again for the Red Wings on Wednesday after taking a couple of days off," manager Paul Molitor said Monday. "We'll see about getting him back in the mix maybe sometime this weekend."

RHP Phil Hughes pitched one scoreless, hitless inning Wednesday for Triple-A Rochester in his first rehab appearance. Hughes has been dealing with shoulder stiffness, and he hadn't pitched since May 21. The veteran was 4-3 with a 5.74 ERA in nine starts before landing on the 10-day disabled list.

RHP Phil Hughes is scheduled to pitch Wednesday in relief with Triple-A Rochester as part of a rehab assignment. Hughes has been dealing with shoulder stiffness and hasn't pitched since May 21. The veteran right-hander was 4-3 with a 5.74 ERA in nine starts before landing on the 10-day disabled list.