CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper drew big cheers, a pair of walks and an unusual defense in his spring training debut for the Philadelphia Phillies.Both times the slugger with the biggest contract in baseball came to the plate, the Toronto Blue Jays shifted to a four-man outfield, moved the shortstop on the other side of second base and gave the left-handed hitting Harper a wide-open left side of the infield."I've never seen that. That's intense," Harper said, adding he hopes teams don't do that to him often. "If they start playing ball like that, it's definitely different."Phillies manager Gabe Kapler didn't want to discuss shift strategy but shared his advice for Harper."Hit a lot of homers, drive the ball like you're capable of, do exactly what you always do, be Bryce Harper," said Kapler, who is known for using many shifts.The Cubs, Astros and even the Rockies have employed a four-man outfield but it was quite strange in an exhibition game.No surprise, however, was the loud ovation... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper drew a pair of five-pitch walks on Saturday in his first spring training appearance since signing a record contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.The six-time All-Star outfielder signed a $330 million, 13-year contract last week, the largest deal in baseball history.Batting third as the designated hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays, Harper took four straight pitches after a mighty swing and miss in the first inning. Rhys Hoskins followed with a mammoth two-run homer.Harper fouled off the first pitch he saw in the third before taking another four pitches out of the strike zone. Fans booed the pitcher as Harper jogged to first base and then was replaced by a pinch runner.Wearing No. 3, Harper earned a loud ovation from fans at Spectrum Field when he walked up to the plate to Will Smith's theme song from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."The 26-year-old Harper played his first seven seasons for the Washington Nationals. He was the 2015 NL MVP.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper drew a five-pitch walk on Saturday in his first spring training plate appearance since signing a record contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.The six-time All-Star outfielder signed a $330 million, 13-year contract last week, the largest deal in baseball history.Batting third as the designated hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays, Harper took four straight pitches after a mighty swing and miss. Rhys Hoskins followed with a mammoth two-run homer.Wearing No. 3, Harper earned a loud ovation from fans at Spectrum Field.The 26-year-old Harper played his first seven seasons for the Washington Nationals. He was the 2015 NL MVP.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — For years, the NL East has been soft as a bunt single.Not anymore.Even before Bryce Harper decided to stay inside the division, four of the five teams spent this offseason swinging for the fences. In addition to defending champion Atlanta, the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals all have enough firepower to potentially contend for the playoffs."This is probably going to be the stiffest competition in a division race in my career," Nationals ace Max Scherzer said at spring training.It's certainly a noticeable transformation.In the past eight seasons, the NL East has won a grand total of two playoff series and produced one pennant winner — with the 2015 Mets responsible for the entirety of that October success.Two years ago, Washington finished a whopping 20 games in front, and no other team in the division was better than 77-85.Last season, Atlanta rolled to a surprise title at 90-72, the fewest wins of any postseason participant. No... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — For years, the NL East has been soft as a bunt single.Not anymore.Even before Bryce Harper decided to stay inside the division, four of the five teams spent this offseason swinging for the fences. In addition to defending champion Atlanta, the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals all have enough firepower to potentially contend for the playoffs."This is probably going to be the stiffest competition in a division race in my career," Nationals ace Max Scherzer said at spring training.It's certainly a noticeable transformation.In the past eight seasons, the NL East has won a grand total of two playoff series and produced one pennant winner — with the 2015 Mets responsible for the entirety of that October success.Two years ago, Washington finished a whopping 20 games in front, and no other team in the division was better than 77-85.Last season, Atlanta rolled to a surprise title at 90-72, the fewest wins of any postseason participant. No... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Major League Baseball is investigating whether new Philadelphia slugger Bryce Harper committed a tampering violation when he lobbied for Mike Trout, who isn't a free agent for two more seasons, to join the Phillies.Speaking to a group of Boston business executives on Wednesday, commissioner Rob Manfred said he doesn't want players recruiting other players, a practice that has been winked at in the NBA. Manfred said he didn't want to see the same thing happen in baseball."Given our rules, players recruiting other players who are still under contract or under reserve to another club is a rule violation," he said at the Boston College Chief Executives Club. "So, obviously not anxious to see that."Harper signed a $330 million, 13-year contract with the Phillies last week, and said at his introductory news conference: "There's another guy in about two years that comes off the books. We'll see what happens with that."That would likely not be tampering, but he may have crossed the... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Major League Baseball is investigating whether new Philadelphia slugger Bryce Harper committed a tampering violation when he lobbied for Mike Trout, who isn't a free agent for two more seasons, to join the Phillies.Speaking to a group of Boston businessmen on Wednesday, commissioner Rob Manfred said he doesn't want players recruiting other players, a practice that has been winked at in the NBA. Manfred said he didn't want to see the same thing happen in baseball."Given our rules, players recruiting other players who are still under contract or under reserve to another club is a rule violation," he said at the Boston College Chief Executives Club. "So, obviously not anxious to see that."Harper signed a $330 million, 13-year contract with the Phillies last week, and said at his introductory news conference: "There's another guy in about two years that comes off the books. We'll see what happens with that."That would likely not be tampering, but he may have crossed the line when... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper swag is going, going and just about gone before he takes a swing in Philadelphia.Phillies merchandise stores and ticket vendors are certainly getting their hefty cuts thanks to Harper hype.Harper has Phillies fans spending stupid money on his No. 3 jerseys, tees and caps, and the franchise has set records with ticket sales headed into the March 28 opener.Billboards welcoming Harper to Philly line the interstate headed to Citizens Bank Park — and it's Harper driving retail traffic at a record clip.No. 3 gear is No. 1 in Philadelphia."I can't wait to be a part of the Phillies for a long period of time," Harper said. "I've grown to love playing in Philly, love playing in Citizens Bank Park."When Harper looks in the stands on opening day — and over the remainder of his record $330 million, 13-year deal — he'll see thousands of fans wearing his jersey.Fanatics said Harper's No. 3 Phillies jersey was the all-time best-seller for any athlete during the first 24... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper swag is going, going and just about gone before he takes a swing in Philadelphia.Phillies merchandise stores and ticket vendors are certainly getting their hefty cuts thanks to Harper hype.Harper has Phillies fans spending stupid money on his No. 3 jerseys, tees and caps, and the franchise has set records with ticket sales headed into the March 28 opener.Billboards welcoming Harper to Philly line the interstate headed to Citizens Bank Park — and it's Harper driving retail traffic at a record clip.No. 3 gear is No. 1 in Philadelphia."I can't wait to be a part of the Phillies for a long period of time," Harper said. "I've grown to love playing in Philly, love playing in Citizens Bank Park."When Harper looks in the stands on opening day — and over the remainder of his record $330 million, 13-year deal — he'll see thousands of fans wearing his jersey.Fanatics said Harper's No. 3 Phillies jersey was the all-time best-seller for any athlete during the first 24... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper swag is going, going and just about gone before he takes a swing in Philadelphia.Phillies merchandise stores and ticket vendors are certainly getting their hefty cuts thanks to Harper hype.Harper has Phillies fans spending stupid money on his No. 3 jerseys, tees and caps, and the franchise has set records with ticket sales headed into the March 28 opener.Billboards welcoming Harper to Philly line the interstate headed to Citizens Bank Park — and it's Harper driving retail traffic at a record clip.No. 3 gear is No. 1 in Philadelphia."I can't wait to be a part of the Phillies for a long period of time," Harper said. "I've grown to love playing in Philly, love playing in Citizens Bank Park."When Harper looks in the stands on opening day — and over the remainder of his record $330 million, 13-year deal — he'll see thousands of fans wearing his jersey.Fanatics said Harper's No. 3 Phillies jersey was the all-time best-seller for any athlete during the first 24... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Brett Phillips has always been the fastest player on his team, whether he was playing in Little League, starring at Seminole High School or climbing the rungs of the minor league ladder.When he looks around the Kansas City Royals' clubhouse, though, the fleet-footed outfielder was left to ask a very sobering and sincere question: "What am I, the 10th fastest now?"Not quite. But just about.You see, the Royals identified a market inefficiency a few years ago when it came to bullpen arms, stockpiling huge talents at low costs and effectively shortening games. The result was twofold: They won back-to-back American League pennants and the 2015 World Series, and every other team noticed what they had done and began to offer big contracts to premier relievers.Unable to keep up with those escalating costs, the Royals turned their attention to speed and defense as they dive headlong into a rebuild. Now, they view stolen bases as grossly undervalued in an era of power hitters,... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner think the Yankees can break the major league season record of 267 home runs that New York set last season"Get this whole team healthy, we're going to crush the record that we set last year," Judge said.New York broke the previous mark of 264 by the 1997 Seattle Mariners despite injuries that limited Judge to 112 games, Gary Sanchez to 89 and Greg Bird to 82."I just think that we're capable of doing better than we were last year overall as an offense," Gardner said.Judge, slowed by a right wrist injury last season, and Gardner each hit two homers in Sunday's 7-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.Judge came to camp after a normal offseason. He was slowed slightly at the start of spring training last year following left shoulder surgery."Just working on my swing. Last year I didn't get a chance to do that at all," Judge said. "I'm just trying to have a healthy season. Then we'll see where the numbers are at."Judge hit 27 homers last season and Giancarlo... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Danny Farquhar took the mound in a game again. That was more than enough on Saturday.Farquhar's spring training appearance for the New York Yankees was his first game since the 32-year-old reliever collapsed in the Chicago White Sox dugout on April 20 because of a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage. The right-hander got one out and was charged with five runs in an 8-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates."I felt great out there," Farquhar said. "I was happy to be back on the mound. Obviously, the results weren't great but I call it a good day. I felt like a baseball player, again."Farquhar allowed three hits and walked two while throwing 19 pitches in the fourth inning. He is in camp with the Yankees on a minor league deal."The fact that he's on the mound and gotten to this point is pretty awesome," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I found myself a little more emotional than I even thought. Even though it didn't go great, I think he really appreciated how special... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Danny Farquhar took the mound in a game again. That was more than enough on Saturday.Farquhar's spring training appearance for the New York Yankees was his first game since the 32-year-old reliever collapsed in the Chicago White Sox dugout on April 20 because of a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage. The right-hander got one out and was charged with five runs in an 8-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates."I felt great out there," Farquhar said. "I was happy to be back on the mound. Obviously, the results weren't great but I call it a good day. I felt like a baseball player, again."Farquhar allowed three hits and walked two while throwing 19 pitches in the fourth inning. He is in camp with the Yankees on a minor league deal."The fact that he's on the mound and gotten to this point is pretty awesome," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I found myself a little more emotional than I even thought. Even though it didn't go great, I think he really appreciated how special... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper sounded like a typical Philadelphian talking about a goal every Phillies fan will endorse."I want to be on Broad Street on a frickin' boat or bus or whatever it is and hold a (World Series) trophy over my head," the six-time All-Star said Saturday after putting on his new No. 3 jersey.The Phillies are counting on Harper to help them win only the third championship in franchise history. Philadelphia gave Harper a 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history at $330 million. His arrival has fans scurrying to the box office. The team said 180,000 tickets were sold in less than two days after the agreement was reported Thursday afternoon."He's a magnetic personality and he plays the game with his heart on his sleeve and Philadelphia loves that," Phillies owner John Middleton said. "They love people who leave a little skin on the grass."Harper was greeted by the Phillie Phanatic as he walked onto the first base dugout at the team's spring training... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have announced Bryce Harper's 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history at $330 million.Philadelphia scheduled a news conference for Saturday to introduce Harper. He will wear No. 3 rather than the No. 34 he used with the Washington Nationals, where he spent his previous major league seasons.Harper has a .279 career average with 184 homers and 521 RBIs, including a .268 average with 14 homers, 32 RBIs in 47 games at Citizens Bank Park.His agreement tops the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo Stanton reached before the 2015 season with the Miami Marlins, who traded him to the New York Yankees in December 2017.Harper gets a $20 million signing bonus in equal installments, the first within 90 days of the deal's approval by the commissioner's office and the second this Nov. 1. He receives a $10 million salary this year, $26 million in each of the following nine seasons and $22 million in each of the last three... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have announced Bryce Harper's 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history at $330 million.Philadelphia scheduled a news conference for Saturday to introduce Harper. He will wear No. 3 rather than the No. 34 he used with the Washington Nationals, where he spent his previous major league seasons.Harper has a .279 career average with 184 homers and 521 RBIs, including a .268 average with 14 homers, 32 RBIs in 47 games at Citizens Bank Park.His agreement tops the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo Stanton reached before the 2015 season with the Miami Marlins, who traded him to the New York Yankees in December 2017.Harper gets a $20 million signing bonus in equal installments this June 1 and Nov. 1, a $10 million salary this year, $26 million in each of the following nine seasons and $22 million in each of the last three years. None of the money is deferred, and he gets a full no-trade provision.Philadelphia forfeited its second-highest draft selection, currently No. 55, and $500,000 of its 2019-20 international signing bonus pool allotment. Washington's compensation pick will be after the fourth round, about 140th.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper has the Philadelphia Phillies thinking October baseball before even arriving in camp.The six-time All-Star outfielder and the Phillies agreed Thursday to a $330 million, 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history. Now a team that hasn't had a winning record since 2011 is talking about winning championships."Everybody talks about this picture behind us," slugger Rhys Hoskins said on Friday about a photo hanging outside the clubhouse that captures the moment the team won the 2008 World Series. "There's rally towels waving around, can't see an empty seat, can't see a place where people can stand. I don't want to hear about it anymore. I want to feel it. I think we're on our way and Bryce gives us a chance to be there."The Phillies already liked their chances in the NL East after adding All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto, 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, two-time All-Star shortstop Jean Segura and reliever David Robertson to a club that won 80 games... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper is gone from the Nationals to the Phillies after agreeing to a record 13-year, $330 million contract.But he's is still a looming presence in Washington's clubhouse as the team begins to move on without the star who played with them since 2012 at just 19."He used to be right here," third baseman Anthony Rendon said motioning to Harper's old locker Friday morning. "And all you guys used to be in this corner all the time when he was here. And now even though he's not here y'all are still in this corner."And so it went with much of the talk in Washington's clubhouse centering around the six-time All-Star and 2015 National League MVP, who had long been a face of the franchise.While it had been less than 24 hours since Harper had agreed to the deal, the Nationals had known for quite some time that he wouldn't be wearing their uniform this season. And manager Dave Martinez acknowledged that being without him this spring training has taken some getting... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper has the Philadelphia Phillies thinking October baseball before even arriving in camp.The six-time All-Star outfielder and the Phillies agreed Thursday to a $330 million, 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history. Now a team that hasn't had a winning record since 2011 is talking about winning championships."Everybody talks about this picture behind us," slugger Rhys Hoskins said on Friday about a photo hanging outside the clubhouse that captures the moment the team won the 2008 World Series. "There's rally towels waving around, can't see an empty seat, can't see a place where people can stand. I don't want to hear about it anymore. I want to feel it. I think we're on our way and Bryce gives us a chance to be there."The Phillies already liked their chances in the NL East after adding All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto, 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, two-time All-Star shortstop Jean Segura and reliever David Robertson to a club that won 80 games... [More]