GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — David Price felt a rush of nervous energy leading up to Monday. Acquired by the Dodgers last month from from Boston, he made his first spring training appearance for Los Angeles.Price allowed two runs and three hits in 1 1/3 innings during a 6-2 loss to Cincinnati with three strikeouts and two walks. “It’s been a while since I faced hitters wearing a different jersey,” the 34-year-old left-hander said. “It’s the first time I’ve been in a game in six, almost seven months. My legs were shaking out there. It’s just, if you love what you do you’re definitely going to have nerves. It was fun. I definitely enjoyed it, getting back out there.”A left wrist problem that required surgery to remove a cyst limited Price to 4 2/3 innings last August and September. He finished 7-5 with a 4.28 ERA in 22 starts, then was traded by the retooling Red Sox with outfielder Mookie Betts for prospects.Price gave up a two-run single in the first to Jesse Winker. He reached 91 mph with his... [More]

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — NL MVP Cody Bellinger was scratched from the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting lineup on Monday for a spring training game against the Cincinnati Reds.The outfielder took part in a charity event on Sunday night at a Topgolf facility in Scottsdale, and a video showed him hitting a long drive off a tee.Golf swings aren’t believed to be the reason for his injury, according to manager Dave Roberts.Bellinger is 4 for 13 with two doubles.He had been scheduled to play center field and bat fourth. Instead the Dodgers moved A.J. Pollock from left to center field and inserted Matt Beaty in left field for the spring training debut of left-hander David Price, who was acquired from Boston along with outfielder Mookie Betts.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PHOENIX (AP) — Clayton Kershaw struck out four batters without allowing a hit in his spring training debut Friday, the first step toward a possible opening day start for the Los Angeles Dodgers.Kershaw, the Dodgers’ longtime ace, faced a Milwaukee Brewers lineup with five expected regulars, including Brock Holt and Keston Hiura at the top of the order. He struck out both on three pitches each to open the bottom of the first.After two walks and a strikeout of the final batter he faced, Kershaw was done after 1 2/3 innings and left with a 1-0 lead. The Brewers came back for a win.“It was awesome. Maybe I didn’t hit one spot, but physically I felt like the ball was coming out, felt like it was breaking the right say,” Kershaw said. “Now just got to figure out how to throw strikes, but other than that, it was a good first step for sure.”Kershaw said his fastballs, which hit up to 93 mph, had life on them as they reached home plate. He left to a standing ovation from the Dodgers fans at American... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — His baby face and near constant smile may make him appear younger than his 23 years. But third baseman Rafael Devers already has parts of three seasons and a World Series championship on his resume. And after finishing 12th in American League MVP voting in his breakout 2019, the Red Sox believe Devers hasn't approached his ceiling yet.Devers hit .311 with 32 homers, 115 RBIs, an AL-leading 54 doubles, and a major league-leading 90 extra-base hits last season. He led the Red Sox in games played (156), hits (201), and average. With the departure of Mookie Betts in a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Devers will be an even bigger part of Boston’s offense this season.“Especially as much as he’s improved his game defensively, he’s a huge part,” said manager Ron Roenicke. “The bat is good because of especially where it plays in the lineup and how we can push that lineup deeper makes it tough to pitch to us.”Roenicke expects to bat Devers second this season, behind likely... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale will start the season on the injured list, manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday. Sale, who reported to camp with pneumonia and is behind schedule, will be placed on the 15-day injured list and will remain in Fort Myers for extended spring training when the team breaks camp.“With the sickness, it cost him two weeks’ time and that two weeks is what we’d like to give him to make sure that he’s right,” Roenicke said. “He’s worked hard on getting his arm right and we didn’t think four starts in spring training was fair to him."Sale ended last season on the injured list with elbow inflammation, making his last appearance Aug. 13 at Cleveland, where he gave up five runs with 12 strikeouts in 6 ? innings. Roenicke emphasized this trip to the injured list is not related to Sale’s elbow.“Nothing at all with the arm, he’s doing really good with that,” Roenicke said. “We’re really happy with that. This is strictly for missing two weeks and... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale will start the season on the injured list, manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday. Sale, who reported to camp with pneumonia and is behind schedule, will be placed on the 15-day injured list and will remain in Fort Myers for extended spring training when the team breaks camp.“With the sickness, it cost him two weeks’ time and that two weeks is what we’d like to give him to make sure that he’s right,” Roenicke said. “He’s worked hard on getting his arm right and we didn’t think four starts in spring training was fair to him."Sale ended last season on the injured list with elbow inflammation, making his last appearance Aug. 13 at Cleveland, where he gave up five runs with 12 strikeouts in 6 ? innings. Roenicke emphasized this trip to the injured list is not related to Sale’s elbow.“Nothing at all with the arm, he’s doing really good with that,” Roenicke said. “We’re really happy with that. This is strictly for missing two weeks and... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Brian Johnson knows about perseverance.Selected by Boston with the 31st overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft, the left-hander was hit on the face by a line drive that Aug. 18 at Fenway Park in his fourth professional appearance, a Class A game. He sustained multiple orbital fractures.Johnson recovered and made his big league debut for the Red Sox at Houston on July 21, 2015. He returned to Triple-A for two more starts but his season was cut short by elbow pain. That offseason, he was a passenger in a vehicle that was carjacked at gunpoint. He missed almost two months of the 2016 season due to anxiety and depression.Johnson made five starts for the Red Sox in 2017 — all wins — and his first opening day-roster in 2018 m when he had 13 starts and 25 relief appearances for a team that went on to win the World Series. He sank to 1-3 with a 6.02 ERA in seven starts and 14 relief appearances last year, was put on waivers, went unclaimed and was sent outright to Pawtucket."I... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — This isn’t quite how Chaim Bloom imagined things would go, back when he dreamed of running a baseball team.Less than two months after taking over the Red Sox — and with the start of spring training looming — Boston's new chief baseball officer needed to replace a World Series-winning manager. Then Bloom incurred the wrath of the Fenway fans when he traded Mookie Betts, the ballclub’s best player, as part of a salary dump. And the team is still sweating out the results of an investigation into whether it cheated when it won the championship in 2018.Like a manager reshuffling his rotation after an 18-inning game, Bloom has been forced to adjust — and quickly.“Baseball will throw different things at you every day,” he last week as he settled into his first spring training with the Red Sox. “I've been in baseball long enough to know that there's a lot of things about this business that don't go according to plan, and it throws you a lot of unexpected surprises. So the... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — This wasn't what Cody Bellinger had in mind for getting his feet wet to start 2020.The Los Angeles Dodgers MVP was in the lineup for his team's spring training opener Saturday, facing the San Francisco Giants in a game delayed 2 1/2 hours due to rain in the Phoenix area. Manager Dave Roberts admitted he was nervous to start Bellinger in conditions that caused all but one other Cactus League game to get canceled, but Bellinger came out just fine. He singled and scored on Enrique Hernandez's homer, batted three times and played center field in the Dodgers' 10-4 win.Bellinger said there were minor issues only in left field, where the water from the tarp was emptied."The warning track was really wet (before the game), but they did a good job of fixing it up," Bellinger said of the Giants' grounds crew. "It turned out fine."Bellinger was certainly relieved to get back on the field after a bizarre offseason. The Dodgers first dealt with a stunning, season-ending, extra-inning... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said that Astros pitcher Mike Fiers was “looking like a snitch” for disclosing the team's cheating scandal only after he had left the team.“Oh, after you make your money, after you get your ring, you decide to talk about it?" Ortiz said after arriving at the Red Sox spring training complex on Thursday. "Why didn't you talk about it during the season when it was going on? Why didn't you say, ‘I don't want to be part of it?’ “So you're looking like a snitch,” said Ortiz, who works for the Red Sox under the title special assistant. "Why do you have to talk about it after? That's my problem. Why did nobody say anything while it was going on?”The Astros were found to violate baseball rules by using video to steal opponents signs during their World Series championship season of 2017. After Fiers blew the whistle to The Athletic this offseason, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, manager A.J. Hinch and bench coach Alex Cora — who... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Clayton Kershaw is pleased practically everybody in the sport seized the opportunity to tee off on the cheating Houston Astros and Commissioner Rob Manfred's handling of the scandal over the past several days.The Los Angeles Dodgers' veteran ace also believes it's time for baseball to go back to work.“This type of thing has never happened before, and people are upset by it,” Kershaw said Tuesday after the Dodgers' first full squad workout of the spring. “People feel cheated, and rightfully so. The only thing I will say now is we’ve got a great season coming up. Everybody is really excited about baseball. Baseball is in a great spot. We’ve got a lot of incredible players.”Kershaw echoed the vibe around the clubhouse with the team that was among the most damaged by — and the angriest about — the Astros' use of illegal methods during their 2017 World Series championship run. The Dodgers haven't cooled down about the revelations, but Kershaw thinks that energy can be... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Red Sox owner John Henry says he knows why Boston fans are angry the team traded Mookie Betts.“When I say I understand how many of you feel about this trade with the Dodgers, I know many of you — particularly our youngest fans — are disbelieving or angry or sad about it. I know it’s difficult and disappointing,” Henry said Monday, reading from a statement on the first day of full-team workouts.Henry answered questions for about 30 minutes along with chairman Tom Werner and team president Sam Kennedy. Half of them addressed the trade of Betts and David Price to Los Angeles for outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects: infielder Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong. Boston will send $96 million to the Dodgers, which matches half of the $96 million owed to Price for the next three seasons, and shed itself of Betts' $27 million salary for this year.“This trade gives us a lot of flexibility,’ Werner said. “We have made unpopular trades — not all of them have worked out... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Joc Pederson was back in a familiar clubhouse. He had the same dressing stall and many of the same teammates.Not much had changed, except for him.He felt awkward — and with good reason.Pederson put his Dodgers uniform back on at Camelback Ranch over the weekend for the start of spring training. Just a week earlier, it looked like he would be performing these February rituals across town in Tempe.For five days, Pederson appeared to be headed to the Los Angeles Angels along with pitcher Ross Stripling as part of several multi-player trades surrounding Mookie Betts' move to the Dodgers. The Angels-Dodgers trade was eventually scrapped, but only after an uncomfortable amount of uncertainty for the players involved.“I thought for sure I was going to the Angels,” Pederson said. “It seemed pretty official. I was talking with my wife about what we were going to do living-wise, spring training-wise, talking about changing my cleats, everything.’’Stripling thought the same... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Three days after telling reporters he wanted to push harder in spring training to improve on last year's slow start, Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke pumped the brakes on two key players.Left-hander Chris Sale and outfielder Alex Verdugo are both recovering from setbacks that could keep them out of the opening day lineup. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia is also contemplating his career after playing just nine games in the past two seasons, but the pneumonia-induced weakness that has left Sale short of 100% is the biggest surprise for a team that won it all in 2018 and then never got its title defense going last year.“If we think it's important for him to get a certain amount of starts to build him up at a certain point, that's what we're going to do,” Roenicke said. “And if it means he's not there for opening day, then he's not there for opening day.”Verdugo, who was acquired from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts trade, has a stress fracture in his spine that Roenicke said... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Win. Dance. Delete.When the Boston Red Sox traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the eve of spring training, they broke up the "Killer B's” who patrolled the Fenway outfield and led the team to a World Series championship in 2018. Together, Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Andrew Benintendi formed one of the best outfields in baseball and became fan favorites by following spectacular catches with their choreographed “Win, Dance, Repeat” postgame celebrations. Now, as the Red Sox learn to live without Betts, his former fellow outfielders are figuring things out with their new partner, Alex Verdugo, who came to Boston in the trade that send the 2018 AL MVP and pitcher David Price to the Dodgers.“It’s one of those things where you have to get to know the person and see him play, hands-on,” Bradley said this week. "Sometimes people just have that natural connection. It could be something that’s just seamless. “As long as you’re able to talk,” he said. “That’s... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Win. Dance. Delete.When the Boston Red Sox traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the eve of spring training, they broke up the "Killer B's” who patrolled the Fenway outfield and led the team to a World Series championship in 2018. Together, Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Andrew Benintendi formed one of the best outfields in baseball and became fan favorites by following spectacular catches with their choreographed “Win, Dance, Repeat” postgame celebrations. Now, as the Red Sox learn to live without Betts, his former fellow outfielders are figuring things out with their new partner, Alex Verdugo, who came to Boston in the trade that send the 2018 AL MVP and pitcher David Price to the Dodgers.“It’s one of those things where you have to get to know the person and see him play, hands-on,” Bradley said this week. "Sometimes people just have that natural connection. It could be something that’s just seamless. “As long as you’re able to talk,” he said. “That’s... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opened spring training Thursday with his confidence boosted by the acquisition of Mookie Betts, who could prove crucial to the franchise’s quest to win its first World Series title since 1988.Betts, acquired from the Boston Red Sox this week in a multi-player deal, gives the Dodgers two recent MVPs in the outfield -- Betts, the 2018 AL MVP, in right and Cody Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP, in center.Betts’ potent hitting could provide scoring opportunities that weren’t there during the Dodgers' run to the World Series in 2017 and 2018, Roberts said. Betts played for the Red Sox during Boston’s 2018 Series victory over the Dodgers.“Mostly, we just have to play better,’’ Roberts said. “Looking back, we haven’t played our best baseball in postseason. Betts makes us a lot better.’’The Dodgers also tried to trade Joc Pederson, pitcher Ross Stripling and prospect Andy Pages to the Angels. But the deal fell apart. For now, Roberts expects... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The acquisition of Kenta Maeda took the Minnesota Twins longer than they anticipated.The trade that was made to get him, the team believes, will be well worth the wait and the price.“We made a lot of decisions this offseason to invest in the now,” Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “Now we also get a pitcher here who we think is going to impact us now and beyond.”Maeda joined the AL Central champions on Thursday morning, three days after the Twins finalized the deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and more than a week after the initial agreement on the three-team trade that also involved the Boston Red Sox was first struck.The move was the latest by the Twins in demonstration of their desire to play deeper into October. Last month, they signed third baseman Josh Donaldson to the biggest free agent contract in club history, a four-year deal worth $92 million. They’ve also added free agent pitchers Homer Bailey, Rich Hill and Tyler Clippard and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Boston Red Sox will make their $48 million in payments to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the David Price and Mookie Betts trade in 18 equal installments over the next three years.Boston will send Los Angeles $2,666,667 on the 15th of each month from April through September in 2020, 2021 and 2022 as part of the deal announced Monday, according to details obtained by The Associated Press.The $48 million is equal to half of what Price is owed for the remainder of the $217 million, seven-year contract he agreed to with Boston ahead of the 2016 season. He is due $32 million in each of the next three seasons.Betts has a $27 million salary this year and is eligible for free agency. Boston's net savings of $43 million this year — Betts' salary and half of Price's — drops the team's projected luxury tax payroll below the $208 million threshold. The Red Sox paid $11.95 million in tax following their World Series title in 2018 and $13.4 million in tax after missing the playoffs last year. If the Red Sox exceed the threshold for the third straight season, they would pay at a 50% rate on the first $20 million over, a 62% rate on the amount over $228 million and a 95% rate on the amount above $248 million.As part of the trade, Boston acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo, infielder Jeter Downs and catcher-infielder Connor Wong.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mookie Betts and David Price finally turned up in Dodgers jerseys on Wednesday, completing the journey from Boston to Los Angeles, where they're expected to help end a World Series title drought dating to 1988.Neither seemed fazed by the trade that dragged out for over a week before it was finalized. Betts described the waiting game as “fun at times, kind of stressful at times.” Price said being moved from one storied franchise to another was “something special.”“It wasn't as easy for us,” joked Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations. “It was definitely a roller coaster.” Betts, the 2018 AL MVP, joins current NL MVP Cody Bellinger in the Dodgers' outfield. Price, the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner, joins three-time NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw in the starting rotation.“Definitely going to be pretty special,” Betts said. “He's going to put on a show and I'll do my best to keep up with him.”Friedman sees the 2020 Dodgers as “quite possibly our most... [More]