Capsules of National League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Chicago Cubs2017: 92-70, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Manager: Joe Maddon (fourth season).He's Here: RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, LHP Drew Smyly, C Chris Gimenez.He's Outta Here: RHP Wade Davis, C Alex Avila, C Rene Rivera.Projected Lineup: CF Ian Happ (.253, 24 HRs, 68 RBIs, .842 OPS) or Albert Almora Jr. (.298, 8, 46), 3B Kris Bryant (.295, 29, 73, 38 2Bs, 111 runs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.273, 32, 109, 91 BBs), C Willson Contreras (.276, 21, 74), LF Kyle Schwarber (.211, 30, 59), SS Addison Russell (.239, 12, 43), RF Jason Heyward (.259, 11, 59), 2B Javier Baez (.273, 23, 75, .796 OPS).Rotation: LH Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33 ERA, 180 Ks), RH Kyle Hendricks (7-5, 3.03), RH Yu Darvish (10-12, 3.86, 209 Ks with Rangers and Dodgers), LH Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15, 207 Ks with White Sox and Cubs), RH Tyler Chatwood (8-15, 4.69 with Rockies).Key Relievers: RH Brandon... [More]

Capsules of National League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Chicago Cubs2017: 92-70, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Manager: Joe Maddon (fourth season).He's Here: RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, LHP Drew Smyly, C Chris Gimenez.He's Outta Here: RHP Wade Davis, C Alex Avila, C Rene Rivera.Projected Lineup: CF Ian Happ (.253, 24 HRs, 68 RBIs, .842 OPS) or Albert Almora Jr. (.298, 8, 46), 3B Kris Bryant (.295, 29, 73, 38 2Bs, 111 runs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.273, 32, 109, 91 BBs), C Willson Contreras (.276, 21, 74), LF Kyle Schwarber (.211, 30, 59), SS Addison Russell (.239, 12, 43), RF Jason Heyward (.259, 11, 59), 2B Javier Baez (.273, 23, 75, .796 OPS).Rotation: LH Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33 ERA, 180 Ks), RH Kyle Hendricks (7-5, 3.03), RH Yu Darvish (10-12, 3.86, 209 Ks with Rangers and Dodgers), LH Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15, 207 Ks with White Sox and Cubs), RH Tyler Chatwood (8-15, 4.69 with Rockies).Key Relievers: RH Brandon... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gerrit Cole remains a Pittsburgh Pirate. For now, at least.The Pirates and their top starting pitcher avoided arbitration by agreeing on a one-year deal worth $6.75 million on Friday. Cole went 12-12 with a 4.26 ERA while making a career-high 33 starts in 2017. He has one year of arbitration remaining and could command a hefty salary bump in 2019, one of the reasons the Pirates have explored trading him in recent weeks.Pittsburgh also reached agreements with shortstop Jordy Mercer and reliever George Kontos. Mercer, who will make $6.75 million in 2018, hit .255 with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs last season. Kontos, acquired from San Francisco at the trade deadline last July, will make $2.725 million.Closer Felipe Rivero remains eligible for arbitration. He is asking for $2.9 million and the team is offering $2.4 million.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

RHP George Kontos (groin) was reinstated from the DL after missing 15 games. He did not get into the game. Since joining the Pirates, he has allowed one earned run and struck out seven in five innings.

RHP George Kontos (right groin strain) will face live batters Tuesday and should be activated from the disabled list Wednesday if all goes well.

RHP George Kontos was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right groin strain. Kontos' time on the DL is retroactive to Sunday. He doesn't expect to miss more than the designated 10 days.

RHP George Kontos reported to the team, two days after the Pirates claimed him off waivers from San Francisco. He made his debut in the eighth, pitching a one-two-three inning that included one strikeout to help preserve the shutout.

RHP George Kontos was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, ending his six-season run with the Giants. "It did come as a surprise actually," Kontos said. "I woke up this morning and saw [general manager] Bobby Evans' name on my phone. I answered the phone and was told I was going to Pittsburgh. It was a little bit of shock at that moment. It felt like six years of memories piled up on my shoulder real quick." Manager Bruce Bochy said the Giants parted ways with Kontos because they want to give longer looks to some younger relievers. "I talked to George," Bochy said. "You look at our situation, there's some young players that are going to get a chance to show what they can do. This goes with the territory of our struggles. We need to find out about some players, see where we're at, not just now but we talk about the future and what we may need to do this winter." Kontos is 0-5 with a 3.83 ERA in 50 relief appearances this season. He came to the Giants from the Yankees on Apri 4, 2012, in exchange for C Chris Stewart, who now plays for the Pirates. Kontos went 15-14 with a 3.05 ERA and 300 relief appearances for the Giant

RHP George Kontos will join the Pirates bullpen after he was claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants. He appeared in 50 games, all in relief, with an 0-5 record and a 3.83 ERA.

RHP George Kontos was claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants. Kontos, 32, posted a 3.83 ERA in 50 appearances with the Giants in 2017, his sixth straight season with the team. He has a career record of 15-14 with a 3.05 ERA in 307 relief appearances in the major leagues with the New York Yankees (2011) and Giants (2012-17).

RHP George Kontos allowed a home run and struck out one. He tied a postseason career-high with his two-inning appearance. He was 3-2 with a 2.53 ERA in 57 regular season appearances.

RHP George Kontos was activated from the disabled list after he missed 26 games. Kontos adds depth to the bullpen thanks to his usually resilient arm, especially if his elbow is right. The injury dates to spring training, but Kontos was unable to pitch through it after being used in eight of first 13 games and notching an ERA of 1.59.

RHP George Kontos was activated off the disabled list.

RHP George Kontos (flexor strain) pitched a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Sacramento on Friday and is expected to be activated from the disabled list Tuesday for the first game of a three-game series at San Diego. Kontos has given up one run and five hits in 3 2/3 innings in four rehab outings with Sacramento.

RHP George Kontos (flexor strain) is expected to pitch in back-to-back minor league rehab games Friday and Saturday, manager Bruce Bochy said, and he is scheduled to join the Giants on Tuesday. However, Kontos could be activated before that if necessary, Bochy said. "Depending on how we use this bullpen, we could cut that short," Bochy said. "He could throw Friday, and then we could bring him up if we think he is ready."

RHP George Kontos, on a rehab assignment from a right flexor strain, could join the team in San Diego on Monday and that would give the bullpen a huge lift. Kontos took over the set-up role when RHP Sergio Romo went down with the same right flexor strain and pitched effectively. The Giants have needed to dip into their minor-league system a few times since Kontos has been out.

RHP George Kontos (right elbow flexor strain), currently on a rehab assignment, is expected to rejoin the Giants in San Diego next week.

RHP George Kontos, on the disabled list with a right elbow flexor strain, began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday. He threw one scoreless inning.

RHP George Kontos, on the disabled list with a right elbow flexor strain, threw two innings in the bullpen Tuesday in Cincinnati, throwing 40 total pitches. He's scheduled to throw a simulated game on Friday in San Francisco.

RHP George Kontos (right flexor strain) threw 20 pitches off a mound Friday. It was the first mound session for Kontos since he went on the disabled list April 19. He will likely miss at least two more weeks. Prior to getting hurt, Kontos went 0-1 with a 1.59 ERA in eight games.