SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — For the second consecutive season, the San Francisco Giants will be without injured ace Madison Bumgarner for a while.Bumgarner broke a bone in his pitching hand Friday when it was hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield during a spring training game.The Giants said X-rays showed the 28-year-old fractured the fifth metacarpal on the outside of his left hand. Bumgarner said the timeline for recovery is four to six weeks and he will have a pin inserted into his pinkie Saturday."It's tough. But I can handle it," Bumgarner said. "These guys can handle it. This obviously was not what I was expecting out of my last start. But it happened and I can deal with it."Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, missed nearly three months with a shoulder injury last season after a dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado.His latest setback is a huge blow to the Giants as they try to rebound from a surprising last-place finish in the NL West... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Carlos Gonzalez smiled at the thought of being back with the Colorado Rockies.Gonzalez spent nine seasons with the Rockies, becoming a three-time All-Star. He left as a free agent after the World Series, then returned to the Rockies in mid-March with a $5 million, one-year contract — a huge cut from his previous deal for $80 million over seven years."It was very different than in years past, my first time in free agency," the 32-year-old Venezuelan outfielder said Friday, speaking in Spanish. "There were a lot good players sweating it out, and everyone knows how it all went down, but the most important thing is to be able to get back to playing baseball."Gonzalez learned some things about the business side of baseball during a free-agent market that was the slowest since the end of the 1994-95 strike."Really glad to back here again," Gonzalez said. "Not many players have the opportunity to be with the same team for a decade."Gonzalez hit .221 with just six home... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Charlie Blackmon didn't need much baiting: The lure of a fishing contest in the middle of spring training was incentive enough.So the quirky Colorado Rockies outfielder/avid outdoorsman slipped into some waders and grabbed his fishing rod for a game to see which player could most accurately cast at cans set up on the turf.Anything for team bonding.Next on the line is an even more prized catch — reeling in a postseason berth for a second straight season. The Rockies are driven by an 11-8 loss to Arizona in the NL wild card game that halted their season."We have all the pieces that we need to be very competitive," Blackmon said. "We're well positioned to play better than last year."Hard to argue. Manager Bud Black's lineup features an NL batting champion in Blackmon , along with a power-hitting, smooth-fielding third baseman in Nolan Arenado. The team added a veteran catcher in Chris Iannetta and brought back popular clubhouse leader Carlos Gonzalez on a one-year deal.They won't... [More]

Capsules of National League West teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Los Angeles Dodgers2017: 104-58, first place, lost to Houston in World Series.Manager: Dave Roberts (third season).He's Here: OF Matt Kemp, RHP Tom Koehler, LHP Scott Alexander, LHP Henry Owens.He's Outta Here: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Brandon McCarthy, LHP Tony Watson, LHP Luis Avilan, LHP Scott Kazmir, LHP Adam Liberatore, OF Andre Ethier, INF Charlie Culberson, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Grant Dayton, OF Franklin Gutierrez, RHP Josh Ravin.Projected Lineup: CF Chris Taylor (.288, 21 HRs, 72 RBIs, 17 SBs), SS Corey Seager (.295, 22, 77), 3B Justin Turner (.322, 21, 71, will start season on DL with broken left wrist), 1B Cody Bellinger (.267, 39, 97, 10 SBs), RF Yasiel Puig (.263, 28, 74), LF Matt Kemp (.276, 19, 64 in 115 games with Braves) or Joc Pederson (.212, 11, 35 in 102 games), C Austin Barnes (.289, 8, 38) or Yasmani Grandal (.247, 22, 58), 2B Logan Forsythe (.224, 6,... [More]

Third base is a polarizing position for 2018, as some fantasy analysts say it's extremely deep and others say it falls off tremendously after the top 10.It all comes down to roster structure and your league size.Outside of Mike Trout and Jose Altuve, the safest player in fantasy baseball is Nolan Arenado. And quite honestly, safety is what you want from your first-round pick. You want someone who will put up elite numbers, but doesn't have a lot of risk attached. Over the past three years, Arenado has averaged a .297 batting average, 40 home runs, 131 RBIs and 104 runs for the Rockies. If you want Arenado, you'll have to pay an early first-round price for him, but is he the only third baseman that deserves to be a first-round pick in fantasy this year?Kris Bryant, Manny Machado and Jose Ramirez all make the case, but they are a tier below Arenado, typically falling in the middle of the second round.Is it worth grabbing Arenado in the first round or one of the other aforementioned second-tier... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was rocked for seven runs and seven hits over 1 1/3 innings in his second major league spring training start for the Los Angeles Angels, allowing long home runs to Colorado's Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado that went over the left-field berm on Friday in an 18-6 loss.The 23-year-old Japanese two-way star made his first big league exhibition appearance since Feb. 24, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings against Milwaukee and gave up Keon Broxton's home run leading off the second.Desmond hit a solo homer and Arenado had a three-run shot. Charlie Blackmon had a two-run single, and DJ LeMahieu a run-scoring infield single.Desmond also hit a solo homer off Tyler Warmoth. Kole Calhoun homered for the Angels and Justin Upton went deep for the third time.ELSEHWERE AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESROYALS 12, PADRES 4Mike Moustakas hit a two-run single in his first spring training appearance for Kansas City after rejoining the Royals. Salvador Perez homered twice,... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was rocked for seven runs and seven hits over 1 1/3 innings in his second major league spring training start for the Los Angeles Angels, allowing long home runs to Colorado's Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado that went over the left-field berm on Friday in an 18-6 loss.The 23-year-old Japanese two-way star made his first big league exhibition appearance since Feb. 24, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings against Milwaukee and gave up Keon Broxton's home run leading off the second.Desmond hit a solo homer and Arrenado had a three-run shot. Charlie Blackmon had a two-run single, and DJ LeMahieu a run-scoring infield single.Desmond also hit a solo homer off Tyler Warmoth. Kole Calhoun homered for the Angels and Justin Upton went deep for the third time.ELSEHWERE AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESROYALS 12, PADRES 4Mike Moustakas hit a two-run single in his first spring training appearance for Kansas City after rejoining the Royals. Salvador Perez homered twice,... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was rocked for seven runs over 1 1/3 innings in his second major league spring training start for the Los Angeles Angels, allowing long home runs to Colorado's Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado that went over the left-field berm on Friday.The 23-year-old Japanese two-way star made his first big league exhibition appearance since Feb. 24, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings against Milwaukee and gave up Keon Broxton's home run leading off the second.Against the Rockies, he walked NL batting champion Charlie Blackmon leading off and allowed Arenado's one-out single before escaping a first-inning jam.Desmond homered starting the second, Ohtani hit Chris Iannetta with a pitch, Mike Tauchman singled and Jordan Patterson loaded the bases when his popup dropped for a single.Blackmon hit a two-run single, DJ LeMahieu reached on a run-scoring infield single for a 4-0 lead and Arenado hit a three-run homer. Ohtani struck out Trevor Story for the second time and was removed... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was rocked for seven runs over 1 1/3 innings in his second major league spring training start for the Los Angeles Angels, allowing long home runs to Colorado's Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado on Friday.The 23-year-old Japanese two-way star was making his first big league exhibition appearance since Feb. 24, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings against Milwaukee and gave up Keon Broxton's home run leading off the second.Against the Rockies, he walked NL batting champion Charlie Blackmon leading off and allowed Arenado's one-out single before escaping the jam.Desmond homered starting the second, Ohtani hit Chris Iannetta with a pitch, Mike Tauchman singled and Jordan Patterson loaded the bases when his popup dropped for a single.Blackmon hit a two-run single, DJ LeMahieu reached on a run-scoring infield single for a 4-0 lead and Arenado hit a three-run homer. Ohtani struck out Trevor Story for the second time and was removed after allowing seven hits.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Carlos Gonzalez says he has no regrets about his first voyage into free agency."I'm glad I'm back. I'm wearing the same uniform I've been wearing for the last nine seasons, which is special," the outfielder said Tuesday, a day after his $5 million, one-year deal to stay with the Colorado Rockies was finalized. "Not a lot of guys can say (they) played 10 years with one organization, with one uniform. That's something that makes me feel very proud."The three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner made $20 million in 2017 in the final season of an $80 million, seven-year contract. But as was the case with several prominent free agents, the big contracts didn't materialize and Gonzalez settled for the familiar surroundings of right field at Coors Field."I never had that opportunity before," Gonzalez said of free agency." I signed my seven-year deal when I was in my second year in the big leagues, so I never went through arbitration or free agency. I wanted to... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Carlos Gonzalez says he has no regrets about his first voyage into free agency."I'm glad I'm back. I'm wearing the same uniform I've been wearing for the last nine seasons, which is special," the outfielder said Tuesday, a day after his $5 million, one-year deal to stay with the Colorado Rockies was finalized. "Not a lot of guys can say (they) played 10 years with one organization, with one uniform. That's something that makes me feel very proud."The three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner made $20 million in 2017 in the final season of an $80 million, seven-year contract. But as was the case with several prominent free agents, the big contracts didn't materialize and Gonzalez settled for the familiar surroundings of right field at Coors Field."I never had that opportunity before," Gonzalez said of free agency." I signed my seven-year deal when I was in my second year in the big leagues, so I never went through arbitration or free agency. I wanted to... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Ryan McMahon is moving closer to opening the regular season as the Colorado Rockies' first baseman.The 23-year-old entered Thursday hitting .387 with a team-leading 12 hits in 31 at-bats."The numbers might be OK, but numbers don't really mean much in spring training," McMahon said. "You're just trying to find your swing and get ready for the season. Trying to find the swing that I want and just enjoying it."Mark Reynolds, who remains a free agent, was the primary first baseman last season and had 30 homers and 97 RBIs. McMahon made his major league debut Aug. 12 and hit .158 (3 for 19) in 17 games."It's good to see that he's feeling comfortable," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "This has been a gradual progression for him this year and last year getting to the big leagues, and these are all steps that you take to become a big leaguer. He still has some boxes to check off, but he's doing very well."McMahon has long gotten past the wow factor of being in the same... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Nolan Arenado chuckled at the idea of ever taking the field every day for the Colorado Rockies and playing all 162 games.In theory, it's possible. The reality of being the third baseman for the Rockies is something else."I played 160 one year. That was way too hard in Denver," he said.Still, Arenado is bucking a trend while developing into one of the premier players in the National League. Rather than making sure he's getting days of rest built into his schedule, Arenado almost refuses to step out of the lineup. Arenado has played at least 157 games in each of the past three seasons. Only two position players league wide — Eric Hosmer and Joey Votto — have played more games than the 476 total regular-season games for Arenado during those three seasons.It's a point of pride for the Rockies' young star, who turns 27 next month and finished fourth in the MVP voting last season. And he's doing it playing half the season at elevation where it's more difficult for the... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Charlie Blackmon was historically good as a leadoff hitter last season. So good that the Colorado Rockies might try to move that production into a more productive spot in the lineup.As spring training opened, the Rockies already have talked to Blackmon about the possibility of hitting in the middle of the order this season as they attempt to fill the hole left by the apparent loss of mainstay Carlos Gonzalez, who remains a free agent but does not appear to be in the team's plans."I think Charlie is the type of player who can hit a lot of different places in the lineup," manager Bud Black said."If it makes sense to hit him somewhere else besides first, we are really going to look at it. When we start games on (February) 23rd, you might see him hit third. You might see him hit different spots. Don't be surprised if that happens in spring training and we'll see what that looks like."The 31-year-old center fielder has spent almost all of his last four full seasons hitting... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League West 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:___Los Angeles DodgersManager: Dave Roberts (third season).2017: 104-58, first place, lost to Houston in World Series.Training Town: Glendale, Arizona.Park: Camelback Ranch.First Workout: Feb. 14/19.He's Here: OF Matt Kemp, RHP Tom Koehler.He's Outta Here: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, RHP Yu Darvish, LHP Scott Kazmir, RHP Brandon McCarthy, INF Charlie Culberson, OF Curtis Granderson, 2B Chase Utley, OF Andre Ethier.Going campin': The Dodgers returned to the World Series for the first time since winning it in 1988, only to lose to Houston in seven games. They topped 100 wins while earning a fifth straight NL West title. Clayton Kershaw is one of the elite pitchers in the game, a seven-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner. He begins the season with 144 career victories, 21 shy of Sandy... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nolan Arenado didn't travel home with the team after the Colorado Rockies lost at Arizona in last October's wild-card game.He needed some time to himself, to reflect on a season in which the Rockies made it back to the postseason for the first time since 2009 only to have the run abruptly end with an 11-8 loss to the Diamondbacks.The Gold Glove third baseman played some golf, went to a concert all by himself — Post Malone — and then made a vow to work even harder .This from a player who hit 37 homers and drove in 130 runs a season ago."A little depression after that wild-card game," Arenado said. "I was so upset. I wanted to play more baseball.Colorado went 87-75 in manager Bud Black's first season and was looking for a deeper playoff run."It hurt, but it can only make us better. I talked to some of the guys, and they still talk about it to this day. It's like, 'Dang, what happened? How did that game go crazy like that?" Arenado said. "That's a good thing to have. It makes... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and players' association head Tony Clark met Tuesday, five days after the union rejected Major League Baseball's proposal to institute pitch clocks and limits on mound visits.Management has the right to implement the rules changes it proposed last year. Under baseball's labor contract, management can change on-field rules on its own with one season of advance notice.MLB does not intend to make any decision before its next owners' meetings, scheduled for next week in Beverly Hills, California. Big league spring training games start Feb. 23 and the season opens March 29."We discussed a wide range of topics," Clark said in an email. "I will now be discussing each of those topics with our player leadership."Manfred declined comment.Nine-inning games averaged a record 3 hours, 5 minutes during the 2017 regular season and 3:29 during the postseason, and the length of games has concerned club owners and executives in an age where they compete for... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and players' association head Tony Clark met Tuesday, five days after the union rejected Major League Baseball's proposal to institute pitch clocks and limits on mound visits.Management has the right to implement the rules changes it proposed last year. Under baseball's labor contract, management can change on-field rules on its own with one season of advance notice.MLB does not intend to make any decision before its next owners' meetings, scheduled for next week in Beverly Hills, California. Big league spring training games start Feb. 23 and the season opens March 29."We discussed a wide range of topics," Clark said in an email. "I will now be discussing each of those topics with our player leadership."Manfred did not respond to an email seeking comment.Nine-inning games averaged a record 3 hours, 5 minutes during the 2017 regular season and 3:29 during the postseason, and the length of games has concerned club owners and executives in... [More]

DENVER (AP) — NL batting champion Charlie Blackmon and the Colorado Rockies avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a $14 million, one-year contract on Friday.The 31-year-old center fielder hit .331 with 37 homers and 104 RBIs last year and made $7.3 million. He can become a free agent after this season.Blackmon turned in one of the most productive seasons from the leadoff spot in major league history. His 102 RBIs from the top of the order surpassed Darin Erstad's previous major league record of 100 set with the Angels in 2000. Blackmon had 383 total bases — the most by a leadoff hitter for a season.His 37 homers tied him with Marcell Ozuna and Rockies teammate Nolan Arenado for third-most in the NL.In other deals, second baseman DJ LeMahieu agreed to an $8.5 million deal after making $4.85 million in 2017. He played in a career-high 155 games last season, hit .310 and made the All-Star team.Right-hander Chad Bettis agreed to $2 million deal, up from $545,000 in 2017. He was one of the... [More]

3B and MVP candidate Nolan Arenado's opposite-field homer in the eighth inning was his only hit in five at-bats as the Rockies lost in their first playoff game since 2009. "I am very proud of the way we battled but I think the Diamondbacks we just the better team today," said Arenado, who had 37 homers in the regular season. "The experience is good for us, and I think a lot of these young guys know how long a major league season is, how tough it is. I think it is only going to make us better. There's still room to grow. Today was a sign of that."