NEW YORK (AP) — AL MVP Mookie Betts, NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and major league home run champion Khris Davis reached high-priced one-year deals to avoid salary arbitration, while slugger Nolan Arenado and pitchers Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino and Aaron Nola were among 15 players still on track for hearings.Betts and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox agreed to a $20 million, one-year contract on Friday, a $9.5 million raise that topped pitcher Max Scherzer's $8.8 million hike from Detroit in 2014.Betts' standard didn't last the day, broken when deGrom and the New York Mets agreed at $17 million, a $9.6 million increase.Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor, eligible for the first time, got an even bigger raise. His salary went up more than $9.9 million, from $643,200 to $10.55 million.Davis and the Oakland Athletics reached a $16.5 million deal, a $6 million raise after he hit 48 home runs with a career-high 123 RBIs.Arenado asked for a record $30 million in arbitration... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — AL MVP Mookie Betts, NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and major league home run champion Khris Davis reached high-priced one-year deals to avoid salary arbitration, while slugger Nolan Arenado and pitchers Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino and Aaron Nola were among 15 players still on track for hearings.Betts and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox agreed to a $20 million, one-year contract on Friday, a record $9.5 million raise for a player in arbitration more than one time that topped pitcher Max Scherzer's $8.8 million hike from Detroit in 2014.Betts' standard didn't last the day, broken when deGrom and the New York Mets agreed at $17 million, a $9.6 million increase.Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor, eligible for the first time, got an even bigger raise. His salary went up more than $9.9 million, from $643,200 to $10.55 million.Davis and the Oakland Athletics reached a $16.5 million deal, a $6 million raise after he hit 48 home runs with a career-high 123 RBIs.Arenado... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Four-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado asked for $30 million in salary arbitration Friday, while the Colorado Rockies offered $24 million.Arenado, who has won six straight Gold Glove Awards and four consecutive Silver Slugger Awards, made $17.85 million last year.He hit .297 with an NL-high 38 home runs and 110 RBIs, which tied for second in the league, to help the Rockies reach the playoffs for the second straight season. They beat the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card game before being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the Division Series.Colorado agreed to one-year contracts with All-Star shortstop Trevor Story, right-handers Jon Gray and Chad Bettis, left-hander Tyler Anderson, right-handed reliever Scott Oberg and catcher Tony Wolters to avoid arbitration.Story, the Rockies' first-round pick in the 2011 amateur draft, gets a big raise from $630,000 to $5 million. He hit .291 with 37 homers and 108 RBIs in earning his first All-Star selection.Anderson, also a first-round... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Four-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado asked for $30 million in salary arbitration Friday, while the Colorado Rockies offered $24 million.Arenado, who has won six straight Gold Glove Awards and four consecutive Silver Slugger Awards, made $17.85 million last year.He hit .297 with an NL-high 38 home runs and 110 RBIs, which tied for second in the league, to help the Rockies reach the postseason for the second straight season. They beat the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card game before being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the Division Series.Colorado agreed to one-year contracts with All-Star shortstop Trevor Story, right-hander Jon Gray and right-handed reliever Scott Oberg to avoid arbitration.Story, the Rockies' first-round pick in the 2011 amateur draft, gets a big raise, from $630,000 to $5 million. He hit .291 with 37 homers and 108 RBIs in earning his first All-Star berth.Gray will earn $2,925,000, up from $550,000. The team's first-round pick in the 2013 amateur... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — AL MVP Mookie Betts, NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and major league home run champion Khris Davis reached high-priced one-year deals to avoid salary arbitration, while slugger Nolan Arenado and pitchers Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino and Aaron Nola were among 15 players still on track for hearings.Betts and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox agreed to a $20 million, one-year contract on Friday, a $9.5 million raise for an arbitration-eligible player that topped pitcher Max Scherzer's $8.8 million raise from Detroit in 2014.Betts' record didn't last the day, broken when deGrom and the New York Mets agreed at $17 million, a $9.6 million increase.Davis and the Oakland Athletics reached a $16.5 million deal, a $6 million raise after he hit 48 home runs with a career-high 123 RBIs.Arenado asked for a record $30 million in arbitration from Colorado and was offered $24 million. He will top the record for a salary for an arbitration-eligible player, a $23 million deal... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — AL MVP Mookie Betts, NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and major league home run champion Khris Davis reached high-priced one-year deals to avoid salary arbitration, while slugger Nolan Arenado and pitchers Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino and Aaron Nola were among 15 players still on track for hearings.Betts and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox agreed to a $20 million, one-year contract on Friday, a $9.5 million raise for an arbitration-eligible player that topped pitcher Max Scherzer's $8.8 million raise from Detroit in 2014.Betts' record didn't last the day, broken when deGrom and the New York Mets agreed at $17 million, a $9.6 million increase.Davis and the Oakland Athletics reached a $16.5 million deal, a $6 million raise after he hit 48 home runs with a career-high 123 RBIs.Arenado asked for a record $30 million in arbitration from Colorado and was offered $24 million. He will top the record for a salary for an arbitration-eligible player, a $23 million deal... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — AL MVP Mookie Betts, NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and major league home run champion Khris Davis reached high-priced one-year deals to avoid salary arbitration, while slugger Nolan Arenado and pitchers Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino and Aaron Nola failed to reach agreements and for now appeared headed to hearings.Betts and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox agreed to a $20 million, one-year contract on Friday, a $9.5 million raise for an arbitration-eligible player that topped pitcher Max Scherzer's $8.8 million raise from Detroit in 2014.Betts' record didn't last the day, broken when deGrom and the New York Mets agreed at $17 million, a $9.6 million increase.Davis and the Oakland Athletics reached a $16.5 million deal, a $6 million raise after he hit 48 home runs with a career-high 123 RBIs.Arenado asked for a record $30 million in arbitration from Colorado and was offered $24 million. He will top the record for a salary for an arbitration-eligible player, a $23 million deal last year by Toronto and third baseman Josh Donaldson.Among the 157 players eligible at the start of the day, just 15 remained without deals.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — Right-handed reliever Scott Oberg and the Colorado Rockies have agreed to a $1.3 million, one-year contract to avoid salary arbitration.The 28-year-old Oberg made $555,000 in 2018 as he emerged as one of Colorado's more reliable relievers. He was 8-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 58 2/3 innings.Oberg appeared in all four of Colorado's postseason games last season, posting a 1-0 record with a 4.91 ERA.He spent some time on the disabled list last June with a strained back. He also was on the paternity list from Aug. 14-17.Oberg was taken by Colorado in the 15th round of the 2012 amateur draft.Six Rockies remain eligible to swap proposed salaries with the team Friday, including third baseman Nolan Arenado and shortstop Trevor Story.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — Daniel Murphy had no second thoughts about the Colorado Rockies bringing him in to play first base.As for taking his kids to get a picture with Santa at the mall just days before the holiday? Hey, at least the whole family was wearing Rockies purple for the photo."Stood in line for an hour and a half," Murphy cracked Friday in a teleconference call from Jacksonville, Florida. "I'm just excited it all went through."The 33-year-old Murphy signed a $24 million, two-year deal that includes a mutual option in 2021. Although he's played way more games at second base, the plan is for Murphy to take over at first. That means Ian Desmond will move to one of the outfield spots.It's another way to add a little more sizzle to the lineup after the Rockies batted a franchise-worst .256 in 2018. A lifetime .299 hitter, Murphy figures to raise that batting average."A professional hitter for a long period of time," general manager Jeff Bridich said. "He has a lot of different skills as an... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Mookie Betts is ready to become an ambassador for baseball, now that he's won a batting title, World Series and Most Valuable Player award with Boston."I enjoy being kind of a face around the game. I've kind of used this pedestal or whatever you want to say to spread knowledge that the game is fun," he said Thursday after his runaway victory for the AL MVP award.Milwaukee's Christian Yelich was close to a unanimous pick for the NL honor. A 26-year-old outfielder just like Betts, Yelich also won a batting championship and led his team to a division title. But while Betts has been with the Red Sox since he signed after the 2011 amateur draft, Yelich didn't join the Brewers until he was dealt to Milwaukee last January by the payroll-paring Miami Marlins."I'm thankful it all worked out because being traded, you never know how it's going to be," Yelich said. "Luckily for myself, it all went amazing."Yelich is signed through 2021 and his deal includes a team option for the following... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston's Mookie Betts and Milwaukee's Christian Yelich were runaway winners of the Most Valuable Player awards after the 26-year-old outfielders each led their teams to first-place finishes with dominant seasons that included batting titles.Betts received 28 first-place votes and 410 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in balloting announced Thursday.Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, a two-time MVP, followed with one first-place vote and 265 points. Trout tied the record of four second-place finishes shared by Stan Musial, Ted Williams and Albert Pujols. Trout won in 2014 and 2016; was finished second in '12, '13 and '15; and was fourth in 2017.Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez was third with 208 points, and Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez was next with one first and 198 points.Betts hit a major league-leading .346 with 32 homers, 80 RBIs and 30 stolen bases as the leadoff hitter for the Red Sox, who won a team-record 108 games and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich was a runaway winner for the National League Most Valuable Player award after helping the Brewers return to the playoffs for the first time in seven years.Yelich received 29 first-place votes and 415 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in balloting announced Thursday.Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez was next with 250 points, followed by Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado with 203. Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman finished fourth with 174, and the other first-place vote went to New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, the NL Cy Young Award winner, who finished fifth.Acquired from the payroll-paring Miami Marlins about a month before spring training, the 26-year-old Yelich won his first NL batting title — and the first in Brewers history — with a .326 average. He set career highs with 36 homers and 110 RBIs and had a 1.000 OPS.Yelich nearly became the NL's first Triple Crown winner since Joe Medwick in 1937, finishing... [More]

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Agent John Boggs stood in the lobby at the hotel hosting the general managers' meetings and talked about last winter, when dozens of free agents remained unsigned after spring training began, causing prices to plummet as opening day approached."It's the greatest thing for the owners because they've got a lot of players that are wanting to play and have a lot of game left in them, and all of a sudden are just sitting there dying to get an opportunity again, and so it's a gigantic Macy's basement sale," he said. "I hope it is an aberration because I think there's a lot of good players that are being deprived of getting an opportunity to continue their careers."As the offseason starts, teams and agents aren't sure whether the market will revert to its previous pace or whether clubs will try to wait out players again.Miami's efforts to trade Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani's decision to leave Japan for the major leagues created roadblocks after the 2017 season."I... [More]

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Agent John Boggs stood in the lobby at the hotel hosting the general managers' meetings and talked about last winter, when dozens of free agents remained unsigned after spring training began, causing prices to plummet as opening day approached."It's the greatest thing for the owners because they've got a lot of players that are wanting to play and have a lot of game left in them, and all of a sudden are just sitting there dying to get an opportunity again, and so it's a gigantic Macy's basement sale," he said. "I hope it is an aberration because I think there's a lot of good players that are being deprived of getting an opportunity to continue their careers."As the offseason starts, teams and agents aren't sure whether the market will revert to its previous pace or whether clubs will try to wait out players again.Miami's efforts to trade Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani's decision to leave Japan for the major leagues created roadblocks after the 2017 season."I... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed the finalists for its major awards Monday night. The winners will be announced next week.Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way Japanese sensation was 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA as a starting pitcher before an elbow injury forced him off the mound. He finished out the season exclusively as a designated hitter, hitting .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs.Ohtani is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings. He had Tommy John surgery after the season and is not expected to pitch in 2019.Andujar hit 47 doubles, tied for the second-most by a rookie in major league history, while... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed the finalists for its major awards Monday night. The winners will be announced next week.Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way Japanese sensation was 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA as a starting pitcher before an elbow injury forced him off the mound. He finished out the season exclusively as a designated hitter, hitting .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs.Ohtani is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings. He had Tommy John surgery after the season and is not expected to pitch in 2019.Andujar hit 47 doubles, tied for the second-most by a rookie in major league history, while... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed the finalists for its major awards Monday night. The winners will be announced next week.Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way Japanese sensation is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings.The World Series champion Boston Red Sox might be in line for more hardware. Mookie Betts is a finalist for AL MVP, and Alex Cora is in the final three for AL Manager of the Year in his first season. Los Angeles' Mike Trout and Cleveland's Jose Ramirez are also finalists for AL MVP.Milwaukee's Christian Yelich is the favorite for NL MVP, and Colorado's Nolan Arenado and Chicago's Javier Baez were also revealed as top vote-getters.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Mookie Betts and the Boston Red Sox just keep winning.Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Ian Kinsler won Gold Gloves for the World Series champion Red Sox on Sunday night, and the Atlanta Braves also were recognized for their fielding excellence this season.The 26-year-old Betts won for the third straight year. He also is a top contender for the AL MVP award.Kinsler got his second Gold Glove at second base, and Bradley won for the first time in center. Teammate Andrew Benintendi also was nominated, but Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon took home his sixth Gold Glove instead.Atlanta added three Gold Gloves to its surprise NL East title this season. Freddie Freeman and Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo tied for the award at first base, and center fielder Ender Inciarte and right fielder Nick Markakis also were honored for the Braves.It's the third straight Gold Glove for Inciarte. Markakis won for the first time in the NL and third time overall, ending Jason Heyward's run of four in a row.Oakland,... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The immediate picture for the Colorado Rockies looks grim: a slumping offense that couldn't support solid pitching led to a quick end of Rocktober .The larger view, now that's one third baseman Nolan Arenado prefers to take with him into the offseason.Although the season ended with a three-game sweep by Milwaukee in the NL Division Series, the Rockies took a step forward in 2018. A year ago, they were eliminated in the NL wild-card game. This season, they beat Chicago in the wild-card contest to make it to the division series, only to run into the Brewers and their dominant arms.Colorado (91-72) won the second-most games in franchise history and came one victory short of its first NL West title. The bats simply went silent at the wrong time."It's on the offense," said Arenado, whose team hit a franchise-worst .256 in the regular season. "We couldn't get anything going. But it was a solid year. We played really well."On a gloomy Sunday at Coors Field, the Rockies were eliminated... [More]

DENVER (AP) — For once, the Colorado Rockies head into the offseason searching for more pop at the plate to go with excellent pitching, not the other way around.The Rockies lacked patience at the plate in getting swept by Milwaukee in the best-of-five NL Division Series with a 6-0 loss Sunday, their second straight shutout.They were outscored 13-2 as they hit .146 with three extra-base hits and no homers . They didn't score in their last 19 innings and set an NL Division Series low for runs,So much for a return to the thin air of Coors Field to spark a dormant offense."I don't know what it is," third baseman Nolan Arenado said. "It's just a bad stretch at the wrong time."Rockies fans have a long winter to lament that and manager Bud Black's decision to start German Marquez in Game 3 rather than hometown hero Kyle Freeland, who was 17-7 and pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the 2-1 wild-card win at Wrigley Field last Tuesday."Everyone wants to be the guy that takes the ball or has a big... [More]