NEW YORK (AP) — Outfielder Brett Gardner and the New York Yankees finalized his $12.5 million, one-year contract on Saturday.New York agreed to the deal Dec. 13 during the winter meetings, and the 36-year-old took a physical on Tuesday. His addition, following last month's $324 million, nine-year contract with pitcher Gerrit Cole, raised the Yankees' projected luxury tax payroll to about $248 million — the threshold where the highest luxury tax rate starts.Gardner gets a $2 million signing bonus and an $8 million salary for next season. The Yankees have a $10 million option for 2021 with a $2.5 million buyout.New York opened a roster spot by designating left-hander Stephen Tarpley for assignment.Gardner earned $7.5 million last season plus a $2 million buyout after New York declined his $12.5 million option for 2019 under his previous contract. He hit .251 and set career highs with 28 homers and 74 RBIs, a rare left-handed bat in a Yankees lineup dominated by right-handed hitters.Gardner is the senior member of the Yankees, having spent his entire 12-year big league career in the Bronx. He has a .260 average, 124 homers and 524 RBIs.He is expected to see time in center field during the first half of the season while Aaron Hicks recovers from offseason Tommy John surgery, then shift back to left when Hicks returns.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Robinson Chirinos and the Texas Rangers were close Wednesdayto a $6.5 million, one-year contract to reunite after the veteran catcher spent a season with the AL West rival Houston Astros.A person familiar with the deal said the agreement was contingent on a successful physical. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because there had been no official announcement.Chirinos would have a $5.5 million salary this season. The deal includes a $6.5 million option for 2021 with a $1 million buyout. After six seasons with the Rangers, Chirinos became a free agent when Texas declined a $4.5 million option after the 2019 season and he signed a $5.75 million deal with Houston. He hit .238 with 17 homers and 58 RBIs in 114 games for the American League champions, while catching for AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander and runner-up Gerrit Cole. He homered in Games 3 and 4 of the World Series, including a pair in Game 4.The 35-year-old likely will become the Rangers starting... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán will miss the first 63 games of the 2020 season as part of an 81-game ban for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.The league announced the suspension Thursday. Germán has agreed not to appeal.Germán was put on administrative leave on Sept. 19 while MLB investigated an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend, with whom he has at least one child. He missed the final nine games of the 2019 regular season and all nine of New York’s postseason games. Those missed games will count toward his ban.The right-hander was the Yankees’ winningest pitcher last season, going 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 24 starts and three relief appearances. The 27-year-old had a $577,500 salary but will not be paid for the time he missed after being placed on leave, costing him $35,153. He is expected to make a similar salary for 2020 but again will not be paid while suspended, losing out on more than $225,000.Germán will be eligible... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán will miss the first 63 games of the 2020 season as part of an 81-game ban for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.The league announced the suspension Thursday. Germán has agreed not to appeal.Germán was put on administrative leave on Sept. 19 while MLB investigated an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend, with whom he has at least one child. He missed the final nine games of the 2019 regular season and all nine of New York’s postseason games. Those missed games will count toward his ban.The right-hander was the Yankees’ winningest pitcher last season, going 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 24 starts and three relief appearances. The 27-year-old had a $577,000 salary but will not be paid for the time he missed after being placed on leave. He is expected to make a similar salary for 2020 but again will not be paid while suspended.Germán will be eligible to return June 5 against Tampa Bay, barring any postponements.The... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán will miss the first 63 games of the 2020 season as part of an 81-game ban for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.The league announced the suspension Thursday. Germán has agreed not to appeal.Germán was put on administrative leave on Sept. 19 while MLB investigated an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend, with whom he has at least one child. He missed the final nine games of the 2019 regular season and all nine of New York’s postseason games. Those missed games will count toward his ban.The right-hander was the Yankees’ winningest pitcher last season, going 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 24 starts and three relief appearances. The 27-year-old had a $577,000 salary but will not be paid for the time he missed after being placed on leave. He is expected to make a similar salary for 2020 but again will not be paid while suspended.Germán will participate in a treatment program and will also make a contribution... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Curt Flood set off the free-agent revolution 50 years ago Tuesday with a 128-word letter to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, two paragraphs that pretty much ended the career of a World Series champion regarded as among the sport's stars but united a union behind his cause.St. Louis had traded the All-Star center fielder to Philadelphia just after the 1969 season. Flood broke with the sport's culture of conformity and refused to accept the Cardinals' right to deal him, becoming a pioneer and a pariah.After weeks of discussions with the Major League Baseball Players Association, Flood began the union's equivalent of Lexington and Concord, challenging the reserve clause in first shot of a labor war that would consume the sport for more than a quarter-century."After 12 years in the major leagues, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes," Flood wrote in his Dec. 24 missive. "I believe that any system which produces that result... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Curt Flood set off the free-agent revolution 50 years ago Tuesday with a 128-word letter to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, two paragraphs that pretty much ended the career of a World Series champion regarded as among the sport's stars but united a union behind his cause.St. Louis had traded the All-Star center fielder to Philadelphia just after the 1969 season. Flood broke with the sport's culture of conformity and refused to accept the Cardinals' right to deal him, becoming a pioneer and a pariah.After weeks of discussions with the Major League Baseball Players Association, Flood began the union's equivalent of Lexington and Concord, challenging the reserve clause in first shot of a labor war that would consume the sport for more than a quarter-century."After 12 years in the major leagues, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes," Flood wrote in his Dec. 24 missive. "I believe that any system which produces that result... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Curt Flood set off the free-agent revolution 50 years ago Tuesday with a 128-word letter to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, two paragraphs that pretty much ended the career of a World Series champion regarded as among the sport's stars but united a union behind his cause.St. Louis had traded the All-Star center fielder to Philadelphia just after the 1969 season. Flood broke with the sport's culture of conformity and refused to accept the Cardinals' right to deal him, becoming a pioneer and a pariah.After weeks of discussions with the Major League Baseball Players Association, Flood began the union's equivalent of Lexington and Concord, challenging the reserve clause in first shot of a labor war that would consume the sport for more than a quarter-century."After 12 years in the major leagues, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes," Flood wrote in his Dec. 24 missive. "I believe that any system which produces that result... [More]

Hyun-Jin Ryu is headed north of the border to a Toronto Blue Jays team in dire need of starting pitching.One that was willing to pay for it, too.Ryu and the Blue Jays agreed to an $80 million, four-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke late Sunday night on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical after Christmas and had not been announced.Ryu was 14-5 with a major league-best 2.32 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. He started for the National League in his first All-Star Game and finished second in Cy Young Award voting to New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom.The 32-year-old left-hander from South Korea receives a $20 million salary each of the next four years, with no signing bonus. His deal raised agent Scott Boras' total to more than a billion dollars in guaranteed contracts — $1,016,500,000 to be exact — for seven players eligible for free agency since the start of November, agreements extending as many as nine... [More]

Hyun-Jin Ryu is headed north of the border to a Toronto Blue Jays team in dire need of starting pitching.One that was willing to pay for it, too.Ryu and the Blue Jays agreed to an $80 million, four-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke late Sunday night on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical after Christmas and had not been announced.Ryu was 14-5 with a major league-best 2.32 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. The 32-year-old left-hander from South Korea started for the National League in his first All-Star appearance and finished second in Cy Young Award voting to New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom.Ryu receives a $20 million salary each of the next four years, with no signing bonus. His deal raised agent Scott Boras' total to more than a billion dollars in guaranteed contracts — $1,016,500,000 to be exact — for seven players eligible for free agency since the start of November, agreements extending as many... [More]

Free agent pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to an $80 million, four-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke late Sunday night on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical after Christmas and had not been announced.Ryu was 14-5 with a major league-best 2.32 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. The 32-year-old left-hander from South Korea started for the National League in his first All-Star appearance and finished second in Cy Young Award voting to New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom.He receives a $20 million salary each of the next four years, with no signing bonus.Ryu's deal raised agent Scott Boras' total to more than a billion dollars in guaranteed contracts — $1,016,500,000 to be exact — for seven players since the start of November, deals extending as many as nine seasons. He previously negotiated agreements for pitchers Gerrit Cole ($324 million), Stephen Strasburg ($245 million), Dallas Keuchel... [More]

Free agent pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to an $80 million, four-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke late Sunday night on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical sometime after Christmas and had not been announced.Ryu was 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. He made his first All-Star team and finished second in NL Cy Young Award voting to New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom.Ryu's deal raised agent Scott Boras' total to $1,016,500,000 in guaranteed contracts for seven players since the start of November, deals extending as many as nine seasons. He previously negotiated agreements for pitchers Gerrit Cole ($324 million), Stephen Strasburg ($245 million), Dallas Keuchel ($55.5 million) and Tony Watson ($3 million); third baseman Anthony Rendon ($245 million) and infielder Mike Moustakas ($64 million).___AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Chicago White Sox and left-hander Dallas Keuchel have agreed to a $55.5 million, three-year deal, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday night because the agreement had not been announced. Keuchel's deal includes a vesting option for 2023 that would bring the total value to $74 million.The 31-year-old Keuchel won the AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros in 2015 but struggled to find work last offseason as a free agent. He signed a roughly $13 million, one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves in June and went 8-8 with a 3.75 ERA for the NL East champions. The long-bearded veteran joins catcher Yasmani Grandal as a big-money addition to the White Sox this offseason. Grandal signed a $73 million, four-year contract with Chicago last month. The White Sox also brought back slugger Jose Abreu on a $50 million, three-year deal, acquired outfielder Nomar Mazara from the Texas Rangers and added lefty starter Gio... [More]

The Chicago White Sox and left-hander Dallas Keuchel have agreed to a $55 million, three-year deal, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday night because the agreement had not been announced. Keuchel's deal includes a vesting option for 2023 that would bring the total value to $74 million.The 31-year-old Keuchel won the AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros in 2015 but struggled to find work last offseason as a free agent. He signed a roughly $13 million, one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves in June and went 8-8 with a 3.75 ERA for the NL East champions. The long-bearded veteran joins catcher Yasmani Grandal as a big-money addition to the White Sox this offseason. Grandal signed a $73 million, four-year contract with Chicago last month. The White Sox also brought back slugger Jose Abreu on a $50 million, three-year deal, acquired outfielder Nomar Mazara from the Texas Rangers and added lefty starter Gio Gonzalez... [More]

The Chicago White Sox and left-hander Dallas Keuchel have agreed to a $55 million, three-year deal, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday night because the agreement had not been announced. The 31-year-old Keuchel won the AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros in 2015 but struggled to find work last offseason as a free agent. He signed a roughly $13 million, one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves in June and went 8-8 with a 3.75 ERA for the NL East champions. Keuchel joins catcher Yasmani Grandal as a big-money addition to the White Sox this offseason. Grandal signed a $73 million, four-year contract with Chicago last month. Keuchel's deal includes a vesting option for 2023 that would bring the total value to $74 million.Agent Scott Boras negotiated the deal for Keuchel and has earned his players $936 million in contracts this offseason, including a $324 million, nine-year deal between Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees and $245 million, seven-year deals for Stephen Strasburg with the Washington Nationals and Anthony Rendon with the Los Angeles Angels. Boras is expected to clear the $1 billion mark this winter.___AP Sports Writer Jake Seiner contributed to this report. ___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The average salary in the major leagues has dropped in consecutive years for the first time since the players' association started keeping records more than a half-century ago.The 988 players on Aug. 31 rosters and injured lists averaged $4,051,490, the union said Friday, down 1.1% from $4,095,686 last year. The average peaked at $4,097,122 in 2017.This was just the fifth decline since records started in 1967, when the average was $19,000. There also were drops in 1987, when clubs were found guilty of collusion; in 1995, after the end of a 7 1/2-month strike; and in 2004.This year's drop followed two slow free-agent markets and new contracts with large signing bonuses for Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, Manny Machado and A.J. Pollock. Those four players received $62 million in signing bonuses during 2019 that are prorated over the length of each contract in the calculation of the average. If the entire amounts had been counted for 2019. the average would have been about $54,000... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The average salary in the major leagues has dropped in consecutive years for the first time since the players' association started keeping records more than a half-century ago.The 988 players on Aug. 31 rosters and injured lists averaged $4,051,490, the union said Friday, down 1.1% from $4,095,686 last year. The average peaked at $4,097,122 in 2017.This was just the fifth decline since records started in 1967, when the average was $19,000. There also were drops in 1987, when clubs were found guilty of collusion; in 1995, after the end of a 7 1/2-month strike; and in 2004.This year's drop followed two slow free-agent markets and new contracts with large signing bonuses for Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, Manny Machado and A.J. Pollock. Those four players received $62 million in signing bonuses during in 2019 that are prorated over the length of each contract in the calculation of the average. If the entire amounts had been counted for 2019. the average would have been about $54,000... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The average salary in the major leagues has dropped in consecutive years for the first time since the players' association started keeping records more than a half-century ago.The 988 players on Aug. 31 rosters and injured lists averaged $4,051,490, the union said Friday, down 1.1% from $4,095,686 last year. The average peaked at $4,097,122 in 2017.This was just the fifth decline since records started in 1967, when the average was $19,000. There also were drops in 1987, when clubs were found guilty of collusion; in 1995, after the end of a 7 1/2-month strike; and in 2004.This year's drop followed two slow free-agent markets and new contracts with large signing bonuses for Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, Jacob deGrom, Paul Goldschmidt, Manny Machado and A.J. Pollock. Their bonuses, even if received in 2019, are prorated over the length of each contract.Those stars all receive huge increases for 2020, and Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon agreed to $200 million-plus contracts last week.___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels added another arm to their rotation, agreeing to a $9 million, one-year contract with right-hander Julio Teheran, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press .The person spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by ESPN, is subject to a successful physical. Teheran spent the past seven seasons with the Atlanta Braves, who declined his $12 million option. He was 10-11 with a 3.81 ERA last season and was left off the Division Series roster against St. Louis, then added as a replacement when Chris Martin got hurtThe 28-year old Teheran is 77-73 with a 3.67 ERA in 229 games, all but three starts.The Angels had the second-highest ERA in the major leagues last season at 5.64 ERA and have made pitching a major priority during the offseason. They tried to sign Gerrit Cole before he acceoted a $324 million, nine-year deal with the New York Yankees and have turned their attention toward Dallas Keuchel and Hyun-Jin Ryu. They also acquired Dylan Bundy in a trade with Baltimore.In addition to Teheran and Bundy, Los Angeles has Andrew Heaney, Shohei Ohtani and Griffin Canning in its projected rotation.———More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels added another arm to their rotation, agreeing to a $9 million, one-year contract with right-hander Julio Teheran, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press .The person spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by ESPN, is subject to a successful physical. Teheran spent the past seven seasons with the Atlanta Braves, who declined his $12 million option. He was 10-11 with a 3.81 ERA last season and was left off the Division Series roster against St. Louis, then added as a replacement when Chris Martin got hurtThe 28-year old Teheran is 77-73 with a 3.67 ERA in 229 games, all but three starts.The Angels had the second-highest ERA in the major leagues last season at 5.64 ERA and have made pitching a major priority during the offseason. They tried to sign Gerrit Cole before he acceoted a $324 million, nine-year deal with the New York Yankees and have turned their attention toward Dallas Keuchel and Hyun-Jin Ryu. They also acquired Dylan Bundy in a trade with Baltimore.In addition to Teheran and Bundy, Los Angeles has Andrew Heaney, Shohei Ohtani and Griffin Canning in its projected rotation.———More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports