WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper is focusing on his immediate future. But don't bother asking him about plans beyond this year."If you guys do talk anything about that, I'll be walking right out the door," he said Monday.Everyone around baseball knows the Washington Nationals slugger could be part of a huge free agent class after the coming season. But if teams are saving money by passing on currently available players in hopes of signing a big star next year, that doesn't sound like the best way to impress Harper."I think if I'm an organization or a team I want the best players on my team," Harper said. "My fans deserve that, the players deserve that."Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Charlie Blackmon and potentially Clayton Kershaw could be free agents next offseason.Some within the industry suggest this market is slow because teams have their eyes on 2019 — pitchers Jake Arrieta and Alex Cobb and third baseman Mike Moustakas are among the players looking for work with spring... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper is focusing on his immediate future. But don't bother asking him about plans beyond this year."If you guys do talk anything about that, I'll be walking right out the door," he said Monday.Everyone around baseball knows the Washington Nationals slugger could be part of a huge free agent class after the coming season. But if teams are saving money by passing on currently available players in hopes of signing a big star next year, that doesn't sound like the best way to impress Harper."I think if I'm an organization or a team I want the best players on my team," Harper said. "My fans deserve that, the players deserve that."Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Charlie Blackmon and potentially Clayton Kershaw could be free agents next offseason. Some within the industry suggest this market is slow because teams have their eyes on 2019 — pitchers Jake Arrieta and Alex Cobb and position players J.D. Martinez and Mike Moustakas are among the players looking... [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]

CF Charlie Blackmon went 2-for-3 and won the National League batting title with a .331 average. Nine Rockies players have won a total of 11 batting titles, including four in the past five years. Blackmon is the first player in history to lead the majors in hits (213), runs (137), triples (14) and total bases (388). Hall of Famer Stan Musial led the NL in those categories in 1948, and Snuffy Stirnweiss topped the American League in those categories in 1945. Blackmon's hits and runs scored were the fourth-most in franchise history. Blackmon's 69 multi-hit games this season are the most by an NL player since Juan Pierre had 70 such games in 2004.

There may not be two American League players who differ more standing side-by-side than the Houston Astros' Jose Altuve and the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge.Altuve is a diminutive 5-foot-6. Judge is a giant at 6-7. But when it comes to the AL Most Valuable Player Award, the difference could be measured in angstroms.The members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America are sending in their votes right now for all of the major 2017 awards. There are some that will be, or should be, unanimous picks.How do you not give Judge the AL Rookie of the Year? Same goes in the National League for Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both were by far at the top of their classes when all was said and done.Below is our take on the deserving winners in each race. AL MVP isn't the only white-knuckler. In the AL, the Cy Young Award race between Boston's Chris Sale and Cleveland's Corey Kluber is tight, too. In the National League, the MVP, Cy Young and Manager of the Year are all worthy of great... [More]

CF Charlie Blackmon went 2-for-3 before leaving the game in the sixth and has 212 hits. He passed Ellis Burks, who had 211 hits in 1996, for the fourth-most in a single season in franchise history. Todd Helton in 2000 and Matt Holliday in 2007 each had 216 hits. Dante Bichette set the franchise record with 219 hits in 1998. Blackmon's 68 multi-hit games are the most by a National League player since Mark Loretta had 68 and Juan Pierre had 70 in 2004.

CF Charlie Blackmon went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and hit his 37th home run of the season on Friday night. He has 103 RBIs overall and a major-league record 102 from the leadoff spot. The previous record of 100 RBIs leading off was set by Darin Erstad in 2000. Blackmon's 210 hits are the fifth most in a season in franchise history. He trails Ellis Burks, who had 211 hits in 1996, Todd Helton (216 in 2000) and Matt Holliday (216 in 2007) and Dante Bichette (219 in 1998).

CF Charlie Blackmon went 3-for-6 with three RBIs, giving him 100 RBIs for the season. His 99 RBIs from the leadoff spot are tied with Alfonso Soriano (2002) for second-most by a leadoff hitter in major league history. Darin Erstad set the record with 100 RBIs from the leadoff spot in 2002. Blackmon recorded his 66th multi-hit game of the season, tying the franchise record set by Dante Bichette in 1998. Blackmon has 208 hits, tied with Larry Walker (1997) for the sixth-most in franchise history. Blackmon's 136 runs scored are the fourth-most in franchise history and the most since Todd Helton scored 138 runs in 2000.

MILWAUKEE -- Jose Quintana struck out 10 in a three-hitter game as the Chicago Cubs moved closer to clinching the National League Central by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 on Sunday.Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer for the defending World Series champions, who have a magic number of two to clinch.Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.Diamondbacks 3, Marlins 2PHOENIX -- J.D. Martinez singled with two outs in the ninth inning and Arizona edged Miami to clinch its first playoff spot since 2011.Chris Herrmann homered for Arizona, which holds the first National League wild-card spot.Giancarlo Stanton increased his RBI total to 126, moving into a tie with Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the major league lead.Angels 7, Astros 5HOUSTON -- Brandon Phillips and Justin Upton homered and drove in two runs apiece, and Luis Valbuena also had two RBIs in Los Angeles win over Houston.The Angels remain 4 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second American... [More]

CF Charlie Blackmon's 36th homer of the season in the ninth extended his own major league record for RBIs by a leadoff hitter to 95. The home run total is the third highest by a leadoff man in major league history. Blackmon was 2-for-4 with a walk, the homer and three runs to raise his National League-leading batting average to .326.

CF Charlie Blackmon had a challenging game as he went hitless Thursday. Blackmon said these games down the stretch aren't different. "To me, it feels the same," Blackmon said. "I'm trying hard every time I go out there. That's the best place for a player to be, mentally."

CF Charlie Blackmon became the first batter in the majors to reach 200 hits this season with a second-inning double against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. Blackmon became the eighth member of the Rockies ever to reach the milestone, the first since LF Matt Holliday in 2007. LF Dante Bichette holds the Rockies' franchise record for hits in a season with 219 in 1998.

CF Charlie Blackmon went 2-for-4 with a double and homer and drove in four RBIs. With 92 RBIs leading off, Blackmon set a record for a National League leadoff hitter, surpassing Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, who had 88 RBI leading off for Houston in 1998. With 82 extra-base hits, Blackmon also set a record for a NL leadoff hitter. Jimmie Rollins set the old record of 80 extra-base hits with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007. Blackmon has the most extra-base hits by a leadoff hitter since Grady Sizemore set the major league record with 92 in 2006.

CF Charlie Blackmon was not in the lineup for just the fourth time this year and did not play. He's hitless in his past 14 at-bats and one for his past 21 with nine strikeouts. "I think Charlie was due a day, just to exhale a little bit," manager Bud Black said. "I think he'd been grinding really hard, playing hard, playing every day. So this is a day you take a step back."

CF Charlie Blackmon was 1-for-15 with a double and a walk in the four-game series at Arizona, his double coming in his first plate appearance Monday night. Blackmon has 88 RBIs when batting leadoff this season, tied with Houston 2B and Hall of Famer Craig Biggio for the National League season record. Blackmon has 14 triples, one short of Dexter Fowler's club record. "He just continues to refine his game," Colorado manager Bud Black said.