DENVER (AP) — The leadoff hitter extraordinaire with the ragged beard and impressive mullet will be patrolling the Colorado Rockies outfield for quite some time.NL batting champion Charlie Blackmon made a long-term commitment Wednesday rather than test the free-agent market next offseason, agreeing to a contract that guarantees him $108 million over six seasons.In January, the two-time All-Star center fielder had agreed to a $14 million, one-year deal. The new agreement announced in San Diego, where the Rockies are playing a four-game series with the Padres, calls for a $2 million signing bonus payable within 30 days of the deal's approval by the commissioner's office, a $12 million salary this year and $21 million in each of the next three seasons.Blackmon has player options of $21 million for 2022 and $10 million for 2023, and his 2023 salary can escalate up to $5 million based on plate appearances in 2022: $500,000 each for 400, 425, 450, 475, 500 and 525, and $1 million apiece for 550... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton homered twice, doubled and had four RBIs in his New York Yankees debut, a 6-1 win Thursday over the Toronto Blue Jays that gave Aaron Boone in a win in his first game as a professional manager.Luis Severino (1-0) pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the Yankees, who won their opener for the first time since 2011.Acquired from Miami after leading the majors with 59 homers, Stanton hit a two-run homer in the first off J.A. Happ (0-1), an RBI double in the fifth and hit a solo homer in the ninth off Tyler Clippard.WHITE SOX 14, ROYALS 7KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Davidson became the fourth player in major league history to homer three times on opening day, Tim Anderson homered twice and Jose Abreu went deep for the White Sox.James Shields (1-0) surrendered four runs in the first inning but wound up lasting six innings, holding his former team without a hit after that shaky first.Davidson became the fourth player with a three-homer performance on opening day,... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The last time the Colorado Rockies played at Chase Field was one wild October night.It was the National League wild-card game, and the Arizona Diamondbacks emerged with an 11-8 victory in a game that featured 30 hits, 17 by Arizona. The Diamondbacks had four triples, two by Ketel Marte, a crucial one late by A.J. Pollock and a highly unexpected one, driving in two runs, from reliever Archie Bradley."That game will linger in my memory as long as I'm alive," Bradley said.Colorado All-Star Nolan Arenado, who homered in that game, isn't forgetting, either."There hasn't been a week I haven't thought about that game," he said.Now the two teams, who share a spring training facility and are ever-so-familiar with each other in the NL West, will be back at it on Thursday night in their season opener."It doesn't get old, right?" Bradley said. "We only saw them 15 times during spring (a slight exaggeration). Now we get them to start the season."Jon Gray, who never made it out of the... [More]

Baseball is increasingly becoming focused on what's known as the "three true outcomes": home runs, walks and strikeouts. These plays in the sport take the defense out of the equation and have increased around baseball.While a record 6,105 home runs were hit last season, stolen bases declined last season.Your competitors will be looking for power bats in fantasy drafts, leading to one of several scenarios where players can be overvalued or undervalued when it comes time to make selections.OVERVALUED POWERMarcell Ozuna OF, Cardinals: The 27-year-old outfielder had his best year in 2017, hitting .312 with 37 HRs and 124 RBIs. However, his BABIP of .355 would indicate he's more likely to drop back to his previous career high below .270 than to maintain anything close to .300 this year. Ozuna was also traded along with everyone else from Miami (where he had Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton ahead of him in the order and actually enjoyed the tutelage of Barry Bonds) to a Cardinals lineup... [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]

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) — 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]