NEW YORK (AP) — Right-hander Luis Severino avoided an arbitration hearing with the New York Yankees, agreeing Friday to a $40 million, four-year contract.Severino's deal includes a team option for 2023 that could make the agreement worth $52.25 million for five seasons. If the option is not exercised, Severino would be eligible for free agency after the 2022 season.Severino gets a $2 million signing bonus, $4 million in 2019, $10 million in 2020, $10.5 million in 2021 and $11 million in 2022. The team option is for $15 million with a $2.75 million buyout."He's a great pitcher, and I hope he's here for a long time," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the deal was announced.He had been scheduled for the final salary arbitration hearing of the year on Friday morning at St. Petersburg, Florida. Severino had asked for a raise from $604,975 to $5.25 million in his first season of arbitration eligibility and the Yankees had offered $4.4 million.By agreeing to a long-term contract with a $10... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes says he thinks he'll be able to play at some point this season.Recovering from surgery on both heels, the New York Mets slugger told reporters through a translator at spring training Friday he is finally pain-free. He has been working out and plans to begin throwing next week, but there's no timetable for when the 33-year-old left fielder will start running or hitting — and he's not sure when he might return to the lineup.The team has said Cespedes is expected to be sidelined until at least July. Mets manager Mickey Callaway said this week he hopes Cespedes can contribute "late in the season."The oft-injured Cespedes, who said he's been frustrated and bored while recovering, has been limited to 119 games since signing a $110 million, four-year contract after the 2016 season.He had separate operations to remove calcification and bone spurs from both heels, the first last August and the second in late October.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes says he thinks he'll be able to play at some point this season.Recovering from surgery on both heels, the New York Mets slugger told reporters through a translator at spring training Friday he is finally pain-free. He has been working out and plans to begin throwing next week, but there's no timetable for when the 33-year-old left fielder will start running or hitting — and he's not sure when he might return to the lineup.The team has said Cespedes is expected to be sidelined until at least July. Mets manager Mickey Callaway said this week he hopes Cespedes can contribute "late in the season."The oft-injured Cespedes, who said he's been frustrated and bored while recovering, has been limited to 119 games since signing a $110 million, four-year contract after the 2016 season.He had separate operations to remove calcification and bone spurs from both heels, the first last August and the second in late October.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Forget about this bullpen obsession for a moment. Believe it or not, plenty of big league teams are still anchored by well-armed rotations.In this age of openers and closers, with relievers starting games and starters rarely finishing them, it might seem starting pitchers have been devalued by executives all over baseball.Dallas Keuchel, the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner, is a 31-year-old free agent still looking for a job. Same for fellow lefty Gio Gonzalez, a two-time All-Star one season removed from going 15-9 with a 2.96 ERA in 201 innings.Meanwhile, short relievers like Zack Britton ($39 million), Jeurys Familia ($30 million), Kelvin Herrera ($18 million) and Joakim Soria ($15 million) had no trouble getting multiyear deals this winter.Doesn't anyone remember what Koufax and Drysdale did for the Dodgers?Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz with the Braves?"At the end of the day, your starting staff is the backbone of your team," Washington ace Max Scherzer said.... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Once Carlos Rodon settled back into the Chicago White Sox rotation last season after returning from shoulder surgery, the left-hander had an impressive stretch of starts before fading badly down the stretch.All that really mattered for Rodon and the White Sox was that he made it through the rest of the season healthy, and got to spring training that way."It felt like a normal year, but actually didn't really feel like a normal year because a normal year for me was going through an injury," Rodon said Friday. "I had a good offseason, got to be healthy, and show I'm healthy and have a healthy spring, so I'm excited."Rodon missed the beginning of the last two seasons because of injury. He was coming back from arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder when he made his 2018 debut in June. He made five so-so starts that month.Then came those impressive nine starts in July and August, when he was 5-0 with a 1.84 ERA, a huge boost for a rebuilding White Sox team that lost... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The price of Kansas City's 2023 option on Whit Merrifield is conditioned on the second baseman not spending more than 109 days on the injured list in each of the next four seasons.Merrifield and the Royals agreed Jan. 28 to a $16.25 million, four-year contract that covers Merrifield's years of arbitration eligibility; Merrifield gets $1 million this year, $5 million in 2020, $6.75 million in 2021 and $2.75 million in 2022. The Royals have a $6.5 million option for 2023 with a $750,000 buyout, but the option price would increase by $4 million if he does not spend the specified days on the IL.His salaries in 2021, 2022 and 2023 can increase by up to $1 million a year based on a points system for accomplishments from 2019-20. It calls for 0.5 points for 1,200 plate appearances; one point each for 1,400 plate appearances or winning a Gold Glove; two points for becoming an All-Star, winning a Silver Slugger or finishing 11th through 15th in MVP voting; three points for... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Danny Farquhar wore a specially designed protective cap Friday during his first spring training bullpen session with the New York Yankees.Farquhar collapsed in the Chicago White Sox dugout last April 20 after pitching in the sixth inning against Houston. He was diagnosed with a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage, had surgery the next day and was hospitalized until May 7. Farquhar was not cleared to pitch again in 2018, became a free agent after the season and signed a minor league contract with the Yankees."I am extraordinarily just thankful," Farquhar said.He met with doctors and trainers at Steinbrenner Field on Monday to design his hat, which includes Kevlar and foam. After a proper fit was found, it took just two days to create the final product."It looks like a hat, it's just two sizes big and it's got like a skully protector on the inside," Farquhar said. "At first when I put it on, it felt a little shallow on my head, like kind of sitting up a little bit. Today... [More]

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Tucker Barnhart read about the Reds' interest in Miami catcher J.T. Realmuto and hoped that they wouldn't be able to swing a deal for the All-Star. Having endured the hardest part of a rebuild, he wanted to be in Cincinnati for a turnaround.Barnhart got his wish. Realmuto was dealt to Philadelphia — another team seemingly on the rise after major changes — and Barnhart got to stay with the Reds and handle a rotation that's been overhauled.After four straight 90-loss seasons, the Reds are trying to become competitive in the NL Central."I want to be a part of the finished product of the rebuild that was started when I came up in '14. It's continued since. I want to be a part of the winning," Barnhart said. "Hopefully, that starts now."Barnhart thought he would be an important part of the rebuild when the Reds gave him a $16 million, four-year contract that runs through 2021 and includes a club option for 2022. He was coming off a 2017 season in which he became only the... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Corey Seager never really wanted to know what the next step was in his rehab process after the young Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop had the kind of elbow surgery more common for pitchers, then hip surgery as well last season."I never wanted to look forward because I never wanted to get antsy, 'Oh why are we not doing this yet?'" Seager said Friday. "I just never knew when something was going to happen, so what I did that day was what I did that day."With the two-time defending NL champion Dodgers getting ready for their first full-squad workout Tuesday, and the regular season opener six weeks away, even Seager knows what comes next. While excited about getting back in games at some point soon, he is still trying to maintain some sense of that stay-in-the-day mentality.Manager Dave Roberts said the target date for Seager remains opening day, but the real goal is to get him fully healthy. The Dodgers don't want to get overanxious with their two-time All-Star and the... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Christian Yelich had waited around long enough. He was ready to get back to work.The reigning NL MVP arrived at the Milwaukee Brewers' spring training facility Friday morning, four days before the team's first scheduled full-squad workout, set to build on a memorable 2018 season."It's nice to get out here a couple of days early, get everything set up and organized," Yelich said. "I'm ready to start playing some baseball again."Thanks to the Brewers' deep postseason run, Yelich's offseason was shorter than he's used. Because of his personal success, much of the time he'd normally spend resting, recovering and preparing for the next season was spent fulfilling other duties and obligations, such as a trip to New York to accept the MVP award.Still, Yelich insists that he, and the team, will be ready to go when the regular season gets underway late next month."Just to be back in this room and get those feelings of spring training ... I think there's a lot of excitement at this... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Right-hander Luis Severino avoided an arbitration hearing with the New York Yankees, agreeing Friday to a $40 million, four-year contract.Severino's deal includes a team option for 2023 that could make the agreement worth $52.25 million for five seasons. If the option is not exercised, Severino would be eligible for free agency after the 2022 season.Severino gets a $2 million signing bonus, $4 million in 2019, $10 million in 2020, $10.5 million in 2021 and $11 million in 2022. The team option is for $15 million with a $2.75 million buyout."He's a great pitcher, and I hope he's here for a long time," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the deal was announced.He had been scheduled for the final salary arbitration hearing of the year on Friday morning at St. Petersburg, Florida. Severino had asked for a raise from $604,975 to $5.25 million in his first season of arbitration eligibility and the Yankees had offered $4.4 million.Severino has a 41-25 career record with a 3.51... [More]

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Tucker Barnhart read about the Reds' interest in Miami catcher J.T. Realmuto and hoped that they wouldn't be able to swing a deal for the All-Star. Having endured the hardest part of a rebuild, he wanted to be in Cincinnati for a turnaround.Barnhart got his wish. Realmuto was dealt to Philadelphia — another team seemingly on the rise after a rebuild — and Barnhart got to stay with the Reds and handle a rotation that's been overhauled. After four straight 90-loss seasons, the Reds are trying to become competitive in the NL Central."I want to be a part of the finished product of the rebuild that was started when I came up inBarnhart thought he would be an important part of the rebuild when the Reds gave him a $16 million, four-year contract that runs through 2021 and includes a club option for 2022. He was coming off a 2017 season in which he became only the third catcher in franchise history to win a Gold Glove.Last season, Barnhart batted .248 and set career highs... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals agreed with reliever Drew Storen on a minor league contract Friday that includes an invitation to big league spring training.Storen would have a $1.25 million salary in the major leagues if he is added to the 40-man roster, and he would have the chance to earn additional performance bonuses.The right-hander missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery in December 2017, but he'd been effective throughout his career. The 31-year-old is 29-18 with a 3.45 ERA over 470 appearances with the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds.His best season came in 2011, when he was 6-3 with a 2.75 ERA and 43 saves for Washington. Storen was 4-2 with a 4.45 ERA in 58 appearances for Cincinnati during the 2017 season.The Royals have been stockpiling low-risk, high-reward relievers as they attempt to rebuild one of the majors' worst bullpens. They also signed left-hander Jake Diekman this week.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Left-hander Marco Gonzales is considered one of the Seattle Mariners' building blocks after a breakout 2018 season, but he does not define his role in those terms.He just wants to do his job and let the results speak for themselves."In my mind, it has always been that I have to earn everything that I get," Gonzales said. "We'll see where we are at when the season starts, but I am going to do everything I can to help us win games. Whatever you want to call that, that's what I'll be doing."Gonzales did it well a year ago, when he went 13-9 with a 4.00 ERA in 29 starts in his first full season with the Mariners after being acquired from St. Louis for outfielder Tyler O'Neil at the 2017 trade deadline.Gonzales was among the best pitchers in the American League during a 10-week midseason stretch, when he was 9-6 with a 2.61 ERA in 12 starts beginning May 23.After spending three weeks on the injured list with a neck strain in late August, he picked it up again, going 1-0... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics added depth to their outfield mix by signing outfielder Robbie Grossman to a $2 million, one-year contract Friday.Nick Martini, Stephen Piscotty, and Ramon Laureano are projected to get the majority of playing time in the A's outfield. Oakland manager Bob Melvin said the club would be looking at Grossman as an option in left field."Sitting here now, that's probably the spot he'd play more. We have a lot of depth at the outfield position and I don't think that's a bad thing," said Melvin, who called Grossman "a good pick up."Grossman can earn an additional $200,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances: $100,000 each for 500 and 550. He acknowledged he was getting a little anxious waiting at home as camps opened. The A's have their first full squad workout Saturday."Being in that situation, it's tough right now, especially how the market is," Grossman said. "I'm excited to land here and excited to be an Oakland A."Grossman spent the last... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell apologized Friday for the "hurt" and "pain" he caused his ex-wife but didn't detail what prompted a 40-game suspension under Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy."My past behaviors were wrong and unacceptable," he said.Russell met with the media Friday for the first time since being suspended last fall, a penalty that he accepted without appeal. Russell spoke for nearly 20 minutes at Cubs camp, ahead of position players joining spring training workouts early next week.The suspension followed allegations made by ex-wife Melisa Reidy. Russell missed the final 11 regular-season games plus a wild-card playoff loss to Colorado. He will be eligible to return in early May, barring postponements."I don't want to get into any specifics, but what I do want to say is I am accountable for my past actions," Russell said. "I'm not proud of the person I was, but I do want to own this issue and take responsibility for the hurt and the... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — With spring training underway, Philadelphia Phillies president Andy MacPhail is certain his team is built to win right now.As for adding someone like outfielder Bryce Harper or third baseman Manny Machado, he's not fueling any speculation."There's been no shortage of brainpower devoted to trying to size up players that are available to us and what they bring," MacPhail said. "We are uniquely poised right now because they are some great talents out there. They could go to any club and make a significant difference."MacPhail said the goal is to win immediately and set up the Phillies to have a long window to compete for championships."(Owner) John Middleton wants to win, all of our ownership group wants to win," MacPhail said. "Really for that matter all 29 different owners want to win.""I think the thing that separates John is that if we won this year he'd want to win just as much next year and the year after that. That why it's important to us to make sure we have... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — It's another spring and another chance for Daniel Norris to make the Detroit Tigers' pitching rotation.This time, the 25-year-old left-hander is trying a more aggressive, mixed-martial arts approach to his training that includes tae kwon do, jiujitsu and kickboxing."I'm really conscious about my body, and I know that's odd to hear because I'm hurt all the time," Norris said Friday. "But I really care about my body. I really work hard on it, so I'm looking for ways to get better and stay healthy. This made a lot of sense to me."He exercised in California and Tennessee before arriving at spring training in late January, and he has continued the program with a trainer in nearby Tampa now that organized spring drills have started."I'm starting to feel my explosiveness come back and I feel it on the mound," Norris said. "The biggest thing is my stride length is back. I lost a foot off of it last year because of the groin (injury). Now it's back to normal and it's back on... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Two seasons after Tommy John surgery interrupted his minor league career, Chris Paddack hopes he's on the cusp of winning a job in the San Diego Padres' rotation.The 23-year-old seems to have as good a chance as anyone to win one of the final three spots with the rebuilding Padres, based on his drive and his impressive performance last season after returning from reconstructive elbow surgery."I'd be lying if I didn't say my goal is to make the starting rotation," said Paddack, who is ranked No. 5 among the organization's deep list of prospects. "Being a right-hander in this organization, it's wide open. I want to do everything I can mentally and physically to earn my spot. At the end of the day, your teammates and coaches are going to remember who you are as a person. I feel like that beats any reward, goal or accomplishment out there. That's something that doesn't collect dust."Paddack, who is on the 40-man roster, is in his first camp with the big league club."He's... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Danny Farquhar wore a specially designed protective cap Friday during his first spring training bullpen session with the New York Yankees.Farquhar collapsed in the Chicago White Sox dugout last April 20 after pitching in the sixth inning against Houston. He was diagnosed with a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage, had surgery the next day and was hospitalized until May 7. Farquhar was not cleared to pitch again in 2018, became a free agent after the season and signed a minor league contract with the Yankees."I am extraordinarily just thankful," Farquhar said.He met with doctors and trainers at Steinbrenner Field on Monday to design his hat, which includes Kevlar and foam. After a proper fit was found, it took just two days to create the final product."It looks like a hat, it's just two sizes big and it's got like a skully protector on the inside," Farquhar said. "At first when I put it on, it felt a little shallow on my head, like kind of sitting up a little bit. Today... [More]