FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Carrying one of the most hated sports names in Boston is already enough of a burden, so Jeter Downs won’t also try to be the guy who replaces Mookie Betts.The former Dodgers prospect, who was named after Hall of Famer Derek Jeter by his Yankees-loving mother, was acquired in the deal that sent Betts to Los Angeles on the eve of spring training. And he knew the question was coming.“Obviously, I'm going to get bombarded with this whole name thing,” he said in the Red Sox clubhouse Wednesday before the team's first formal workout of spring training. “It's pretty cool. And I guess my mom, she knew what she was doing when she named me Jeter.”The 21-year-old infielder was the No. 3 prospect in the Dodgers organization and the second son in his family. His older brother was named after their father, so when he was born, it was their mother's turn.“She just loved Jeter and how he was and the way he played the game. So she gave me the name,” Jeter Downs said. “I obviously... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Carrying one of the most jeered names at Fenway Park is already enough of a burden, so Jeter Downs won’t also try to be the guy who replaces Mookie Betts.The former Dodgers prospect, who was named after Hall of Famer Derek Jeter by his Yankees-loving mother, was acquired in the deal that sent Betts to Los Angeles on the eve of spring training. And he knew the question was coming.“Obviously, I'm going to get bombarded with this whole name thing,” he said in the Red Sox clubhouse on Wednesday before the first formal workout. “It's pretty cool. And I guess my mom, she knew what she was doing when she named me Jeter.”The 21-year-old infielder was the No. 3 prospect in the Dodgers organization and second son in the family. His older brother is named after their father and mom got to name the second child. “She just loved Jeter and how he was and the way he played the game. So she gave me the name,” Jeter Downs said.How often has he been asked about it?“Oh, my God. You... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — It took Ron Roenicke almost five years to get another chance as a major league manager.He'll need to wait at least until next week for “permanency.” The Red Sox made Roenicke their interim manager Tuesday, promoting the former Brewers skipper to replace Alex Cora on the day Boston's pitchers and catchers reported for the start of spring training. Although there is no expiration date on Roenicke's tenure, the interim tag will stay until Major League Baseball completes its investigation into whether the Red Sox engaged in illegal sign-stealing during their 2018 World Series championship season. If the probe clears Roenicke, who has denied being part of any rules violations, he is expected to stay.“We felt that naming Ron our interim manager was the best way to respect the investigation that's ongoing into our 2018 club. But we feel very strongly about Ron's ability to lead this group and how well-suited he is for this task,” Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The crack of the bat at spring training camps replaced the sound of trash can lids banging in homemade YouTube videos as baseball emerged from its winter of cheating scandals and salary dumps to bask in the Florida and Arizona sun.The Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres held their first official workouts, and pitchers and catchers for 16 other teams reported to their Grapefruit and Cactus League complexes on Tuesday. The rest of the major leagues will filter in this week. Red Sox players checked in without knowing who their manager will be, almost a month after Alex Cora was fired for his part in the Houston Astros 2017 sign-stealing scheme. Bench coach Ron Roenicke, a former Brewers skipper, will serve as interim manager while the team waits for Major League Baseball to wrap up its investigation into Boston's attempts to steal signs after Cora arrived in '18.The Red Sox were also without a former MVP and Cy Young Award winner after the long-haggled trade of... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The crack of the bat at spring training camps replaced the sound of trash can lids banging in homemade YouTube videos as baseball emerged from its winter of cheating scandals and salary dumps to bask in the Florida and Arizona sun.The Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres held their first official workouts, and pitchers and catchers for 16 other teams reported to their Grapefruit and Cactus League complexes on Tuesday. The rest of the major leagues will filter in this week. Red Sox players checked in without knowing who their manager will be, almost a month after Alex Cora was fired for his part in the Houston Astros 2017 sign-stealing scheme. Bench coach Ron Roenicke, a former Brewers skipper, will serve as interim manager while the team waits for Major League Baseball to wrap up its investigation into Boston's attempts to steal signs after Cora arrived in '18.The Red Sox were also without a former MVP and Cy Young Award winner after the long-haggled trade of... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The Boston Red Sox promoted bench coach Ron Roenicke to manager Tuesday, hiring him to replace Alex Cora on the day the team's pitchers and catchers reported for the start of spring training. The move is an indication that Roenicke — and perhaps the entire Red Sox organization — will escape punishment in baseball's sign-stealing investigation. Cora was let go for his role in the Houston Astros' cheating, but the team has maintained that there was no similar scheme in Boston when the Red Sox won it all in 2018. A decision from Major League Baseball had been expected before the start of spring training, but a person with knowledge of the probe said the investigation would continue into next week. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because there was no formal announcement. Commissioner Rob Manfred said last week that he hoped to have the investigation wrapped before the start of spring training; Red Sox pitchers and catchers reported Tuesday and have their... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks capped a busy offseason by locking down their two-time Gold Glove shortstop, who has slowly turned into a solid offensive threat.The D-backs announced Monday that they've agreed to a $32.5 million, four-year deal with Nick Ahmed that runs through the 2023 season. The 29-year-old Ahmed was eligible for salary arbitration and had his hearing scheduled for Wednesday, but that won't be needed thanks to the deal.Ahmed said his comfort in Arizona — along with the team's offseason moves that included adding pitcher Madison Bumgarner and outfielder Kole Calhoun — made staying with the Diamondbacks very appealing.“At the end of the day, I'd rather be here than anywhere else,” Ahmed said. “They presented me with an opportunity, I thought long and hard about it, and I took advantage of the opportunity.”Ahmed gets a $1.5 million signing bonus, of which $1 million is payable on April 1 and $500,000 on April 1, 2022. He has salaries of $6 million this year, $7.5... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers have finalized their trade sending starting pitcher Kenta Maeda to the Twins and bullpen prospect Brusdar Graterol to the Dodgers.Just in time for spring training. Twins pitchers and catchers take the field Wednesday for their first official workout in Fort Myers, Florida, with the Dodgers following Friday in Glendale, Arizona.In Monday's deal, spawned from the original three-team agreement with Boston that hit a snag last week, the Twins sent minor league outfielder Luke Raley and a competitive balance round pick in the 2020 draft, 67th overall, along with Graterol to Los Angeles. The Dodgers will send $10 million and minor league catcher Jair Camargo along with Maeda to Minnesota.The 25-year-old Raley returned to the Dodgers, after missing most of last season with an ankle injury and playing in just 33 games for Triple-A Rochester. The Twins acquired him and starting pitching prospect Devin Smeltzer on July 31, 2018, in a... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Mookie Betts and David Price are Los Angeles Dodgers.The Boston Red Sox are tax dodgers.Boston and Los Angeles finalized the on-again, off-again deal that will send the 2018 AL MVP and 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner to the West Coast on Monday night — just hours before the Red Sox are scheduled to open spring training. The Dodgers hope the players will be the missing pieces after seven straight division championships all ended short of their first World Series title since 1988. The Red Sox have already achieved their biggest goal of the offseason: ditching more than $70 million in salary to get under baseball's collective bargaining tax threshold for 2020.“Our mission, our charge as a department is to compete consistently year-in and year-out, and to put ourselves in position to win as many championships as we can,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said. “That's behind everything that we do. And we can only accomplish that goal with a talent base at all... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers have finalized their trade sending starting pitcher Kenta Maeda to the Twins and bullpen prospect Brusdar Graterol to the Dodgers.Just in time for spring training. Twins pitchers and catchers take the field Wednesday for their first official workout in Fort Myers, Florida, with the Dodgers following Friday in Glendale, Arizona.In Monday's deal, spawned from the original three-team agreement with Boston that hit a snag last week, the Twins sent minor league outfielder Luke Raley and a competitive balance round pick in the 2020 draft, 67th overall, along with Graterol to Los Angeles. The Dodgers sent $10 million and minor league catcher Jair Camargo along with Maeda to Minnesota.The 25-year-old Raley returned to the Dodgers, after missing most of last season with an ankle injury and playing in just 33 games for Triple-A Rochester. The Twins acquired him and starting pitching prospect Devin Smeltzer on July 31, 2018, in a trade... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Mookie Betts and David Price are Los Angeles Dodgers.The Boston Red Sox are tax dodgers.Boston and Los Angeles finalized the on-again, off-again deal that will send the AL MVP and AL Cy Young winner to the West Coast on Monday night — just hours before the Red Sox are scheduled to open spring training. The Dodgers hope the players will be the missing pieces after seven straight division championships all ended short of their first World Series title since 1988. The Red Sox have already achieved their biggest goal of the offseason: Ditching more than $70 million in salary to get under baseball's collective bargaining tax threshold for 2020.“Our mission, our charge as a department is to compete consistently year-in and year-out, and to put ourselves in position to win as many championships as we can,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said. “That's behind everything that we do. And we can only accomplish that goal with a talent base at all levels of the org... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels' proposed trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers is officially off.Angels general manager Billy Eppler confirmed Monday he won't be making a widely reported trade, although he didn't specify the deal or the players involved.Multiple media outlets reported the Angels nearly acquired Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson and right-hander Ross Stripling last week in a deal that would have sent infielder Luis Rengifo to the Dodgers.The deal apparently fell apart as a side effect of the Dodgers' lengthy attempts to get outfielder Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox in a blockbuster trade. Eppler didn't specify why the Angels' deal with the Dodgers won't be happening.“There are a lot of components in deals that need to be satisfied before you get to a point where you are calling players and informing them," Eppler said. “We weren’t able to get to that point and, in fairness to our players and players with other organizations, we won’t comment further than... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Two days before the start of spring training, the Boston Red Sox have again agreed to send 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a reworked deal, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Sunday.The Red Sox will receive Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong, the person told the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal still needed the approval of Major League Baseball. Boston was to send cash to the Dodgers to offset Price's salary, reportedly half of the $96 million still owed to the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner.A three-team deal that would have sent Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda to the Twins for pitcher Brusdar Graterol and then flipped Graterol to the Red Sox fell apart last week when Boston balked at Graterol's medical records. Los Angeles and Minnesota completed a separate deal on Sunday night, a person familiar with that deal told the AP.But the Red Sox... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Moving Mookie Betts out of Boston proved to be quite the task for the cost-cutting Red Sox.The trade wound up taking all week — and being divvied into two different deals.The Minnesota Twins agreed Sunday to send bullpen prospect Brusdar Graterol to the Los Angeles Dodgers for starting pitcher Kenta Maeda, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal, five days after the initial Betts-headlined trade with the Red Sox was held up.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deals had not yet been announced. The Twins also agreed to send one of their draft picks in the competitive balance round this summer — 67th overall — and a minor leaguer to the Dodgers for $10 million and a minor leaguer to settled their portion of the trade.Graterol was first headed for the Red Sox as part of a three-team swap agreed to Tuesday that moved Betts, a four-time All-Star, and starting pitcher David Price to the Dodgers. But the Red Sox, as first... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Red Sox have again agreed to send 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a reworked deal, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Sunday.The Red Sox will receive Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong, the person told the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal still needed the approval of Major League Baseball. Boston was to send cash to the Dodgers to offset Price's salary, reportedly half of the $96 million still owed to the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner.A three-team deal that would have sent Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda to the Twins for pitcher Brusdar Graterol and then flipped Graterol to the Red Sox fell apart last week when Boston balked at Graterol's medical records. Los Angeles and Minnesota completed a separate deal on Sunday night, a person familiar with that deal told the AP.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins agreed Sunday to send bullpen prospect Brusdar Graterol to the Los Angeles Dodgers for starting pitcher Kenta Maeda, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal, five days after the initial trade with the Boston Red Sox was held up.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced. The Twins also agreed to send one of their draft picks in the competitive balance round this summer — 67th overall — and a minor leaguer to the Dodgers for $10 million and a minor leaguer to even out the trade.Graterol was first headed for the cost-cutting Red Sox as part of a three-team swap to send outfielder Mookie Betts and starting pitcher David Price to the Dodgers. But the Red Sox, as first reported by The Athletic, raised questions about Graterol's arm health.Now the Red Sox and Dodgers will conduct their own trade involving Betts and Price. The Twins and Dodgers technically now have a separate... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Baseball returns to the field next week when pitchers, catchers and cheaters report to spring training.Fans await the annual sunny scenes of favorites stretching on bright green grass in Florida and Arizona.This year the players bring along dark clouds of scandal — the 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros have been tainted by their sign-stealing scam and the 2018 champion Boston Red Sox have been accused of similar subversion.Teams hope once workouts start, the stain will fade."I think those stories lines will weave in and out, but that spring training is that juncture for individual fan bases to be optimistic about what the season ahead holds and it shifts back to that," Toronto Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro said. "There's a natural kind of rhythm to spring training that diverts to the positive stories."But first, confessions?Some regard baseball's blemish from sign stealing as vivid as the acne on the backs of steroids-swelled sluggers of the 1990s and early... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Baseball returns to the field next week when pitchers, catchers and cheaters report to spring training.Fans await the annual sunny scenes of favorites stretching on bright green grass in Florida and Arizona.This year the players bring along dark clouds of scandal — the 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros have been tainted by their sign-stealing scam and the 2018 champion Boston Red Sox have been accused of similar subversion.Teams hope once workouts start, the stain will fade."I think those stories lines will weave in and out, but that spring training is that juncture for individual fan bases to be optimistic about what the season ahead holds and it shifts back to that," Toronto Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro said. "There's a natural kind of rhythm to spring training that diverts to the positive stories."But first, confessions?Some regard baseball's blemish from sign stealing as vivid as the acne on the backs of steroids-swelled sluggers of the 1990s and early... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The holdup in the trade that would send 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers is unfair to the players involved, the head of their union said on Friday.The Boston Red Sox had a pending trade that would send Betts and lefty David Price to the Dodgers for outfielder Alex Verdugo and Twins prospect Brusdar Graterol. The deal was agreed to on Tuesday night pending the exchange of medical information, two people with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not final.But Boston is said to have balked when it saw Graterol's medical records, and the deal still has not been finalized. That is holding up a side deal that would send outfielder Joc Pederson from the Dodgers to the Angels.“The proposed trades between the Dodgers, Red Sox, Twins, and Angels need to be resolved without further delay," Major League Baseball Players Association boss Tony Clark said in a statement. “The events... [More]

A team-by-team look at the American League East 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:___New York YankeesManager: Aaron Boone (third season). 2019: 103-59, first place, lost to Houston in AL Championship Series. Training Town: Tampa, Florida. Park: George Steinbrenner Field. First Workout: Feb. 13/18. He's Here: RHP Gerrit Cole, C Erik Kratz, C Chris Iannetta, C Josh Thole, RHP Nick Tropeano, LHP Luis Avil�nHe's Outta Here: LHP CC Sabathia, SS Didi Gregorius, 1B Edwin Encarnacion, C Austin Romine, RHP Dellin Betances, OF Cameron Maybin, OF Jacoby Ellsbury, 1B Greg Bird, RHP Chance Adams, LHP Stephen Tarpley, LHP Nestor Cortes Jr., RHP Cory GearrinGoing campin': After a big league-record 30 players went on the injured list a total of 39 times last season, health remains a concern. Left-hander James Paxton had back surgery Feb. 5 and is expected to be sidelined until May or... [More]