DENVER (AP) — Denver native Kyle Freeland wears the affection for his city on his right arm: Tattoos of the area code (303), the elevation (5,280) and a silhouette of the Rocky Mountains.With his left, there's the ability to carry the Colorado Rockies to even greater heights.Since it's the team he grew up rooting for, Freeland takes immense satisfaction in the Rockies' recent run of success. The homegrown hurler hopes to deliver something else this season along the way to what would be a third straight postseason appearance: Colorado's first NL West title. The left-hander will try to begin the season on the right foot as the opening day starter Thursday in Miami."I take a ton of pride of being a part of this team, that is winning and that is trending up," Freeland said . "I take pride in being from Colorado, being a product of the school system in Denver and everything that my life has been leading up to these past couple of years. It's just pure pride. I love the state, love the city,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets have agreed to a $137.5 million, five-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The deal guarantees an additional $120.5 million over four seasons.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.New York and deGrom had agreed in January to a $17 million, one-year deal, and he was on track to be eligible for free agency after the 2020 season.His new deal calls for a $10 million signing bonus, a $7 million salary this season, $23 million in 2020, $33.5 million each in 2021 and 2022 and $30.5 million in 2023. The Mets have a $32.5 million option for 2024.DeGrom has the right to opt out of the deal after the 2022 season and become a free agent.A right-hander who turns 31 in June, deGrom had a 1.70 ERA last year yet went 10-9. He allowed three runs or fewer in 29 consecutive starts to close the season, but the Mets were 11-18 in those games.DeGrom is 55-41 with a 2.67 ERA in five big league seasons. Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen represented the two-time All-Star as co-head of CAA Baseball before the team hired him last year.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SEATTLE (AP) — When manager Andy Green walked to the mound on Monday night, the plan was set in motion.He congratulated Chris Paddack on finishing off his brilliant spring training with the San Diego Padres by throwing 2 2/3 shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners. Green then turned to Eric Hosmer, Ian Kinsler and Manny Machado as they surrounded the young pitcher and posed a question to the veteran infielders."He asked us what we were all doing Sunday and we said we would be right behind this guy playing," Hosmer said. "I think he got the message."The 23-year-old Paddack, a promising right-hander, will be part of San Diego's rotation when the regular season begins. He'll make his first major league start Sunday against the San Francisco Giants after capping his eye-opening spring with a dominant — but brief — performance in Seattle.Green and his staff had already seen enough over the previous month to know Paddack had earned his spot two years after Tommy John surgery nearly derailed... [More]

With opening day just around the corner, the list of notable players who are going to be absent keeps growing.World Series MVP Steve Pearce will start the season on the injured list for the Boston Red Sox, and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza Jr. went down with a knee injury Monday night when he slipped on home plate.Earlier in the day, Baltimore put scheduled opening-day starter Alex Cobb on the 10-day injured list with a strained right groin.Pearce exited an exhibition game last weekend due to discomfort in his left calf. The right-handed batter normally platoons with lefty-hitting Mitch Moreland at first base, but the Red Sox will begin defense of their championship Thursday in Seattle without Pearce."We have to do it that way," manager Alex Cora said. "It makes sense for us, it makes sense for him. He should be back sooner rather than later but he won't be ready for Seattle, so why take a chance?"Sam Travis will likely make the team and take Pearce's spot on the opening-day... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — When manager Andy Green walked to the mound on Monday night, the plan was set in motion.He congratulated Chris Paddack on finishing off his brilliant spring training with the San Diego Padres by throwing 2 2/3 shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners. Green then turned to Eric Hosmer, Ian Kinsler and Manny Machado as they surrounded the young pitcher and posed a question to the veteran infielders."He asked us what we were all doing Sunday and we said we would be right behind this guy playing," Hosmer said. "I think he got the message."The 23-year-old Paddack, a promising right-hander, will be part of San Diego's rotation when the regular season begins. He'll make his first major league start Sunday against the San Francisco Giants after capping his eye-opening spring with a dominant — albeit brief — performance in Seattle.Green and his staff had already seen enough over the previous month to know Paddack had earned his spot two years after Tommy John surgery nearly derailed... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals placed five players on the injured list as they shaped their roster for Thursday's opener at Milwaukee.The team said Monday the official reason for Brett Cecil's designation is carpal tunnel syndrome, though the left-hander also is dealing with arm fatigue and erratic mechanics. Right-hander Carlos Martinez is out with a strained rotator cuff and reliever Luke Gregerson with a right shoulder impingement.Jedd Gyorko will start the season on the IL after dealing with a calf issue for most of March. He was hoping to be ready by opening day but will instead be out until at least April 4.Justin Williams is on the IL with a fracture in his right hand, though the Cardinals have plenty of depth in the outfield and he will likely head to Triple-A Memphis when he's ready to go.Hours later, the Cardinals pared down to 25 active players with a flurry of moves. They optioned left-hander Tyler Webb to Memphis and reassigned seven players to the minors: right-hander Chris Beck, left-hander Tommy Layne, catchers Andrew Knizner and Francisco Pena, infielders Tommy Edman and Rangel Ravelo, and outfielder Dylan Carlson.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Even with huge new contracts for Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado, Major League Baseball's average salary is on track to drop on opening day for an unprecedented second straight season, according to projections by The Associated Press.The 872 players on rosters and injured lists on Monday evening averaged $4.36 million, down from $4.41 million at the start of last season and $4.45 million on opening day in 2017, according to AP studies.Back-to-back drops follow consecutive slow free-agent markets that saw salaries slashed for many veterans, and top pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel remain unsigned as openers approached.This year's exact figure could rise or fall when teams set opening-day rosters Thursday. The number will be impacted by how many players go on the injured list and how many lower-priced replacements are put on active rosters. In 2018, the average dropped slightly at the start when late-signing free agents Jake Arrieta of Philadelphia and... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Steve Pearce will start the season on the injured list for the Boston Red Sox.The 2018 World Series MVP exited an exhibition game last weekend due to discomfort in his left calf. Pearce, a right-handed batter, normally platoons with lefty-hitting Mitch Moreland at first base. But the Red Sox will begin defense of their championship Thursday in Seattle without Pearce."We have to do it that way," manager Alex Cora said Monday night. "It makes sense for us, it makes sense for him. He should be back sooner rather than later but he won't be ready for Seattle, so why take a chance?"Sam Travis will likely make the team and take Pearce's spot on the opening-day roster."He's been swinging the bat, he plays first, he's a right-handed hitter," Cora said. "It seems like we're going to face a lot of lefties on the West Coast. Having a right-handed bat would help us out."Pearce was acquired from Toronto in a trade last June and batted a combined .284 with 11 homers, 42 RBIs and an... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin took another step toward finalizing his pitching rotation Monday, announcing right-hander Frankie Montas will be the team's fourth starter.The 26-year-old Montas has had varied success during parts of two seasons with the A's but was dominant this spring after adding a splitter to complement a 97 mph fastball and slider. The new pitch produced immediate results as Montas went 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in five games with 16 strikeouts and five walks over 16 innings.He joins an A's rotation that includes Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada and Brett Anderson."Deservedly so," Melvin said. "He's had a terrific spring, pitched well whether he was starting a game, whether he was piggy-backing with somebody, and continued pitching the same the entire spring — with some pressure on him knowing that he had to win a job. Proud of him. He deserves to be in the rotation."Melvin didn't use a projected starter in Oakland's 5-4 exhibition win over San Francisco,... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin took another step toward finalizing his pitching rotation Monday, announcing right-hander Frankie Montas will be the team's fourth starter.The 26-year-old Montas has had varied success during parts of two seasons with the A's but was dominant this spring after adding a splitter to complement a 97 mph fastball and slider. The new pitch produced immediate results as Montas went 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in five games with 16 strikeouts and five walks over 16 innings.He joins an A's rotation that includes Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada and Brett Anderson."Deservedly so," Melvin said before a Bay Area exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants. "He's had a terrific spring, pitched well whether he was starting a game, whether he was piggy-backing with somebody, and continued pitching the same the entire spring — with some pressure on him knowing that he had to win a job. Proud of him. He deserves to be in the rotation."Montas' emergence this... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais didn't need long to come up with one immediate advantage to playing exhibition games after having already opened the regular season."Yeah, the fact we're 2-0 is not a bad thing," Servais joked.Servais could joke because the atmosphere around the Seattle clubhouse was relaxed, if not a little jet-lagged still, before beginning an awkward two-day stretch on Monday night with the first of two exhibition games against the San Diego Padres.After the fanfare and excitement of traveling across the Pacific to Japan, opening the season with a pair of victories over Oakland, and bidding farewell to the professional career of Ichiro Suzuki, the Mariners returned home for a pair of games with little-to-no meaning that don't count in the standings.Seattle still appeared to be feeling the effects of the trip. The Padres scored six runs in the first inning on their way to an 8-0 victory. Manny Machado doubled, Franmil Reyes hit a three-run homer and... [More]

MONTREAL (AP) — Charlie Montoyo was a 27-year-old infielder still trying to carve out a major league career the last time he stepped on the field at Montreal's Olympic Stadium.Montoyo, now the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, returned to the city Monday as his team opened a two-game exhibition series against the Milwaukee Brewers."I'm never going to forget having my first hit of two here," Montoyo said. "That's a memory that I'm always going to have. Hopefully they (show) the highlights before the game. They'd have to stop the game for five seconds."Montoyo, who was drafted by the Brewers twice — in 1986 and 1987 — made his major league debut with the Montreal Expos in 1993, appearing in four games with a pair of hits and three RBIs. But that would be it for his big league playing career.Montoyo sat in a familiar spot in the Olympic Stadium dugout when addressing the media before Monday night's game, a 10-5 win for the Brewers. It was the same spot he was sitting in when former manager... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Chicago Cubs pitcher Cole Hamels has had a fun few days of firsts. Over the weekend, he recorded his first hole-in-one on a golf course, and on Monday night he hit a home run in his final spring training tuneup.Hamels has another first coming up when he faces the Texas Rangers in his initial start of the regular season. It'll be the first time the left-hander has pitched against a former team.Although Cubs manager Joe Maddon had not announced the rotation order, it is now lined up with Jon Lester starting on opening day Thursday against the Rangers, followed by Yu Darvish, Hamels, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana."It's finally that time. I feel healthy, strong," Hamels said. "Now it's go time, get in front of the big crowds and big stadiums and everything starts to matter."Monday night was Hamels' fifth spring start. He faced the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox and did serve up Andrew Benintendi's home run with one out in the third, but led off the Cubs... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Steve Pearce will begin the season on the injured list for the Boston Red Sox.The 2018 World Series MVP exited an exhibition game last weekend due to discomfort in his left calf. First baseman Sam Travis will likely make the team and take Pearce's spot on the roster.Pearce, a right-handed batter, normally platoons with lefty-hitting Mitch Moreland at first.The Red Sox begin defense of their championship Thursday in Seattle against the Mariners.Pearce was acquired from Toronto in a trade last June and batted a combined .284 with 11 homers, 42 RBIs and an .890 OPS in 76 games with the Blue Jays and Red Sox last season. He was 4 for 12 (.333) with three homers, eight RBIs and a 1.167 OPS in the World Series victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Pearce became a free agent and re-signed with Boston for one year and $6.25 million.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Chicago Cubs pitcher Cole Hamels had had fun few days of firsts. Over the weekend, he recorded his first hole-in-one on a golf course, and on Monday night, he hit a home run in his final spring training tuneup.Hamels has another first coming up when he faces the Texas Rangers in his first start of the regular season. It'll be the first time the left-hander has pitched against a former team.Although Cubs manager Joe Maddon has not officially announced the rotation order, it is now lined up with Jon Lester starting on opening day Thursday against the Rangers, followed by Yu Darvish, Hamels, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana."It's finally that time. I feel healthy, strong," Hamels said. "Now it's go time, get in front of the big crowds and big stadiums and everything starts to matter."Monday night was Hamels' fifth spring start. He faced the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox and did serve up Andrew Benintendi's home run with one out in the third, but led off... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Steve Pearce's status for opening day with the Boston Red Sox remains uncertain because of a left calf injury.The 2018 World Series MVP left an exhibition game last weekend due to discomfort. Boston manager Alex Cora said Pearce has had plenty of at-bats in minor league games, so he's feeling good as far as his swing is concerned."It's just a matter of how he feels moving around," Cora explained Monday. "We're not going to push him. We have to be smart about this. Just to push him out there because it's opening day makes no sense for what we're trying to accomplish."The defending champions begin the season Thursday in Seattle against the Mariners. If the Red Sox place Pearce on the injured list, Sam Travis could start at first base."He's been swinging the bat, he plays first, he's a right-handed hitter," Cora said. "It seems like we're going to face a lot of lefties on the West Coast. Having a right-handed bat would help us out."Pearce, also a right-handed hitter, normally... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Greg Holland is back in a familiar role as the Arizona Diamondbacks' closer."I'm comfortable in the ninth inning, so I'm glad I get the opportunity to do it again," said Holland, who won the job Sunday over Archie Bradley and Yoshihisa Hirano."That being said, you've got to worry about today. Things can change in the course of a series, so you've just got to stay locked in mentally and go about your business and get outs whether it's the seventh, eighth, ninth inning, or extra innings."Holland, who has 189 saves in an eight-year career, agreed to a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks on Jan. 31 that calls for a $3.25 million base salary and gives him an opportunity to earn an additional $3.5 million in performance bonuses: $1 million for games and $2.5 million for games finished.The 33-year-old Holland had 40-save seasons with Kansas City in 2013-14 and returned from Tommy John surgery to lead the NL with 41 saves for Colorado in 2017. He was 2-2 with a 4.66 ERA with St.... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Tauchman (TOCK-min) needed to face facts: Getting traded to the New York Yankees meant the outfielder had to get rid of the beard he's worn for years.It was a hairy situation, because he was on the road and had a trimmer but no razor.So Tauchman said he went out in search of a pharmacy and bought the right tool the night before the Yankees' scheduled exhibition finale Monday at the Washington Nationals. That allowed him to abide by the team policy that bars Yankees players from wearing facial hair other than mustaches, except for religious reasons.The 28-year-old Tauchman made it by a whisker, arriving clean shaven at the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park.His beard was gone, but he did carry one remnant from his 52-game career with Colorado since his major league debut in 2017, a purple-and-black Rockies bag.The Yankees got him in exchange for left-hander Phillip Diehl.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Every team has a "next big thing" in the minors, waiting for the chance to dazzle in the majors, and Washington Nationals fans have been hearing about Victor Robles for years.He's an outfielder whose speed fuels his offense and defense. He's shown power, too. "Toolsy" is the way new Nationals second baseman Brian Dozier described him. "Explosive," was first baseman Ryan Zimmerman's adjective.Robles started in center field and went 0 for 3 in Washington's exhibition finale Monday, a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees at Nationals Park. That's also where he's expected to be on opening day, finally getting his turn to begin a season in the big leagues, moving into an outfield that lost Bryce Harper to free agency."That's what we work here for, to be an everyday player in the big leagues. I feel physically and mentally ready for that," Robles said in an interview through bullpen catcher Octavio Martinez, who serves as a team translator. "Absolutely, that's something you... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals selected the contract of first baseman Lucas Duda from Triple-A Omaha and waived outfielder Brian Goodwin on Monday as they continued to shape their opening day roster.Duda attended spring training with Minnesota on a minor league contract, was released last week and signed a minor league deal with the Royals on Friday. He gets a $1.25 million, one-year contract from Kansas City and the chance to earn $250,000 in performance bonuses.He hit .242 with 13 homers and 48 RBIs in 87 games for the Royals last season and was traded to Atlanta in August. Duda appeared in 20 games down the stretch, hitting .222 with a homer and two RBIs.Duda was 0 for 3 in three games during the Braves' Division Series loss to the Dodgers.Goodwin hit .200 with three homers and 12 RBIs for the Nationals last season before a late-July trade to Kansas City. He played in 27 games for the Royals, hitting .266 with three homers and 13 RBIs.Kansas City opens the season Thursday against the Chicago White Sox.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports