NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed the finalists for its major awards Monday night. The winners will be announced next week.Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way Japanese sensation was 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA as a starting pitcher before an elbow injury forced him off the mound. He finished out the season exclusively as a designated hitter, hitting .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs.Ohtani is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings. He had Tommy John surgery after the season and is not expected to pitch in 2019.Andujar hit 47 doubles, tied for the second-most by a rookie in major league history, while... [More]

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Brian Cashman wants to bring CC Sabathia back for an 11th season with the New York Yankees, and he's also holding out some hope of re-signing J.A. Happ.Eight days after the Boston Red Sox won their fourth World Series title in 15 seasons — compared to one in that span for New York — Cashman arrived at the annual general managers' meetings searching for pitching."The Red Sox winning doesn't change the hunger level of trying to deliver a championship sooner than later for our fan base," the Yankees GM said Monday. "I think the hunger and the effort, the passion's there, despite the horrible outcome that took place in the World Series this year."After paying luxury tax for 15 straight years, a total of $341 million, the Yankees dropped below the threshold for the first time in 2018, when Boston took over as baseball's biggest spender for the first time since records began in the free-agent era. Cashman is a man with money to spend this offseason."Yeah, we got under... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed the finalists for its major awards Monday night. The winners will be announced next week.Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way Japanese sensation is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings.The World Series champion Boston Red Sox might be in line for more hardware. Mookie Betts is a finalist for AL MVP, and Alex Cora is in the final three for AL Manager of the Year in his first season. Los Angeles' Mike Trout and Cleveland's Jose Ramirez are also finalists for AL MVP.Milwaukee's Christian Yelich is the favorite for NL MVP, and Colorado's Nolan Arenado and Chicago's Javier Baez were also revealed as top vote-getters.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trevor Rosenthal's comeback from his 2017 Tommy John surgery went so well, the Washington Nationals newest reliever says he considered trying to get back to the majors last season."The whole process has been very smooth. No hiccups. I felt really good the whole time. Almost too good," Rosenthal said Monday during a conference call with reporters. "Especially there, after the All-Star break, I was kind of anxious, thinking I might be able to pitch before the season was over. But the plan all along from my doctor was just to take this year off, so we stuck with that plan."Rosenthal, the former St. Louis Cardinals closer, agreed last week to a deal with the Nationals, who officially announced Saturday that they signed him.He joins holdover lefty closer Sean Doolittle at the back of Washington's bullpen.Rosenthal said he hasn't "really had too many conversations" yet with the Nationals about how they plan to use him."Obviously, I mean, I think the plan is just being in high-leverage... [More]

Mookie Betts and the Boston Red Sox just keep winning.Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Ian Kinsler won Gold Gloves for the World Series champion Red Sox on Sunday night, and the Atlanta Braves also were recognized for their fielding excellence this season.The 26-year-old Betts won for the third straight year. He also is a top contender for the AL MVP award.Kinsler got his second Gold Glove at second base, and Bradley won for the first time in center. Teammate Andrew Benintendi also was nominated, but Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon took home his sixth Gold Glove instead.Atlanta added three Gold Gloves to its surprise NL East title this season. Freddie Freeman and Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo tied for the award at first base, and center fielder Ender Inciarte and right fielder Nick Markakis also were honored for the Braves.It's the third straight Gold Glove for Inciarte. Markakis won for the first time in the NL and third time overall, ending Jason Heyward's run of four in a row.Oakland,... [More]

Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Ian Kinsler have won Gold Gloves for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox.It's the third straight for Betts in right field. Kinsler got his second Gold Glove at second base, and Bradley won for the first time in center.The prizes for defensive excellence were announced Sunday night.Oakland and Colorado each had two Gold Glove winners in the infield. First baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Matt Chapman were recognized for the Athletics, and second baseman D.J. LeMahieu and third baseman Nolan Arenao won for the Rockies.Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons and Royals left fielder Alex Gordon also won in the AL.Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs and Freddie Freeman of the Braves tied for the NL award at first. Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed, Pirates left fielder Corey Dickerson, Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte and Braves right fielder Nick Markakis also won in the NL.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward was hired as manager of the Texas Rangers on Saturday, six weeks after Jeff Banister was fired.He received a three-year contract with a club option for 2022. He will be introduced at a news conference Monday.Woodward inherits a team that went 67-95 and finished last in the AL West, with the focus turning to the development of younger players. Texas had its first consecutive losing seasons since 2005-08.The hiring ended a process during which general manager Jon Daniels and the Rangers interviewed more than 10 candidates, including bench coach Don Wakamatsu after he served as interim coach the final 10 games of the season.Woodward was interviewed this week after the Dodgers finished their second straight season in which they advanced to the World Series, losing both times. The last team before Los Angeles that appeared in consecutive World Series without winning the title was Texas in 2010 and 2011."We interviewed a number of strong candidates... [More]

Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward was hired as manager of the Texas Rangers on Saturday six weeks after Jeff Banister was fired.He received a three-year contract with a club option for 2022, the Rangers said. He is to be introduced at news conference Monday.Woodward inherits a team that went 67-95 and finished last in its division, with the focus turning to the development of younger players. Texas had its first consecutive losing seasons since 2005-08.The hiring ended a process during which general manager Jon Daniels and the Rangers interviewed more than 10 candidates, including bench coach Don Wakamatsu after he served as interim coach the final 10 games of the season.Woodward was interviewed this week after the Dodgers finished their second straight season in which they advanced to the World Series, losing both times. The last team before Los Angeles that appeared in consecutive World Series without winning the title was Texas in 2010 and 2011.Daniels has hired three... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals have signed former St. Louis Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal to a one-year contract with a conditional option for 2020.General manager Mike Rizzo announced the deal Saturday. The contract guarantees Rosenthal $7 million, and he can earn an additional $8 million in performance bonuses.Rosenthal hasn't pitched since 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The 28-year-old is a hard-throwing right-hander with 121 career saves in the majors, all with St. Louis.Rosenthal had a career-high 48 saves in 2015 and was a National League All-Star. He had only 14 saves in 2016 and 11 in 2017 before getting injured.The Cardinals released Rosenthal in November 2017, a few months after he had surgery.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — David Price has won the Babe Ruth award as postseason MVP in voting by the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.After pitching the Boston Red Sox to their World Series title, Price will be honored along with other award winners at the chapter's 96th annual dinner on Jan. 26 in Manhattan.Mets ace Jacob deGrom was selected New York player of the year Friday, and teammate David Wright took the Joe DiMaggio Toast of the Town award. Former general manager Sandy Alderson, who stepped down last summer after his cancer returned, was saluted with the Arthur and Milton Richman You Gotta Have Heart award.Yankees GM Brian Cashman will receive the Joan Payson/Shannon Forde award for community service. Longtime broadcaster Ken Singleton was tabbed for the Casey Stengel You Could Look It Up award, 40 years after he finished runner-up for AL MVP.Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo was an overwhelming choice for the Ben Epstein/Dan Castellano Good Guy award. Media relations dean Jay Horwitz got the William J. Slocum and Jack Lang Award for Long and Meritorious Service as he transitions to a new role as vice president of alumni public relations and team historian.The Willie, Mickey & The Duke award will go to the 1969 Miracle Mets on the 50th anniversary of their championship season.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington outfielder Bryce Harper and Boston closer Craig Kimbrel were among just seven free agents who received $17.9 million qualifying offers from their former clubs Friday, when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw agreed to a $93 million, three-year contract rather than test the market.Left-handers Patrick Corbin (Arizona), Dallas Keuchel (Houston) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers) also received qualifying offers as did outfielder A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks) and catcher Yasmani Grandal (Dodgers).Players have until Nov. 12 to accept. If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.Only five of 73 players given qualifying offers have accepted since the process began in 2012.The Chicago Cubs exercised their $20 million option on left-hander Cole Hamels, who went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers claimed reliever Jose Fernandez and infielder Brandon Dixon off waivers.The team announced the moves Friday.The 25-year-old Fernandez made his major league debut this year with Toronto, posting a 6.10 ERA in 13 relief appearances. He is 11-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 195 minor league appearances.The 26-year-old Dixon made his big league debut with Cincinnati, hitting .178 this year in 74 games. He hit .346 in 49 games with Triple-A Louisville___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington outfielder Bryce Harper and Boston closer Craig Kimbrel were among just seven free agents who received $17.9 million qualifying offers from their former clubs Friday, when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw agreed to a $93 million, three-year contract rather than test the market.Left-handers Patrick Corbin (Arizona) Dallas Keuchel (Houston) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers) also received offers as did outfielder A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks) and catcher Yasmani Grandal (Dodgers).Players have until Nov. 12 to accept. If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.Just five of 73 players given qualifying offers have accepted since the process began in 2012.The Chicago Cubs exercised their $20 million option on left-hander Cole Hamels, who went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts after... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers have declined their 2019 contract options for catcher Robinson Chirinos and three pitchers.Chirinos, the primary starting catcher, had a $4.5 million option for next season. That decision Friday was a bit of a surprise while the Rangers were expected to let pitchers Doug Fister, Matt Moore and Martin Perez become free agents.General manager Jon Daniels said shortstop Elvis Andrus, at 30 the team's longest-tenured player with 10 seasons in Texas, wasn't opting out of his contract. Andrus is halfway through a $120 million, eight-year deal that offered him the opportunity to opt for free agency this offseason. He also has that option next year.Andrus hit .297 this season, when he went on the disabled list for the first time in his career. He missed two months because of a fractured right elbow after getting hit by a pitch in April.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATLANTA (AP) — The Braves did not extend a qualifying offer to any of their free agents, including cleanup hitter Nick Markakis.If Atlanta had made $17.9 million, one-year offer to Markakis by Friday's deadline, it would have been in line to receive a draft pick if he signed elsewhere. But the team opted against such a move, not wanting to give the outfielder — who turns 35 this month — the option of taking such a lucrative deal.While Markakis was a first-time All-Star who hit .297 with 14 homers and 93 RBIs, his production tailed off in the second half of the season.The Braves also opted against qualifying offers to catcher Kurt Suzuki, starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez, starter Brandon McCarthy, infielder Ryan Flaherty and reliever Peter Moylan. McCarthy has said he plans to retire.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/apf-Baseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw is staying with the Los Angeles Dodgers, agreeing to a $93 million, three-year contract after he initially opted out and chose free agency.The agreement was reached Friday, when Kershaw opted out of a $215 million, seven-year contract that had two seasons remaining at a total of $65 million.The left-hander gets an additional $28 million in guaranteed money. The new agreement includes $4 million annually in performance bonuses, in four $1 million increments for 24, 26, 28 and 30 games started, which could raise the deal's value to $105 million over three years.He also can earn award bonuses of $1.5 million for winning the NL Cy Young Award or $500,000 for finishing second or third in the voting.Also Friday, the Dodgers made $17.9 million qualifying offers to two of their other free agents: pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and catcher Yasmani Grandal.Winner of the NL Cy Young in 2011, '13 and '14, Kershaw was limited to 26 starts this year because of a back injury and... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs exercised their $20 million option on Cole Hamels on Friday, solidifying their rotation for next year, and traded fellow left-hander Drew Smyly to the Texas Rangers.Hamels, who turns 35 in December, went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts after he was acquired in a July 27 trade with Texas — a frequent trade partner for Chicago since Theo Epstein took over the Cubs' front office in 2011. Had the Cubs declined the option and paid a $6 million buyout, the Rangers would have paid the Cubs an additional $6 million.The 29-year-old Smyly is heading to Texas after missing his only year in Chicago as part of his recovery from Tommy John surgery in June 2017. The Cubs also parted with a player to be named in exchange for a player to be named.Smyly signed a $10 million, two-year contract with Chicago last December. He was healthy at the end of last season, but the contending Cubs ran out of time in terms of bringing him back.Chicago also claimed infielder Jack Reinheimer... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers have declined their 2019 contract options for catcher Robinson Chirinos and three pitchers.Chirinos, the primary starting catcher, had a $4.5 million option for next season. That decision Friday was a bit of a surprise while the Rangers were expected to let pitchers Doug Fister, Matt Moore and Martin Perez become free agents.General manager Jon Daniels said shortstop Elvis Andrus, at 30 the team's longest-tenured player with 10 seasons in Texas, wasn't opting out of his contract. Andrus is halfway through a $120 million, eight-year deal that offered him the opportunity to opt for free agency this offseason. He also has that option next year.Andrus hit .297 this season, when he went on the disabled list for the first time in his career. He missed two months after because of a fractured right elbow after getting hit by a pitch in April.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw is staying with the Los Angeles Dodgers, agreeing to a $93 million, three-year contract after he initially opted out and chose free agency.The agreement was reached Friday, when Kershaw opted out of his previous deal, a $215 million, seven-year contract that had two seasons remaining at a total of $65 million.The left-hander gets an additional $28 million in guaranteed money. The new agreement includes $4 million annually in performance bonuses based on starts, in four $1 million increments. He also can earn award bonuses.Winner of the NL Cy Young Award in 2011, '13 and '14, the seven-time All-Star was limited to 26 starts this year because of a back injury and went 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA while striking out 155. The Dodgers lost in the World Series for the second straight season, with Kershaw taking the loss in Sunday's season-ending Game 5 defeat to Boston.Kershaw signed his $215 million deal in January 2014, and it called for salaries of $32 million next... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw is staying with the Los Angeles Dodgers, agreeing to a $93 million, three-year contract that avoids free agency.The agreement was reached Friday, the deadline for Kershaw to opt out of his previous deal, a $215 million, seven-year contract that had two seasons remaining at a total of $65 million.The left-hander gets an additional $28 million in guaranteed money. The new agreement includes $4 million annually in performance bonuses based on starts, in four $1 million increments. He also can earn award bonuses.Winner of the NL Cy Young Award in 2011, '13 and '14, the seven-time All-Star was limited to 26 starts this year because of a back injury and went 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA while striking out 155. The Dodgers lost in the World Series for the second straight season, with Kershaw taking the loss in Sunday's season-ending Game 5 defeat to Boston.Kershaw signed his $215 million deal in January 2014. It called for salaries of $32 million next year and $33 million... [More]