ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Gio González was released Monday from his minor league contract with the New York Yankees.The 33-year-old left-hander agreed to the deal in mid-March. If added to the 40-man roster, he would have received a $3 million salary while in the major leagues and the chance to earn $9 million in performance bonuses: $300,000 for each start through 30.González was 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in three starts and 15 innings with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Under the terms of his deal, he exercised his right Saturday to ask the Yankees to put him on the big league roster or release him within 48 hours.New York had been seeking additional pitching after ace Luis Severino got hurt. Domingo Germán was inserted into the rotation, joining Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ.The Yankees have decided to recall Jonathan Loaisiga from Scranton Wilkes-Barre to make a spot start Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Angels. Manager Aaron Boone wants to give an extra day... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets ace Jacob deGrom remains on track to start Friday night after an MRI on his right elbow showed no damage.New York general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the NL Cy Young Award winner had a test Monday morning that came back clean."No problems whatsoever," Van Wagenen said, later adding, "we got the answers we were hoping for."DeGrom threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Monday. He is lined up to come off the injured list and start the opener of a weekend series against Milwaukee at Citi Field.DeGrom reported soreness last week and the Mets put him on the injured list while the team was in St. Louis. The move followed two shaky starts by deGrom, leaving him 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA.Later, the team said deGrom had been slowed by strep throat. DeGrom and the club said his elbow trouble likely was a result of altering his routine during a recent bout of strep throat.The Mets made a series of roster moves before opening a series against Philadelphia.Third baseman Todd Frazier was... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha was placed on the 10-day injured list because of patellar tendinitis in his left knee and will miss his scheduled start Tuesday against NL Central rival Milwaukee.St. Louis said the move was retroactive to Friday. Infielder/outfielder Drew Robinson was recalled Monday from Triple-A Memphis."Something he's had in the past," St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said. "It occurred in a recovery workout from a start and just didn't feel like he was going to be able to go."Shildt thinks Wacha will miss just one turn."I definitely think this is something that we will put behind us once he takes his next start," the manager said.Wacha is sidelined for the fourth time in six years. He was 8-2 in 15 starts last year but did not pitch for the Cardinals after June 20 because of a strained oblique muscle in his left side.Wacha was on the disabled list from June 14 to Sept. 3, 2014, with a right shoulder stress reaction and from Aug. 9 to Sept. 13, 2016,... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gregory Polanco couldn't get the awkward slide into second base last September that dislocated his left shoulder out of his head. The Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder pored over the video during his lengthy rehab to the point where it simply got to be too much."It was terrible," Polanco said. "I watch it a lot of times and it was not a good feeling to watch it so I stopped."And focused on the long road back, one that reached a significant milestone on Monday when the Pirates activated the 27-year-old off the injured list and put him in the lineup in time for the opener of a four-game series with Arizona.Polanco was legging out a double against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 7 when he tried an unorthodox slide to avoid a tag. He appeared to leap in the air before extending his left leg toward the bag, tumbling forward and starting a sequence that ended with his left shoulder dislocated and the labrum in his throwing shoulder torn. He had surgery on Sept. 12, ending a season... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joey Gallo sometimes pauses for a deep breath or glances around the ballpark between pitches looking for something to slow his racing mind.The big Texas slugger grew up trying to hit baseballs as far as he could, so the idea of relaxing in the moments before one of the most powerful swings in the majors wasn't the easiest to grasp.Yet there he was, spending two hours with a Rangers coach discussing ways to clear his head in the middle of an at-bat after his average had dipped well below a career mark barely above .200.A week later, Gallo tied his career high of five RBIs without hitting a homer and had his first-ever sacrifice fly in the big leagues.With a little help from one of his typical sky-high popups that fell for a single , the left-handed hitter's batting average was .281 entering Monday, its highest since early in Gallo's first full season in the majors two years ago."I've always been really tense in trying to crush the ball," Gallo said. "It is tough because... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gio González was released Monday from his minor league contract with the New York Yankees.The 33-year-old left-hander agreed to the deal in mid-March. If added to the 40-man roster, he would have received a $3 million salary while in the major leagues and the chance to earn $9 million in performance bonuses: $300,000 for each start through 30.González was 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in three starts and 15 innings with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Under the terms of his deal, he exercised his right Saturday to ask the Yankees to put him on the big league roster or release him within 48 hours.New York had been seeking additional pitching after ace Luis Severino got hurt. Domingo Germán was inserted into the rotation, joining Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ.González was 10-11 with a 4.21 ERA last season for Washington and Milwaukee, which acquired him on Aug. 31. He was 3-0 in five starts for the Brewers down the stretch.New York also agreed to a minor league contract with 29-year-old infielder Brad Miller. He hit .250 with one home and four RBIs this year for Cleveland, was designated for assignment on April 15 and elected free agency two days later.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha was placed on the 10-day injured list because of patellar tendinitis in his left knee and will miss his scheduled start Tuesday against NL Central rival Milwaukee.St. Louis said the move was retroactive to Friday. Infielder/outfielder Drew Robinson was recalled Monday from Triple-A Memphis.Wacha is sidelined for the fourth time in six years. He was 8-2 in 15 starts last year but did not pitch for the Cardinals after June 20 because of a strained oblique muscle in his left side.Wacha was on the disabled list from June 14 to Sept. 3, 2014, with a right shoulder stress reaction and from Aug. 9 to Sept. 13, 2016, with right shoulder inflammation.He is 1-0 with a 4.64 ERA in four starts this season. He beat Milwaukee 6-3 last week, allowing two runs in six innings.Robinson played four games with St. Louis this season, in center field, and was 0 for 6.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates activated Gregory Polanco off the 10-day injured list after the right fielder completed a lengthy rehab from a dislocated left shoulder last September that cut short his 2018 season.Polanco was to bat third for the National League Central leading Pirates on Monday night against Arizona, a welcome jolt for a team dealing with a rash of injuries to the outfield. Starling Marte, Corey Dickerson and Lonnie Chisenhall are all out indefinitely while dealing with injuries.The 27-year-old Polanco hit a career-high 23 home runs for Pittsburgh in 2018 before his season ended thanks to an awkward slide into second base against Miami on Sept. 7. He underwent surgery on Sept. 12 to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.Polanco hit .300 with five RBIs and two stolen bases during a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis.To make room for Polanco, the Pirates assigned left-handed reliever Steven Brault to Triple-A.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Gio González was released Monday from his minor league contract with the New York Yankees.The 33-year-old left-hander agreed to the deal in mid-March. If added to the 40-man roster, he would have received a $3 million salary while in the major leagues and the chance to earn $9 million in performance bonuses: $300,000 for each start through 30.González was 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in three starts and 15 innings with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Under the terms of his deal, he exercised his right Saturday to ask the Yankees to put him on the big league roster or release him within 48 hours.New York had been seeking additional pitching after ace Luis Severino got hurt. Domingo Germán was inserted into the rotation, joining Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ.González was 10-11 with a 4.21 ERA last season for Washington and Milwaukee, which acquired him on Aug. 31. He was 3-0 in five starts for the Brewers down the stretch.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Khris Davis will earn $16.75 million in each of the next two seasons with the Oakland Athletics under the new contract he agreed to last week.Davis agreed to a $16.5 million, one-year deal and would have been eligible for free agency after this season.His new deal includes $33.5 million in guaranteed money for 2020 and 2021.Davis receives the same award bonus package as in his 2019 contract: $50,000 for All-Star selection, $50,000 for League Championship Series MVP, $100,000 for World Series MVP, $50,000 for Gold Glove, $100,000 for Silver Slugger, $100,000 for Most Valuable Player, $75,000 for second in MVP voting and $50,000 for third.Davis hit a majors league-leading 48 home runs last season while setting a career high with 123 RBIs along with a .247 batting average. He is hitting .253 with 10 homers and 21 RBIs this year.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:DON'T PITCH TO HIMNL MVP Christian Yelich gets yet another chance to feast on St. Louis pitching when the Brewers visit Busch Stadium.The teams have already played seven times this season — Yelich has eight home runs and 19 RBIs in those matchups, going 12 for 24 with eight walks for an incredible 2.167 OPS.Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty is 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA in seven career starts against Milwaukee.TOUGH STARTChris Sale (0-4, 8.50 ERA) faces Detroit when the Red Sox begin a 10-game homestand. The All-Star lefty has been tagged for 17 runs and 23 hits over 18 innings in his four starts this season.The World Series champs return to Fenway Park after a three-game sweep of AL East-leading Tampa Bay.CHECK UP?The Mets might find out more about ace Jacob deGrom, who was scratched from a start in St. Louis over the weekend after saying he felt soreness in his right arm.The team originally said deGrom would get an MRI on Monday back in New... [More]

Hold off — for now — on the panic in Boston.The Red Sox are indeed off to a poor start in defense of their World Series title. They have a 9-13 record and baseball's third-worst run differential. But after sweeping a three-game series with first-place Tampa Bay, Boston has avoided the worst-case scenario early on.The reigning champs trail the Rays by five games in the AL East, but the deficit could be bigger. Boston ranks near the bottom of the American League in runs scored and ERA. Aside from J.D. Martinez, none of the team's big-name hitters have been great. Chris Sale and Rick Porcello are winless, and both have ERAs over 8.00.There's still more than a week left in April, though. And there's plenty of precedent that suggests a good team can recover from a start like this. Here are a few teams since the start of the wild-card era that had even worse records than the Red Sox after 22 games — and still ended up in the postseason:— The 2015 Rangers started 7-15 and were 8 ½ games out of... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Christian Vazquez hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, and the Boston Red Sox completed an uplifting three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-3 victory Sunday.Rafael Devers singled off Jose Alvarado (0-2) to start the 11th and went to second when Michael Chavis walked.Both runners moved up a base on Jackie Bradley's sacrifice bunt and Vazquez followed with his fly that Kevin Kiermaier ran down in center field.Marcus Walden (3-0) allowed an infield hit over two scoreless innings and Ryan Brasier worked the 11th to get his sixth save.After starting the season by losing eight of 10, the defending World Series champions are 7-5 over the last 12 games and went from eight to five games behind the Rays.DODGERS 6, BREWERS 5MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cody Bellinger reached over the right field wall to rob Christian Yelich in the eighth inning of yet another home run, then hit a solo drive off Josh Hader with two outs in the ninth to lift Los Angeles over... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday:DON'T PITCH TO HIMNL MVP Christian Yelich gets yet another chance to feast on St. Louis pitching when the Brewers visit Busch Stadium.The teams have already played seven times this season — Yelich has eight home runs and 19 RBIs in those matchups, going 12 for 24 with eight walks for an incredible 2.167 OPS.Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty is 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA in seven career starts against Milwaukee.TOUGH STARTChris Sale (0-4, 8.50 ERA) faces Detroit when the Red Sox begin a 10-game homestand. The All-Star lefty has been tagged for 17 runs and 23 hits over 18 innings in his four starts this season.The World Series champs return to Fenway Park after a three-game sweep of AL East-leading Tampa Bay.CHECK UP?The Mets might find out more about ace Jacob deGrom, who was scratched from a start in St. Louis over the weekend after saying he felt soreness in his right arm.The team originally said deGrom would get an MRI on Monday back in... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Christian Vazquez hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, and the Boston Red Sox completed an uplifting three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-3 victory Sunday.Rafael Devers singled off Jose Alvarado (0-2) to start the 11th and went to second when Michael Chavis walked.Both runners moved up a base on Jackie Bradley's sacrifice bunt and Vazquez followed with his fly that Kevin Kiermaier ran down in center field.Marcus Walden (3-0) allowed an infield hit over two scoreless innings and Ryan Brasier worked the 11th to get his sixth save.After starting the season by losing eight of 10, the defending World Series champions are 7-5 over the last 12 games and went from eight to five games behind the Rays.DODGERS 6, BREWERS 5MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cody Bellinger reached over the right field wall to rob Christian Yelich in the eighth inning of yet another home run, then hit a solo drive off Josh Hader with two outs in the ninth to lift Los Angeles over... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Matt Shoemaker had to choke back tears after tests revealed a torn ACL in his left knee Sunday, cutting short yet another promising season for Toronto's oft-injured right-hander.Standing in the clubhouse following a 5-4 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, Shoemaker's voice quavered and he paused a few times while discussing the injury. At one point he was asked if he needed time to compose himself but declined."You can't put words to it," Shoemaker said. "Extremely frustrated but at the same time I just have to stay positive. I know I'm really upset right now, I just got the news. But stay positive, keep fighting, get this thing right and be back when it's ready to go."Shoemaker was hurt at the end of a rundown Saturday, and Toronto announced the diagnosis and placed him on the 10-day injured list a day later. He will undergo surgery but no date has been set.The 32-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA in five starts after signing a $3.5 million, one-year deal with... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge won't be back with the New York Yankees anytime soon, a further blow to an injury-decimated team with a mediocre record 3½ weeks into the season.New York's biggest offensive threat and the heart of its clubhouse went on the injured list for the third time in four seasons Sunday, a day after straining the oblique muscle on the left side of his abdomen while hitting a sixth-inning single against Kansas City."Especially tough times like this, when a lot of guys are beat up, I wanted to be out there in the trenches with the guys every single day," Judge said after Sunday's 7-6, 10-inning win over Kansas City .Manager Aaron Boone called it a "pretty significant strain in there" and would not estimate a return date. Judge broke his right wrist when hit by a pitch by the Royals' Jakob Junis last July 26, and while Boone originally projected a return in three weeks, Judge did not rejoin the Yankees until Sept. 14."There's no need to put a time, a clock on it, because... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Matt Shoemaker has a torn ACL in his left knee, cutting short yet another promising season for the oft-injured right-hander.Shoemaker was hurt at the end of a rundown Saturday, and Toronto announced the diagnosis and placed him on the 10-day injured list Sunday.The 32-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA in five starts in his first season with Toronto. He was limited to seven starts last year with the Angels because of a strained right forearm. In 2016, he sustained a skull fracture when he was hit in the head by a line drive, and he's had lingering forearm trouble for a while.This injury occurred while he was chasing Oakland's Matt Chapman in the third inning. Shoemaker applied the tag and spun around to avoid contact.Shoemaker was walking slowly through the clubhouse with a single crutch after having an MRI on Sunday.Infielder Richard Urena was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays have put pitcher Matt Shoemaker on the 10-day injured list, a day after he sprained his left knee at the end of a rundown.The Blue Jays made the move Sunday and recalled infielder Richard Urena from Triple-A Buffalo.Shoemaker is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA in five games. He is in his first season with Toronto.The 32-year-old righty, sidelined in recent years by a series of injuries, was hurt while chasing Oakland's Matt Chapman in the third inning. Shoemaker applied the tag and spun around to avoid contact.Shoemaker was limited to seven starts last year with the Angels because a strained right forearm. In 2016, he sustained a skull fracture when he was hit in the head by a line drive, and he's had lingering forearm trouble for a while.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Athletics pitcher Brett Anderson was pulled from his start against Toronto with a left ankle sprain he injured running off the mound in the third inning.Randal Grichuk hit a slow infield grounder in between third base and the mound. Anderson quickly moved to field the ball, slipped, then got up limping as a team trainer came out along with manager Bob Melvin.After a brief discussion Anderson threw two warmup pitches before Melvin called for reliever Yusmeiro Petit.Anderson allowed two runs on four hits and retired eight batters.