WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — On the day position players reported to camp, the Washington Nationals finally got around to putting up a sign on the ivy-covered wall near the entrance to their spring training facility with a curly "W," a rendering of the Capitol dome and, most significantly, the proclamation "2019 WORLD CHAMPIONS.""Now we are happy to come back," slugger Juan Soto said, "and show the people we can do it again."And two of the reasons the Nationals did what they did last season -- and, more significantly, figure repeating is a realistic goal to pursue this season -- also showed up Monday: Soto and an enthusiastic cabbage race.Say what?Yes, the daily schedule posted in the clubhouse proclaimed this "National Cabbage Day," alongside a separate piece of paper listing the rosters for two teams of 20 pitchers and catchers each, one captained by Max Scherzer, the other by Stephen Strasburg. At precisely 9:30 a.m., clubhouse and equipment manager Mike Wallace strode outside carrying... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Mike Trout thinks the Houston Astros should pay more dearly for their cheating ways.The Los Angeles Angels' three-time AL MVP ripped the Astros and questioned the discipline handed out by Major League Baseball on Monday after he reported to spring training. Trout joined the chorus of prominent big leaguers angry about Houston's rampant sign stealing on its way to the 2017 World Series title and beyond.“It’s sad for baseball,” he said. "It’s tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing. It sucks, too, because guys' careers have been affected. A lot of people lost jobs. It was tough.“Me going up to the plate knowing what was coming? It would be fun up there. A lot of guys lost respect for some of the guys.”Trout said a few members of the Astros reached out to him during the offseason to explain their side, but Trout didn't sound impressed.“You don’t know what helped them or what not,” he said. “But... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Red Sox owner John Henry says he knows why Boston fans are angry the team traded Mookie Betts.“When I say I understand how many of you feel about this trade with the Dodgers, I know many of you — particularly our youngest fans — are disbelieving or angry or sad about it. I know it’s difficult and disappointing,” Henry said Monday, reading from a statement on the first day of full-team workouts.Henry answered questions for about 30 minutes along with chairman Tom Werner and team president Sam Kennedy. Half of them addressed the trade of Betts and David Price to Los Angeles for outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects: infielder Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong. Boston will send $96 million to the Dodgers, which matches half of the $96 million owed to Price for the next three seasons, and shed itself of Betts' $27 million salary for this year.“This trade gives us a lot of flexibility,’ Werner said. “We have made unpopular trades — not all of them have worked out... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Adalberto Mondesi might be one of the best kept secrets in baseball.The only player to make his big league debut in the World Series, the 24-year-old Mondesi has blossomed into an emerging star for the Kansas City Royals.Last season, his 10 triples tied for the most in the majors and his 43 stolen bases ranked second. He did that despite injuries limiting him to 102 games.In 2018, Mondesi became the only player to record at least 14 home runs and steal 32 bases in no more than 75 games.“I don’t think the baseball world has any idea how good this kid can be,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Just look at some of the best shortstops and some of the ones that are getting the most attention and this guy can do everything they do and then some. He’s a special player and he’s a special person.”Mondesi went on the injured list twice last year with a groin strain and left shoulder trouble. He again hurt his shoulder in the final week while diving for a ball and had surgery... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — With hit-robbing catches and 19 assists in less than a season-and-a-half, the defense of Oakland center fielder Ramon Laureano has gained attention.Laureano led the Oakland Athletics with a .288 batting average last year, although a shin injury that sidelined him for more than a month left him short of becoming a qualifier. He had 24 homers., 67 RBIs, 29 double and 10 outfield assists — along with an AL-high seven errors and 123 strikeouts in 434 at-bats.“I learned quickly and I made early adjustments on defense and hitting,” Laureano said, speaking in Spanish. “But there is still room to continue getting better. There was good and some bad in 2019 and what happened happened, and now I’m focused on a new season and helping the team get to the World Series.”The 25-year-old's defense gained his most attention. He had three assists in one four-game series against the Boston Red Sox. Laureano said the opportunity he’s been given to play regularly is a result of hard work... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Even the Miami Marlins can be optimistic at the start of spring training, which is why president of baseball operations Michael Hill stood facing the practice fields before the first full-squad workout Monday and didn't flinch at what's to come.“This is a camp where there is as much talent as I've ever seen,” he said.That's only modest praise given that the Marlins have endured 10 consecutive losing seasons, all with Hill in the front office. After losing 105 times in 2019, they could be much improved and still finish last in the NL East.But the Marlins do believe they're finally on the upswing in Year 3 of the Derek Jeter regime.“It's time,” manager Don Mattingly said. “There’s a lot more talent; there’s a lot more veteran talent,” Hill said. “You can look at a deeper pitching staff, a better bullpen, a deeper lineup. The expectation to win more games comes with that.”Among those with loftier expectations is majority owner Bruce Sherman, part of Jeter's group that... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — San Diego right-hander Chris Paddack has something new to show hitters this season — a blue-eyed lion. Two days before spring training opened, Paddack had a tattoo of a lion — his spirit animal — inked from wrist to elbow on the outside of his left forearm. When he comes to a set position on the mound, the lion is directly batter’s line of vision. He relishes the chance to let it loose on opening day against Colorado on March 26.“Have I reflected on that start? Absolutely,” Paddack said. “But whoever pitches that day is our ace. The chemistry is more important than that. You can’t selfish yourself out of the group. I’m definitely a big believer in that. But don’t get me wrong, March 26 is my goal, for sure.”Paddack is a candidate after going 9-7 with a 3.33 ERA in 26 starts as a rookie last season. The Padres monitored his workload in the final stages of his return from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the 2017 season.Paddak never pitched on fewer than five... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Mike Trout thinks the Houston Astros should pay more dearly for their cheating ways.The Los Angeles Angels' three-time AL MVP ripped the Astros and questioned the discipline handed out by Major League Baseball on Monday after he reported to spring training.“It’s sad for baseball,” Trout said. "It’s tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing. It sucks, too, because guys' careers have been affected. A lot of people lost jobs. It was tough.“Me going up to the plate knowing what was coming? It would be fun up there. A lot of guys lost respect for some of the guys.”Trout didn't make a suggestion for what the Astros players' punishment should have been, but the scandal obviously touched a nerve in the Halos' brilliant center fielder, who has spent his entire career playing against Houston in the AL West.“Obviously the GM got fired and Hinch got fired," Trout said of punishments for Jeff Luhnow and... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — A world away, Liam Hendriks had to do something to help everyone affected by the ravaging fires back home in Australia.The Oakland Athletics reliever campaigned on social media to do his part for the cause, no matter he grew up on the country's West Coast in Perth where the massive bush fires haven't been as devastating. He made a quick visit this offseason.On Instagram, Hendriks encouraged contributions to Red Cross Australia. While he fully supported everyone rescuing koala bears and other animals from the flames, he also wanted to make sure the people affected received necessary support.“Nothing is ever enough but the response was always positive, which is highly unusual for social media regardless of the tack you're taking," Hendriks said before a recent spring training workout. “We got a decent chunk of change that we sent over there. Hopefully it helps make a difference, but at the end of the day there's only so much we can do from over here. The awareness is the... [More]

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — With baseball ablaze over the Houston Astros' cheating scandal, commissioner Rob Manfred met with nearly half of the major leagues managers Sunday and told them to knock off any notion of get-even beanballs."I hope that I made it extremely clear to them that retaliation in-game by throwing at a batter intentionally will not be tolerated, whether it's Houston or anybody else," Manfred said. "It's dangerous and it is not helpful to the current situation."Cody Bellinger, Kris Bryant, Trevor Bauer and Carlos Correa were among the All-Stars recently trading threats, accusations and barbs as spring training opened. The revelation of Houston's sign-stealing scam, the punishment imposed by Major League Baseball and poorly received apologies by the Astros further enhanced anger across the sport, with players, club management and fans all joining in. "I think that the back and forth that's gone on is not healthy," Manfred said.Manfred had previously planned to attend a news... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Joc Pederson was back in a familiar clubhouse. He had the same dressing stall and many of the same teammates.Not much had changed, except for him.He felt awkward — and with good reason.Pederson put his Dodgers uniform back on at Camelback Ranch over the weekend for the start of spring training. Just a week earlier, it looked like he would be performing these February rituals across town in Tempe.For five days, Pederson appeared to be headed to the Los Angeles Angels along with pitcher Ross Stripling as part of several multi-player trades surrounding Mookie Betts' move to the Dodgers. The Angels-Dodgers trade was eventually scrapped, but only after an uncomfortable amount of uncertainty for the players involved.“I thought for sure I was going to the Angels,” Pederson said. “It seemed pretty official. I was talking with my wife about what we were going to do living-wise, spring training-wise, talking about changing my cleats, everything.’’Stripling thought the same... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Yu Darvish got hit hard by the Houston Astros during the 2017 World Series -- both his ERA and reputation took quite a beating.On Sunday, after a bullpen session for the Chicago Cubs, he sought to settle the score a bit. He said the Astros, their sign-stealing scheme exposed, should be stripped of their title.“Like the Olympics, when a player cheats, they can’t have a gold medal," the Japanese-born star said. "But (Houston) still has a World Series title. It does make me feel weird. That’s it.”The 33-year-old pitcher became the latest player to criticize the Astros. But Darvish said he wasn’t actually “angry” about the sign-stealing scandal that resulted managers AJ Hinch, Alex Cora and Carlos Beltran losing their jobs.Pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Darvish lasted only 1 1/3 innings in both of his 2017 World Series appearances. He was tagged for four runs and six hits in Game 3 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, then the four-time All-Star lost Game 7 at Dodger Stadium.Darvish... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — The son's stay in town has outlasted the father's. The irony isn't lost on Jacob Stallings.It wasn't necessarily supposed to be this way. Stallings was still a catching prospect — and not necessarily a young one — in the Pirates' organization four years ago when his dad Kevin left a successful run as the men's basketball coach at Vanderbilt to take on the same job at the University of Pittsburgh. The marriage between the elder Stallings and the Panthers lasted all of two nightmarish seasons. By the spring of 2018, Pitt moved on. It seemed the younger Stallings might meet the same fate. Pittsburgh designated for him assignment several times as he pogoed between the minors and the majors after making his debut in 2016. The odds of him ever sticking in Pittsburgh seeming to grow more and more remote as his mid-20s turned into his late-20s.Yet rather than worry about it, Stallings buried himself in the game. When he spent the first half of 2019 as the third catcher while... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Cameron Maybin is starting his third stint with the Detroit Tigers.This one feels a bit different.“The first two times around, there were a lot of familiar faces," the veteran outfielder said Sunday. "Not that many now.”Maybin began his big league career with Detroit in 2007 and was enough of a prospect that he was traded for Miguel Cabrera. He returned to the Tigers in 2016 after a trade, and now the 32-year-old Maybin is back again after agreeing to a one-year contract.Maybin was a first-round draft pick for Detroit in 2005, and when he arrived in the majors, the Tigers were coming off a World Series appearance and were on their way to about a decade of consistent contention. They still had star pitcher Justin Verlander when Maybin returned in 2016, and that team nearly made the postseason.Now, however, Detroit is rebuilding. The Tigers still have Cabrera, but it's the team's young prospects who may end up getting much of the attention from fans in spring training.... [More]

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer says he has gotten positive response to his criticism of a plan being considered by Major League Baseball to expand the playoffs, one that includes an extended break for top seeds and some teams choosing who they will play.Bauer directed his ire toward Commissioner Rob Manfred in a tweet last week: “Your proposal is absurd for too many reasons to type on twitter and proves you have absolutely no clue about baseball. You’re a joke.” Deep into a lengthy with ESPN aired Sunday about the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, Manfred was asked specifically about his reaction to Bauer’s tweet that characterized the commissioner as a joke. “Well, I think if you look back on the questions we’ve already gone through, I’m pretty good about accepting people’s views and criticisms,” Manfred told ESPN. “I don’t have to agree with them, and I’ll say this about that particular comment. No matter how much, how completely I disagreed with what... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Be it on a Triple-A field in Syracuse or a tennis court in South Asia, Tim Tebow is still working, hoping for a shot at the majors.Now 32, the former celebrated quarterback is back for his fifth year as a minor league outfielder for the New York Mets.A two-time national champion at Florida who won the Heisman Trophy and later a playoff-winning QB for the Denver Broncos, Tebow was contacted by the XFL in its return to football action this season. He said he loves the opportunity the league is giving to players who will eventually, he feels, make an NFL roster.“But for me, this is what I wanted to do and pursue it and be all-in. When I’m 50, I can’t come back and do this," Tebow said Sunday at the Mets' spring training complex. “This is part of a season and a time, and I feel I’m in that season. I don’t know when I’ll feel like I’m out."Tebow’s steady dedication has resulted in some odd workout locations, including one in the Maldives last month with his wife,... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Jeff Samardzija calls himself old school, and that seems fairly fitting given the San Francisco Giants’ veteran right-hander is now 35 and entering his 13th major league season.But he sounds willing to embrace the style of his new manager, Gabe Kapler. In fact, the two spent some time together during the offseason in the Bay Area after Kapler was hired in November.“He’s good, man. I’m excited for the young guys to get to be around him and he’s going to be a great liaison for those guys to figure out what it’s going to take to be successful here,” Samardzija said.After four seasons with Bruce Bochy, whose managerial style was in line with Samardzija’s approach to the game, the pitcher realizes a new regime isn’t necessarily a bad thing.“I’m excited to see his way,"' he said.Samardzija didn’t need much time to process the change in managers. He has been around the game long enough to know nothing stays the same forever.“This is what we do,” he said. “There’s turnover... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has gone from hoping aloud that fallout from his new team's sign-stealing scandal would go away quickly to accepting that the back-and-forth is lingering."You realize it's going to take a while to move on. You don't just move on, just 'cause you say, 'Move on.' We do realize that sometimes the guys have something to say. Sometimes you guys have a job to do," Baker told reporters Sunday at spring training. "Everything heals in time, and I'm just hoping that the time to heal has come and gone."Then he added: "Probably not, but I hope so."This comes 72 hours after Houston's poorly received news conference and attempts to apologize, when Baker said, "We're hoping that we don't have to continue to answer these questions, and hopefully we can get the season started because it has been a distraction." He said Sunday, he was fine with Astros shortstop Carlos Correa's vociferous defense on Saturday of teammate José Altuve and rejoinder... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Brent Suter reached a two-year, $2.5 million deal Sunday that avoids an arbitration hearing that had been set for next week.Suter returned from Tommy John surgery last September and went 4-0 with a 0.49 ERA in nine relief appearances, helping the Brewers earn an NL wild-card spot.Suter had mostly been a starter the previous two seasons with Milwaukee before having elbow surgery in July 2018. He is expected to be used out of the bullpen this year.The 30-year-old Suter made $568,300 last year. He asked in arbitration for a $1.25 million salary this year and the Brewers offered $825,000.Suter gets a $100,000 signing bonus payable within 60 days and salaries of $900,000 this year and $1.5 million in 2021. His 2021 salary can escalate by up to $250,000 based on innings this year: $50,000 each for 80, 100, 120, 140 and 160.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Nolan Arenado said he never went as far as to request a trade from the Colorado Rockies in the wake of feeling a “disrespect” from the club given he was part of trade discussions this offseason, and the All-Star third baseman is ready to move forward despite frustrations with a quiet winter by his team.“There was different talks. I wouldn't say it went to those lengths,” Arenado said Sunday, when he reported to Rockies camp ahead of Monday's first full-squad workout. It has nearly been a year since Arenado signed a $260 million, eight-year contract — and now it's unclear how long he will stay.“I'm committed here. I'm here and I'm ready to go out there, I'm going to play hard," he said. "I'm not going to be a negative presence in that locker room. That's never really been my style. So I feel like I'm going to be me, nothing's going to change. I want to win."Arenado said he sent text messages to teammates and that he is committed to Colorado as spring training begins... [More]