LAS VEGAS (AP) — Carlos Santana and Jeurys Familia found friendly landing spots, Edwin Encarnacion took off for a more uncertain future. Joe Kelly joined the team he helped beat in the World Series, the Milwaukee Brewers boosted their imposing bullpen.The winter meetings wrapped up Thursday with a three-team trade involving Cleveland, Seattle and Tampa Bay, plus a couple more relievers reached free-agent deals.Even so, baseball fans might've felt a bit cheated this week. Because even after all clubs gathered along the Strip, no one went all in.Hometown slugger Bryce Harper stayed put, Manny Machado didn't move. A lot of trade talk about Corey Kluber, Noah Syndergaard and J.T. Realmuto, but no deals.Blame that, maybe, on a new way of doing business.In older days, a general managers or agent would've met around the blackjack table or roulette wheel in the wee hours and hammered out a swap on a handshake. Now, with so many financial, medical and analytical components, that's virtually impossible."There's... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto was in the hospital, making a trade from a bed.Cleveland counterpart Chris Antonetti was boarding a plane headed back home, trying to finalize the deal before the flight pulled away from the gate.They managed to complete the swap as the winter meetings came to an end. Carlos Santana was sent back to Cleveland, where he was an Indians fan favorite. Edwin Encarnacion is headed to Seattle — no telling how long he'll stick there.The star hitters were dealt for each other Thursday, part of a three-team trade that also involved Tampa Bay.The Rays got infielder Yandy Diaz and minor league right-hander Cole Sulser from Cleveland. The Indians also acquired first baseman Jake Bauers from Tampa Bay, while the busy Mariners wound up with a draft pick. Tampa Bay will send $5 million to Seattle and the Mariners will pay $6 million to Cleveland."I called Edwin earlier this morning before we had final sign-off because again I wanted him to... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Carlos Santana is going back to Cleveland, where he was an Indians fan favorite. Edwin Encarnacion is headed to Seattle — no telling how long he'll stick there.The star hitters were swapped for each other Thursday, part of a three-team trade that also involved Tampa Bay as the winter meetings wrapped up.The Rays got infielder Yandy Diaz and minor league right-hander Cole Sulser from Cleveland. The Indians also acquired first baseman Jake Bauers from Tampa Bay, while the busy Mariners wound up with a draft pick. Tampa Bay will send $5 million to Seattle and the Mariners will pay $6 million to Cleveland."We'll see how it goes with Edwin, whether he stays with us or he moves on to another destination," Seattle assistant general manager Justin Hollander said.Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto finished the trade while in a hospital. He felt ill a day earlier and was checked "out of an abundance of caution," the team said.Coming off their third straight AL Central, the Indians had been... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Cleveland Indians reacquired fan favorite Carlos Santana and sent slugger Edwin Encarnacion to Seattle in a three-team trade Thursday that also involved Tampa Bay.The Rays got infielder Yandy Diaz and minor league right-hander Cole Sulser from Cleveland. The Indians also acquired first baseman Jake Bauers from Tampa Bay, while the Mariners wound up with a draft pick. Tampa Bay will send $5 million to Seattle and the Mariners will pay $6 million to Cleveland.Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto finished the trade while in a hospital. He fell ill during the winter meetings and was checked "out of an abundance of caution," the Mariners said.Coming off their third straight AL Central, the Indians had been expected to make a move at the meetings, presumably with ace Corey Kluber or pitcher Trevor Bauer.Instead, they jettisoned Encarnacion — the designated hitter has averaged 108 RBIs over the last seven seasons — and brought back the popular Santana."Not sure how to feel,"... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Cleveland Indians reacquired fan favorite Carlos Santana and sent slugger Edwin Encarnacion to Seattle in a three-team trade Thursday that also involved Tampa Bay.The Rays got infielder Yandy Diaz and minor league right-hander Cole Sulser from Cleveland. The Indians also acquired first baseman Jake Bauers from Tampa Bay, while the Mariners wound up with cash and a draft pick.Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto finished the trade while in a hospital. He fell ill during the winter meetings and was checked "out of an abundance of caution," the Mariners said.Coming off their third straight AL Central, the Indians had been expected to make a move at the meetings, presumably with ace Corey Kluber or pitcher Trevor Bauer.Instead, they jettisoned Encarnacion — the designated hitter has averaged 108 RBIs over the last seven seasons — and brought back the popular Santana."Not sure how to feel," Indians star Jose Ramirez tweeted after the deal.The 32-year-old Santana, known for... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — An All-Star starter to the relief-reliant Rays, a Tanner-for-Tanner trade and a Scott Boras sighting. Intrigue at the winter meetings, but not much impact.Not yet, anyway.Charlie Morton was the top name to switch teams Wednesday, joining Tampa Bay for a $30 million, two-year deal after going 15-3 with Houston last season. Reliever Jeurys Familia returned to the New York Mets after they traded him away and first baseman Justin Bour headed to the Los Angeles Angels.And in the majors' first swap of players with the first name of Tanner, the Washington Nationals sent Tanner Roark to Cincinnati for Tanner Rainey in a trade of right-handers.Roark led the National League with 15 losses, but expected he would be part of a prime rotation that recently added All-Star Patrick Corbin to stars Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg."I felt like we would have a pretty good staff over there in D.C. but they thought otherwise and I don't know what their plans are," Roark said on a conference... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — An All-Star starter to the relief-reliant Rays, a Tanner-for-Tanner trade and a Scott Boras sighting. Intrigue at the winter meetings, but not much impact.Not yet, anyway.Charlie Morton was the top name to switch teams Wednesday, joining Tampa Bay for a $30 million, two-year deal after going 15-3 with Houston last season.And in the majors' first swap of players with the first name of Tanner, the Washington Nationals sent Tanner Roark to Cincinnati for Tanner Rainey in a trade of right-handers.Roark led the National League with 15 losses, but expected he would be part of a prime rotation that recently added All-Star Patrick Corbin to stars Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg."I felt like we would have a pretty good staff over there in D.C. but they thought otherwise and I don't know what their plans are," Roark said on a conference call.Fans all over, meanwhile, waited to hear where the likes of free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado and trade targets Corey Kluber and... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Carlos Carrasco's career has taken some dramatic turns, re-routed by elbow surgery, a therapeutic trip to the bullpen and several freakish injuries.He persevered, blossoming into a special pitcher — and person — for the Cleveland Indians.They're going to keep him around.The three-time AL Central champions and Carrasco agreed Thursday to a $47 million, four-year contract, a deal that includes $37.25 million in new guaranteed money and could keep him in a Cleveland uniform through the 2023 season.Carrasco, who has won 35 games over the past two seasons, will make $9.75 million next season, the same as his prior deal, and $10.25 million in 2020 — the same amount as the club's previous option for that season. The Indians added on two more seasons at $12 million each, and Cleveland holds a 2023 option for $14 million with a $3 million buyout.For the cash-conscious Indians, the 31-year-old Carrasco is invaluable.He's a core member of one of baseball's best rotations, which could... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians have signed starter Carlos Carrasco to a four-year contract extension through the 2022 season.Carrasco's deal includes a club option for 2023. Financial terms were not immediately available.The right-hander went 17-10 with a 3.38 ERA in 30 starts last season for the AL Central champions. He finished with a career-high 231 strikeouts as the Indians became the first team to have four pitchers reach 200 strikeouts in the same season.The 31-year-old Carrasco has developed into one of the league's elite starters, and the Indians wanted to lock him up for the future.Cleveland is still toying with trading either Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer to address their outfield needs.Carrasco is 79-62 with a 3.71 ERA in 207 career games. The Indians acquired him from Philadelphia in the July 2009 blockbuster that involved ace Cliff Lee.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians traded one of their big arms — from behind the plateCleveland, which has discussed moving right-handers Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco in possible trades while restructuring its payroll, dealt All-Star catcher Yan Gomes to the Washington Nationals on Friday night.In return, the three-time defending AL Central champions got outfielder Daniel Jonson, right-hander Jefry Rodriguez and a player to be named. Team president Chris Antonetti called Johnson and Rodriguez "upper-level prospects" who should be able to help the Indians in the next few seasons.The Gomes deal is unlikely to be the last move this offseason by the Indians, who followed up another strong regular season stretch run with a disappointing performance against Houston in the AL Division Series. Cleveland got swept, and with its window for contention possibly closing, the team is looking to fill some holes in the outfield and bullpen.Cleveland may have to move Kluber, a two-time Cy Young... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians traded one of their big arms — from behind the plateCleveland, which has been dangling right-handers Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco as trade bait, dealt All-Star catcher Yan Gomes to the Washington Nationals on Friday.In return, the three-time defending AL Central champions got outfielder Daniel Jonson and right-hander Jefry Rodriguez.The Nationals went into the offseason in need of a new catcher — and now have two new ones. They also signed free agent Kurt Suzuki.Gomes has been a steady player for Cleveland since coming over from Toronto in 2012. The 31-year-old had one of his best offensive seasons in 2018, batting .266 with a career-high 26 doubles, 16 homers and 48 RBIs in 112 games. He was also excellent behind the plate and got selected an AL All-Star for the first time.Gomes will make $7 million next season and his contract includes club options for 2020 at $9 million with a $1 million buyout and for 2021 at $11 million.The Indians may be negotiating a new contract with Carrasco, but may still deal either Kluber or Bauer, two of the AL's best starters.Gomes' departure leaves the Indians with Roberto Perez and rookie Eric Haase as their primary catchers, but it's possible they may look to acquire one in any upcoming deals.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — After a season marred by narrow defeats, Jacob deGrom became a runaway winner.The New York Mets ace easily won the National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday night, a reward for a historically fruitless season in Flushing. The right-hander had just 10 victories, the fewest ever by a Cy Young-winning starter.The AL prize also reflected a change in voters' values, with Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays narrowly beating out past winners Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber for his first Cy Young. Snell pitched just 180 2/3 innings, fewest ever by a Cy Young-winning starter. Over full seasons, Snell is the second starter to win the award with fewer than 200 innings after Clayton Kershaw logged 198 1/3 in 2014."I definitely think the game has changed in that aspect," deGrom said."I feel like it's just turning more into quality of work and what did you accomplish in those innings," Snell said. "I think that's just the way it's going."DeGrom easily beat out Washington's Max Scherzer,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — After a season marred by narrow defeats, Jacob deGrom became a runaway winner.The New York Mets ace easily won the National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday night, a reward for a historically fruitless season in Flushing. The right-hander had just 10 victories, the fewest ever by a Cy Young-winning starter.The AL prize also reflected a change in voters' values, with Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays narrowly beating out past winners Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber for his first Cy Young. Snell pitched just 180 2/3 innings, fewest ever by a Cy Young-winning starter. Over full seasons, Snell is the second starter to win the award with fewer than 200 innings after Clayton Kershaw logged 198 1/3 in 2014."I definitely think the game has changed in that aspect," deGrom said."I feel like it's just turning more into quality of work and what did you accomplish in those innings," Snell said. "I think that's just the way it's going."DeGrom easily beat out Washington's Max Scherzer,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — After a season marred by narrow defeats, Jacob deGrom became a runaway winner.The New York Mets ace easily won the National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday night, a reward for a historically fruitless season in Flushing. The right-hander won just 10 games, the fewest ever by a Cy Young-winning starter.DeGrom easily beat out Washington's Max Scherzer, who was seeking a third straight Cy Young and fourth overall. DeGrom got 29 first-place votes and 207 points from members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Scherzer had the other first-place vote.Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays narrowly beat out past winners Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber for his first AL Cy Young after leading the majors with 21 victories.In his first season after chopping off his distinctive long hair, deGrom cut down hitters from start to finish despite little help from teammates. He had a 1.70 ERA, the lowest in the NL since Zack Greinke's 1.66 mark in 2015. Yet the 30-year-old right-hander... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets has easily won the National League Cy Young Award, and Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays has edged out two past winners for the American League prize.DeGrom won just 10 games, the fewest ever by a Cy Young-winning starter. He got 29 first-place votes and 207 points in voting announced Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Washington's Max Scherzer got the other first-place vote and finished second while seeking a third straight Cy Young and fourth overall.Snell narrowly beat Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber for his first AL Cy Young after leading the majors with 21 victories.In his first season after chopping off his distinctive long hair, deGrom cut down hitters from start to finish despite little help from teammates. He had a 1.70 ERA, the lowest in the NL since Zack Greinke's 1.66 mark in 2015. Yet the 30-year-old right-hander went 10-9, eclipsing the low bar among starters set by Seattle's Felix Hernandez when he... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays has won his first AL Cy Young Award in a tight race over past winners Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber.Snell got 17 first-place votes and 169 points in voting announced Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to 13 firsts and 154 points for Verlander. Boston's Chris Sale was third with 59 points.The left-hander nicknamed Snellzilla led the majors with 21 victories, and his 1.89 ERA was tops in the AL. The 25-year-old left-hander pitched just 180 2/3 innings, 33 1/3 fewer than Verlander, but his dominance was enough to sway the electorate.Verlander led the AL with 290 strikeouts while going 16-9 with a 2.52 ERA for AL West champion Houson. This is his third second-place finish since winning the Cy Young and MVP in 2011 with Detroit.Kluber was attempting to win his second straight Cy Young and third overall. He went 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA for AL Central champion Cleveland and led the AL with 215 innings.The NL prize was to be announced later Wednesday.___Follow Jake Seiner: https://twitter.com/Jake_Seiner___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians traded one of their extra pieces. They're keeping their bigger ones — for now.Cleveland began what could be a busy offseason on Wednesday by dealing versatile infielder Erik Gonzalez to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a five-player swap.The AL Central champions sent the 27-year-old Gonzalez, who appeared in 81 games for the Indians last season, along with minor league right-handers Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza to the Pirates for outfielder Jordan Luplow and infielder Max Moroff.Gonzalez batted .265 with one homer and 16 RBIs last season for Cleveland, which signed the Dominican native in 2009. And while he filled a valuable utility role, he was not going to crack the starting lineup behind All-Stars Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez."That was a tough thing for us," Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. "We've had multiple conversations with Erik about it. He's done so many things to impact the organization in his time with us, from... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Bob Melvin's job was a lot different as a rookie manager with Seattle in 2002, and even when he was voted Manager of the Year with Arizona in 2007 and Oakland in 2012."Organizations and certainly front offices are more a part of it now, and you have to understand that," Melvin said Tuesday after winning his third manager award.Melvin won the American League honor after leading the Athletics to the playoffs despite the lowest opening-day payroll in the major leagues.Atlanta's Brian Snitker won the National League award following a surprising first-place finish, a reward for a 63-year-old baseball lifer who has spent 42 seasons with the Braves. He thought back to how he returned to the minor leagues in 1986, 1991 and 2004 after stints on the staff of the big league Braves."Hey, I've been recycled three times from the major leagues as a coach," he said. "Everything that I've been through I think has prepared me better to understand what these guys go through and what this job... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Oakland's Bob Melvin was voted Manager of the Year for the third time, winning the American League honor Tuesday after leading the Athletics to the playoffs despite the lowest opening-day payroll in the major leagues.Atlanta's Brian Snitker won the National League award following the Braves' surprising first-place finish.Melvin received 18 first-place votes, 19 seconds and one third for 121 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He is the eighth manager to win three or more times and is one shy of the record shared by Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa. Melvin won with Oakland in 2012 and took the NL honor with Arizona in 2007.His A's went 97-65 — a 22-win improvement over 2017 — even with a $68.6 million payroll when the season began. They overcame a 34-36 start to go a big league-best from June 16 on, even though Jharel Cotton, A.J. Puk, Sean Manaea, Brett Anderson and several other starting pitchers got hurt. They lost to the New York Yankees in the AL wild-card... [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 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]