JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — St. Louis pitcher Carlos Martinez will begin the season on the injured list as the two-time All-Star tries to work his way back from shoulder weakness.Martinez will not appear in an exhibition games. He is to throw on flat ground for the next week before moving to a mound.St. Louis has not announced a timetable for Martinez's arm strengthening program. The pitcher received a platelet-rich plasma injection two weeks ago, and manager Mike Shildt said treatment improved Martinez's condition.A 27-year-old right-hander, Martinez was the Cardinals' opening-day starter last year but did not pitch for St. Louis from May 8 until June 5 last year because of a strained right lat muscle, then was out between July 19 and 30 because of a strained right oblique and between July 30 and Aug. 21 because of a strained right shoulder.When he returned, he pitched out of the bullpen and had five saves. He finished 8-6 with a 3.11 ERA in 18 starts and 15 relief appearances.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Washington Nationals are counting on Tony Sipp to give them something their bullpen lacked: a lefty reliever to go after lefty hitters in late-game situations.A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Sipp and the Nationals agreed in principle on a one-year contract for 2019 that guarantees $1.25 million and includes a mutual option for 2020.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending the successful completion of a physical exam.Sipp would get a $1 million salary this year, and the contract includes a $2.5 million mutual option for next year, with a $250,000 buyout. There are not any performance bonuses.This move gives Washington's rebuilt bullpen someone to use in a key spot against left-handed batters — such as Bryce Harper, the former Nationals slugger who joined the NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent for $330 million over 13 seasons. Solis and Harper have never faced each... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — The San Diego Padres have finalized their minor league contract with left-handed reliever Sammy Solis.The 30-year-old Solis was released Saturday by the Washington Nationals and will get $137,097 in termination pay rather than his $850,000 salary.San Diego announced his agreement Tuesday.Solis was 1-2 with a 6.41 ERA in 56 appearances in 2018, his fourth big league season. He had 44 strikeouts and 18 walks.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that left-handed reliever Tony Sipp and the Washington Nationals have agreed in principle on a one-year contract that guarantees $1.25 million and includes a mutual option for 2020.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the deal was pending the successful completion of a physical exam.Sipp would get a $1 million salary this year, and the deal includes a $2.5 million mutual option with a $250,000 buyout. There are not any performance bonuses.This move gives Washington's bullpen someone to use in a key spot against lefty hitters — such as Bryce Harper, the former Nationals slugger who joined NL East rival Philadelphia as a free agent.The 35-year-old Sipp is entering his 11th season. He has a 25-20 career record with a 3.67 ERA and 513 strikeouts in 482 2/3 innings spanning 580 appearances for Cleveland, Arizona and Houston, all in relief.Last season with the Astros, Sipp was 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA, holding lefty hitters to a .191 batting average.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Yusei Kikuchi's journey started in northern Japan, in the prefecture of Iwate, about 300 miles from the Tokyo Dome.This is where Kikuchi became a star. Where he was a prep phenom. Where his left arm was so good he seriously considered skipping playing professional baseball in his home country to immediately go where he always wanted to be: the major leagues."When I was smaller I was watching all the Japanese players play well in the major leagues and that was the time all these Japanese players were coming to the major leagues and I was saying, 'Even if I'm Japanese I will be able to make it to the majors if I work hard,'" Kikuchi said recently through an interpreter. "I was given that dream by all these former players and that is why I wanted to come to the states."Kikuchi was determined from the time he was 15 years old to be the next great Japanese import to dazzle American fans and befuddle major league hitters. That dream is now the reality for the newest starting... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Texas Rangers pitcher Ariel Jurado did not have many Panamanian ballplayers to watch when he was growing up.So he became a fan of Cliff Lee."He's a lefty but I liked him," Jurado said Tuesday through an interpreter. "His pitches were incredible, the way he dominated on the mound."The 23-year-old Jurado studied Lee's games on television. But he has a long way to go to approach the accomplished career of Lee, who pitched 13 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies.Right now, Jurado is fighting for a spot in Texas' rotation. He made his major league debut with the Rangers last year, going 5-5 with a 5.93 ERA in 12 games, eight starts.Jurado is hoping to build on his final outing last season, when he tossed six innings of two-hit ball in a 2-0 victory at Seattle on Sept. 27."That outing, I was throwing a good slider and it helped me get through the last few innings," Jurado said. "It was a good sign for me. If something... [More]

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — When Ronald Acuna Jr. returned to the Atlanta clubhouse, Braves star Freddie Freeman playfully told the NL Rookie of the Year there still was work to do."You should have kept going," Freeman kidded, "and gone for the cycle."Acuna went 3 for 3 with a long home run and double off St. Louis opening day starter Miles Mikolas in Atlanta's 5-0 exhibition win Tuesday. Good enough that former Braves great Dale Murphy sheepishly asked Acuna for his autograph, demonstrating the stature the 21-year-old outfielder has achieved after less than a full season in the big leagues."I've felt good from the day we started camp, but as the games progressed I've felt even better," Acuna said through a translator. "I think with these last at-bats, just a little extra patience has gone into it. I've had good at-bats even if the results weren't what we would have wanted, but things are progressing quickly and we kind of see the results now."Acuna hit .293 with 26 home runs in 111 games last... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Danny Farquhar has been reassigned by the New York Yankees to their minor league camp.The 32-year-old right-hander, who collapsed in the Chicago White Sox dugout on April 20 because of a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage, appeared in three spring training games.Farquhar gave up six runs, four hits and five walks over two innings. He did have a hitless inning against the Philadelphia Phillies last Thursday in his second outing."I think he just needs to pitch," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "We saw enough that suggest he can get back to where he was. He just needs to go out and not be in a hurry to do it because he's a lot closer than it may appear."Farquhar signed a minor league deal with the Yankees during the offseason.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TAMPA, Fla, (AP) — Chris Davis went 1 for 2 in his return from a strained left hip flexor as the designated hitter for the Baltimore Orioles against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.Coming off a dreadful season, Davis is 2 for 14 with eight strikeouts in six spring games.He took a called third strike from Jonathan Loaisiga in the first and lined an opposite-field second-inning RBI single to left off the right-hander.Davis agreed to a $161 million, seven-year contract with the Orioles in January 2016. The two-time AL home run champion saw his production decline in 2017, and last season he hit .168 with 16 homers in 470 at-bats.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Adam Jones had been climbing Camelback Mountain and hitting at Grand Canyon University for the past two weeks, waiting for a major league team to give him a job. On Tuesday, he officially joined the Arizona Diamondbacks, the only team that Jones says showed any real interest in the 33-year-old outfielder.A free agent after playing the last 11 seasons with the Orioles, Jones signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the D-backs."I was in San Diego and a lot of the baseball players I trained with, they all came to spring training," Jones said. "I'm sitting there looking around at the stars. It made sense to come here and be with my friends who are unsigned. I've been out here working out with the guys who are still looking for jobs."Other players voiced their support of Jones on social media, including Arizona outfielder Steven Souza Jr., who posted on Twitter: "How does Adam Jones not have a job right now, you can't tell me this man doesn't help anyone's ball club?!""It... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia threw 20 pitches Tuesday during his first batting practice session since a heart procedure in December.Sabathia, expected to miss his first two or three regular-season starts, is slated to throw a simulated game Saturday.The 38-year-old, who is retiring after the season, had a stent inserted Dec. 11 after a blockage was found in an artery from his heart. He has had chronic right knee problems that required several operations."He's really responded well to everything," Yankee manager Aaron Boone said. "He's doing well."Sabathia also is suspended for five games for hitting Tampa Bay's catcher Jesus Sucre with a pitch on Sept. 27.The 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner with Cleveland, Sabathia is 246-153 with a 3.70 ERA and 2,986 strikeouts in 18 major league seasons. He was 9-7 with a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts last season. This will be his 11th year with the Yankees.Center fielder Aaron Hicks, who hurt his back during batting practice March 1, got... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A trip to Japan helped Robinson Chirinos get to Houston.Texas declined its $4.5 million option on the catcher shortly before the 34-year-old traveled to Japan last November with a big league all-star team. He developed a friendship with the squad's pitching coach, Houston's Brent Strom. Less than a month later, the Astros agreed to a $5.75 million, one-year contract."When I signed, he called me and he was saying, 'I told you you were coming here,'" Chirinos said of Strom.During the Japan trip, Chirinos liked the way Strom worked to improve pitchers who weren't even on his major league team."It showed a lot of the kind of person he is," Chirinos said. "He cared about the pitchers."Meanwhile, Strom relayed information about Chirinos' character to his bosses."Just the personality and the presence, not necessarily the catching," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said.Catchers Brian McCann and Evan Gattis had left the Astros as free agents. Chirinos impressed against Houston... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Injured Houston Astros pitcher Francis Martes has been suspended for 80 games following a positive test for the banned performance-enhancing drug Clomiphene.The anti-estrogen substance is used in fertility treatments and is employed by men to accelerate testosterone production. It is taken along with steroids to inhibit estrogen problems.Houston says in a statement "we hope that Francis can learn from this experience and that he returns to have a successful career."A 23-year-old right-hander, Martes was considered the Astros' top prospect entering 2017 and made his major league debut that June. He was 5-2 with a 5.80 ERA in four starts and 28 relief appearances for the Astros, striking out 69 and walking 31 in 54 1/3 innings.He made four starts last April for Triple-A Fresno, hurt his elbow, and made a one-inning injury rehabilitation appearance for the Gulf Coast Astros on Aug. 2. He had Tommy John surgery on Aug. 15 and was expected to miss most or all of this season.Martes' suspension, announced Tuesday, was the second this year under the major league drug program after Kansas City pitcher Eric Skoglund. Nine players have been suspended this year under the minor league program.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/apf-Baseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — When Ronald Acuna Jr. returned to the Atlanta clubhouse, Braves star Freddie Freeman playfully told the NL Rookie of the Year there still was work to do."You should have kept going," Freeman kidded, "and gone for the cycle."Acuna went 3 for 3 with a long home run and double off St. Louis opening day starter Miles Mikolas in Atlanta's 5-0 exhibition win Tuesday. Good enough that former Braves great Dale Murphy sheepishly asked Acuna for his autograph, demonstrating the stature the 21-year-old outfielder has achieved after less than a full season in the big leagues."I've felt good from the day we started camp, but as the games progressed I've felt even better," Acuna said through a translator. "I think with these last at-bats, just a little extra patience has gone into it. I've had good at-bats even if the results weren't what we would have wanted, but things are progressing quickly and we kind of see the results now."Acuna hit .293 with 26 home runs in 111 games last... [More]

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — The Atlanta Braves sent eight players to the minors on Tuesday, including left-hander Kolby Allard, who was competing for a spot in the rotation.Allard, the 14th overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft, was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in four games, including three starts.Among other contenders for the No. 5 spot in the rotation are right-handers Kyle Wright, Touki Toussaint, Mike Soroka and Bryse Wilson and left-hander Max Fried.Allard, left-hander Grant Dayton, catcher Alex Jackson and right-hander Jacob Webb were optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett before Tuesday's game against St. Louis. Three left-handers, Thomas Burrows, Corbin Clouse and Tucker Davidson, were assigned to the minor league camp.Following the game, infielder Luis Marte also was assigned to the minor league camp.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/apf-Baseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — When Ronald Acuna Jr. got back to the Atlanta Braves' clubhouse after getting his third hit of the game, Freddie Freeman acted surprised."You should have kept going," Freeman told him, "and gone for the cycle."Acuna went 3 for 3 with a long home run and double off St. Louis opening day starter Miles Mikolas in Atlanta's 5-0 exhibition win Tuesday. It was the kind of performance the Braves have come to expect from the 2018 NL Rookie of the Year, and the kind of day Acuna expects from himself.Good enough that former Braves great Dale Murphy sheepishly asked Acuna for his autograph, demonstrating the stature the 21-year-old outfielder has achieved after less than a full season in the big leagues."I've felt good from the day we started camp, but as the games progressed I've felt even better," he said through a translator. "I think with these last at-bats, just a little extra patience has gone into it. I've had good at-bats even if the results weren't what we would have... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Corey Dickerson came to the Pittsburgh Pirates with the reputation of being a good hitter and poor defender.The starting designated hitter for the AL in the 2017 All-Star Game while with Tampa Bay, Dickerson was used in the outfield in only 93 games last year.Traded to the Pirates, he committed one error in 266 total chances last year and won a Gold Glove award for his play in left field."People don't know the hundreds of hours I put in during the offseason, working on my defense," Dickerson said at Pirates' training camp. "I work on weaknesses and my strengths. It's important mentally to know I can go out there and perform. I knew I could do it and take it to the next level. As the year went on, my confidence just grew and grew. It's about growing and continuing to get better. If you're not, you may as well hang them up. I'm always trying to get better."Dickerson made a great first impression in Pittsburgh last season."He showed us he's a motivated man," manager... [More]

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — The New York Mets will finish spring training with a workout inside Syracuse University's Carrier Dome.The team announced Tuesday the practice on March 26 will be held from noon to 2 p.m. It's free and open to the public.Syracuse is the new home of the Mets' Triple-A affiliate where Tim Tebow is expected to start the season.Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon says in a release the organization "is thrilled the Syracuse community will have a chance to connect with our players up close and personal."Among the Mets players scheduled to work out on the Carrier Dome turf are opening day starter Jacob deGrom, Robinson Cano and Noah Syndergaard. The Mets open the regular season on March 28 at Washington against the Nationals.Pete Sala, vice president and chief facilities officer at Syracuse University, says the practice will be the first time baseball will be played in the Carrier Dome. The dome is home to Syracuse basketball and football.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Tim Tebow has been reassigned to minor league camp by the New York Mets after hitting .267 with one RBI in eight spring training games.The 31-year-old outfielder attended big league camp for the second straight year and is expected to start the season at Triple-A Syracuse. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner for 4 for 15 with no extra-base hits in 18 plate appearances during spring training.Tebow batted .273 with six home runs, 14 doubles and 36 RBIs in 84 games for Double-A Binghamton last year.New York also optioned right-handers Paul Sewald and Jacob Rhame to Syracuse on Tuesday and re-assigned right-hander Arquimedes Caminero, infielder Andres Gimenez, infielder Dilson Herrera, outfielder Rymer Liriano and catcher Ali Sanchez to minor league camp.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Tim Tebow has been reassigned to minor league camp by the New York Mets after hitting .267 with one RBI in eight spring training games.The 31-year-old outfielder attended big league camp for the second straight year and is expected to start the season at Triple-A Syracuse. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner for 4 for 15 with no extra-base hits in 18 plate appearances during spring training.Tebow batted .273 with six home runs, 14 doubles and 36 RBIs in 84 games for Double-A Binghamton last year.New York also optioned right-handers Paul Sewald and Jacob Rhame to Syracuse on Tuesday and re-assigned right-hander Arquimedes Caminero, infielder Andres Gimenez, infielder Dilson Herrera, outfielder Rymer Liriano and catcher Ali Sanchez to minor league camp.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports