WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston's Alex Bregman was hit on the back by a breaking ball from St. Louis reliever Ramon Santos on Wednesday, the seventh Astros player plunked in five spring training games.“It was a splitter,” Bregman said. “It just got away from him.”Some opposing players have called for retaliation against the Astros following Major League Baseball's finding that Houston broke rules against electronic sign-stealing en route to its 2017 World Series title and again in 2018.Dustin Garneau was hit Sunday against Washington, and José Altuve was grazed Monday against Detroit, when Osvaldo Duarte and Alex De Goti also were hit. Aledmys Díaz and Jake Meyers were hit Tuesday by Miami.Santos' 1-0 pitch in the fifth inning struck Bregman on the left shoulder blade. The two-time All-Star trotted to first, then was replaced by a pinch runner.“I think I got hit like 10 times last year, or something like that,” Bregman said. “One of them got me good last year, but that one was just... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Nervous or not, South Korean star Kwang Hyun Kim is proving problematic for major league hitters.The 31-year-old left-hander retired all six Miami batters he faced in his first Grapefruit League start for the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. It came after he threw one shutout inning of relief against the New York Mets on Saturday.“I was nervous today compared to my first appearance, against the Mets,” Kim said through an interpreter. "I had a long time to prepare, so that made me kind of nervous.”Kim struggled with control of his off-speed pitches in the first inning, but he found his rhythm in the second. He kept batters off balance mixing a fastball that touched 95 mph with his curve, eliciting some ugly swings and soft contact. The Marlins didn't get a ball out of the infield against Kim.“Last time against the Mets, because it was my first appearance, they tried to be patient,” Kim said. “Because I was aggressive today, pounding the strike zone, they were aggressive... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — It was only a short outing in a Cactus League game, but it meant a lot to Ubaldo Jimenez.The 36-year-old took another step in his comeback attempt with the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, pitching two innings against the Texas Rangers.Jimenez threw 21 pitches, 14 for strikes. He gave up two hits and one run, with no walks or strikeouts."It might be only a start for anyone else, but not for me," Jimenez said. "It felt great, especially coming back to the Rockies. It was fun. "I had to keep telling myself, 'Hey, just relax, don't try to do too much.' It was the first time that I've been out there in a while. I was able to step back and do my thing."The best year of Jimenez's career was 2010 with the Rockies. He was 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA and started the All-Star Game for the National League. He last pitched in the majors in 2017, when he was 6-11 with a 6.81 ERA in 25 starts for Baltimore.After taking 2018 off, he started throwing again last summer. He pitched in the... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Justin Verlander's spring training debut will be postponed at least a few more days while the Houston Astros ace deals with tightness in his groin.Verlander had been scheduled to start Thursday against Washington. Instead, he will throw a simulated game at the Astros' complex prior to that exhibition.Houston manager Dusty Baker said the tightness first appeared “a couple of days ago.”“He said he's doing good, so we'll just have to keep an eye on him and analyze him,” Baker said.Baker added that he isn't worried about the injury lingering and expects that, if all goes as planned on Thursday, Verlander would make his next scheduled start, likely early next week.“I would think so,” Baker said. “It just depends on how he feels.”Verlander won his second Cy Young Award last season by going 21-6 with a 2.52 ERA. His 225 career wins are the most among active players.The change of plans thwarts what would have been a marquee Grapefruit League pitching matchup.Washington is still planning to send Max Scherzer to the mound on Thursday. Scherzer tossed two scoreless innings at Houston in the Grapefruit League opener for both teams.Right-hander Christian Javier is now expected to get Thursday's start for Houston against Scherzer.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — For the Twins to land free agent Josh Donaldson, Miguel Sano knew what would be asked of him. He didn't hesitate.Instead, Sano sent a video to Donaldson, lobbying the 2015 American League MVP to join the Twins. The key to Sano's pitch: He would happily move across the infield to play first base with Donaldson taking over at third.Understand, too, that Sano has appeared in just 31 games at first base since making his big league debut in 2015, spending the last five seasons working to improve at third."The first time I met him, I saw that he's a really good guy and he's got a lot of energy," Sano said. "He's the kind of player that I love to see. He's positive and he loves the game. He likes to win and play hard. That's something that I see all the time."Just as his teammates saw what Sano did."The teammate that he was to kind of help on the recruiting process of JD, tell him, 'Hey, you can have third base, I'm willing to move to first base' I think needs to be put... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — George Springer could only stand there all alone and listen.The Houston Astros leadoff man had no choice when he stepped into the batter's box a bit too early and was showered with loud boos Wednesday at an exhibition game against the New York Mets.Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard turned and looked at the scoreboard clock that showed 1:09 p.m. — he waited for the minute to change so the game would officially reach the 1:10 start time, leaving Springer nowhere to go as the crowd heckled him.“Cheater! Cheater! Cheater!” one Mets fan along the first-base side chanted at Springer.The normal tranquility of a February game again was broken as a split squad of Astros continued the team's latest stop on their spring training tour of derisive boos and catcalls, the result of their exposed sign-steal scheme.Two days after José Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel got jeered for a game at Detroit's park in Lakeland, it was the Mets' turn to host at newly renovated... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton will likely miss opening day because of a strained right calf, another significant injury for a team that was beset by health problems last season.Manager Aaron Boone said Stanton was hurt near the end of defensive drills on Tuesday. An MRI found a Grade 1 strain."It will probably put us against it a little bit," Boone said Wednesday. "I would say it's time for him to get back, but then getting built up and stuff. We'll see."The announcement came a day after New York said All-Star pitcher Luis Severino needed Tommy John surgery and would miss the entire season. Slugger Aaron Judge and lefty James Paxton already had been slowed this spring by injuries.The Yankees put a major league-record 30 players on the injured list last year, with Stanton missing most of the season.Asked if felt snake-bitten, Boone replied “No.”The AL East champion Yankees open on March 26 at Baltimore.Stanton played in just 18 games due a number of injuries... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — For the Twins to land free agent Josh Donaldson, Miguel Sano knew what would be asked of him. He didn't hesitate.Instead, Sano sent a video to Donaldson, lobbying the 2015 American League MVP to join the Twins. The key to Sano's pitch: He would happily move across the infield to play first base with Donaldson taking over at third.Understand, too, that Sano has appeared in just 31 games at first base since making his big league debut in 2015, spending the last five seasons working to improve at third."The first time I met him, I saw that he's a really good guy and he's got a lot of energy," Sano said. "He's the kind of player that I love to see. He's positive and he loves the game. He likes to win and play hard. That's something that I see all the time."Just as his teammates saw what Sano did."The teammate that he was to kind of help on the recruiting process of JD, tell him, 'Hey, you can have third base, I'm willing to move to first base' I think needs to be put... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Oft-injured New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton will likely miss opening day because of a strained right calf.Manager Aaron Boone said Stanton was injured near the end of defensive drills on Tuesday. An MRI found a Grade 1 strain."It will probably put us against it a little bit," Boone said Wednesday. "I would say it's time for him to get back, but then getting built up and stuff. We'll see."This was the second straight day New York announced an injury to one of its stars. Pitcher Luis Severino needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire season, the team said Tuesday.The AL East champion Yankees open on March 26 at Baltimore.Stanton played in just 18 games due a number of injuries last season, batting .288 with three homers in 59 at-bats. He hit 38 homers in his first year with the Yankees in 2018, one year after a going deep a career-high 59 times in 2017 with the Miami Marlins.The outfielder/designated hitter signed a $325 million, 13-year contract after the 2014 season. "It's disappointing because you want to get guys going and built up," Boone said. “But it's just a little bump in the road and we're equipped to handle it.”___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Second baseman Brian Dozier would get a $2.2 million, one-year contract if added to the San Diego Padres' 40-man roster and would have the chance to earn $1.8 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances.Dozier agreed to a minor league contract Monday and hopes to win the starting job. His deal allows nine levels of bonuses: He would get $200,000 for 200 plate appearances and each additional 50 through 600.Jurickson Profar and Greg Garcia, both on the 40-man roster, are the leading candidates to share time at second for the Padres.The 32-year-old Dozier spent last season with the World Series champion Washington Nationals and hit .238 with 20 homers and 50 RBIs in 482 plate appearances. He was Washington's regular starter for most of the first four months but played only occasionally after Asdrúbal Cabrera signed with the Nationals in early August.A veteran of eight major league seasons with Minnesota (2012-18), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2018) and the Nationals, Dozier has a .245 career average with 192 homers and 562 RBIs.___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MIAMI (AP) — Fans of The Clash, The Bobby Fuller Four and the Cincinnati Reds can agree Matt Kemp had the quote of the year after he broke a rib chasing a flyball last April.“I fought the wall, and the wall won,” Kemp said.He broke a rib and missed the final five months of the season. Now, at 35, the three-time All-Star outfielder is mounting a comeback with the Miami Marlins. Kemp waves off the idea Miami is where great outfielder careers come to die. Three-time All-Star Curtis Granderson batted .183 with the Marlins in his final season last year. Seven-time major league hits leader Ichiro Suzuki hit .256 in his final three full seasons with Miami in 2015-17.“That’s not my story,” Kemp said. “I’m for real. I can still do some damage out there. This is a redemption year. I had 40 at-bats last year, but I was an All-Star in 2018. Seriously, I can still play.”Kemp believes he's poised for a comeback that extends beyond 2020, and he wants to play at least four or five more years. But first,... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Luis Severino will miss the season with an elbow injury that requires Tommy John surgery, and the New York Yankees' rotation no longer looks all that imposing.New York announced Tuesday that the 26-year-old right-hander has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, a development that means the two-time All-Star will miss all of 2020 after being sidelined for nearly all of 2019. Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek will operate Thursday in New York. “I am extremely disappointed that I will not be able to put on a Yankees uniform and compete with my teammates this year," Severino said in a statement posted on Twitter. “but I promise that I will be working tirelessly during this process to come back stronger than ever.” Left-hander James Paxton already was projected to miss the first two months of the season following back surgery on Feb. 5. Domingo Germán must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Luis Severino will miss the season with an elbow injury that requires Tommy John surgery, and the New York Yankees' rotation no longer looks all that imposing.New York announced Tuesday that the 26-year-old right-hander has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, a development that means the two-time All-Star will miss all of 2020 after being sidelined for nearly all of 2019. Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek will operate Thursday in New York. Left-hander James Paxton already was projected to miss the first two months of the season following back surgery on Feb. 5. Domingo Germán must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. He is eligible to return June 5, barring any postponements.Severino's injury leaves the AL East favorites with a rotation of newly signed ace Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and two openings. The usual recovery time for Tommy John surgery is a year or more.“I... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Anthony Rendon had to laugh at the notion that he picked up right where he left off in helping the Washington Nationals win the World Series last year. Still, it was nice to leave his first game in a new uniform with a 1.000 batting average.Rendon went 2 for 2 in his spring training debut with the Los Angeles Angels, driving in a run and scoring one Tuesday night during a 7-3 win over Cincinnati.Back from spending time with his wife and newborn child, the All-Star third baseman played three innings in the field.“It’s inevitable. You’ve got to get out there every day to get comfortable,” Rendon said. “So Day One, you take in stride and take it slow, too. Not try to get too crazy.”Rendon, who signed a $245 million, seven-year contract as a free agent last December, was just one of the big-name Angels players to play for the first time this spring. He batted third, between AL MVP Mike Trout and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, the two-way star from Japan who also pitches.Outfielder... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Brian Johnson knows about perseverance.Selected by Boston with the 31st overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft, the left-hander was hit on the face by a line drive that Aug. 18 at Fenway Park in his fourth professional appearance, a Class A game. He sustained multiple orbital fractures.Johnson recovered and made his big league debut for the Red Sox at Houston on July 21, 2015. He returned to Triple-A for two more starts but his season was cut short by elbow pain. That offseason, he was a passenger in a vehicle that was carjacked at gunpoint. He missed almost two months of the 2016 season due to anxiety and depression.Johnson made five starts for the Red Sox in 2017 — all wins — and his first opening day-roster in 2018 m when he had 13 starts and 25 relief appearances for a team that went on to win the World Series. He sank to 1-3 with a 6.02 ERA in seven starts and 14 relief appearances last year, was put on waivers, went unclaimed and was sent outright to Pawtucket."I... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Luis Severino will miss the season with an elbow injury that requires Tommy John surgery, and the New York Yankees' rotation no longer looks all that imposing.New York announced Tuesday that the 26-year-old right-hander has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, a development that means the two-time All-Star will miss all of 2020 after being sidelined for nearly all of 2019.Left-hander James Paxton already was projected to miss the first two months of the season following back surgery on Feb. 5. Domingo Germán must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. He is eligible to return June 5, barring any postponements.Severino's injury leaves the AL East favorites with a rotation of newly signed ace Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and two openings. The usual recovery time for Tommy John surgery is a year or more.“I don’t want to sugarcoat the fact that being without Sevy, that’s a blow,... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Keston Hiura gave Milwaukee a lift when he was called up in mid-season. His reward is more responsibility in a new-look Brewers offense.Following the departures of Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas as free agents, manager Craig Counsell and the Brewers are counting on a full season from the 23-year-old to help avoid a drop a the plate."I'm excited about this year, I have a lot of stuff to work on and am looking forward to being able to accomplish those goals this year," Hiura said. Hiura debuted May 14 and hit .303 with 19 homers and 49 RBIs in 84 games to help the Brewers return to the postseason for the second straight year.Milwaukee drafted him ninth overall in 2017 out of UC Irvine despite a right elbow injury that prevented Hiura from playing in the field that season. He batted .442 in his junior year.He bounced back with a strong 2018, returning to second base, and was selected MVP of the Arizona Fall League, an award previously won by the New York Yankees' Gleyber... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Keone Kela spent most of 2019 angry. At losing. At his role in the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen. At the team's coaching and support staffs for what he felt was preferential treatment they gave to some players but not others.While Kela insists that anger did not affect him when he stepped onto the mound, it ate at him nearly everywhere else. He'd been “raised” to be a closer by the Texas Rangers. Yet when arrived in Pittsburgh at the trade deadline in 2018, he found himself “shuffled” to the setup role. The competitor in him found it difficult to handle.“It definitely had me take a step back,” Kela said. “It was kind of a reality check like, 'Don't get it twisted, dude, this is a business.' That was something that definitely struck a chord and that was a big reason, last year, selfishly I didn't come in with the proper mindset."While Kela pitched well — going 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 32 appearances — it was hardly a smooth ride. Right shoulder inflammation cost him two... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2020 season, another setback for the two-time All-Star and the rotation of the AL East favorites.“His plan is to have it done as soon as possible,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday.The right-handed Severino, who turned 26 this month, was sidelined until the final weeks of the regular season last year. Yankees manager Aaron Boone recently said Severino had been feeling on and off discomfort since October. New York already expects to be without left-hander James Paxton for the first two months of the season following back surgery on Feb. 5. Severino's injury leaves the Yankees with a rotation of newly signed ace Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and two openings until the return of Paxton and Domingo Germán, who must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Germán is eligible to return June 5,... [More]

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — It’s still painful for reliever Chris Martin to talk about what happened in the playoffs.Game 1 of the NL Division Series last year. The 6-foot-7 reliever entered in the eighth inning against St. Louis with the Braves leading 3-1.After throwing his warmup pitches, Martin was finished.“I wanted to stay away from that question,” he said. “Real tough. One of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through.”Acquired from Texas in late July to help in those exact situations, Martin never threw a pitch in October. He suffered an oblique injury, underwent an MRI and was lost for the series.The Braves wound up losing the playoff opener 7-6 and eventually dropped the series in a decisive Game 5.“That hurt a lot,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Martin’s loss. “We win that first game and it’s a totally different series. That was a huge loss. At that time of year, you can’t afford to lose a guy like that.”To shore up their bullpen, the Braves signed Will Smith to a three-year,... [More]