Washington Nationals “face of the franchise” Ryan Zimmerman agreed to terms on a $2 million contract for 2020 that includes the possibility of earning $3 million more in incentives.The parameters of the deal were described to The Associated Press on Friday by a person familiar with the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was still pending a physical exam.The incentives are based on the number of games the first baseman plays and how many plate appearances he gets.The person also said the 35-year-old Zimmerman was given a full no-trade clause.He already had gotten a $2 million buyout when the Nationals declined their $18 million option for next season.The new agreement was first reported by The Washington Post.When Zimmerman became a free agent, he figured he either would be back with the Nationals — or out of baseball.“I think I’ve made my intentions pretty clear,” Zimmerman said in December. “It’s either play some more here or play more golf.”He was the... [More]

DENVER (AP) — All-Star shortstop Trevor Story and the Colorado Rockies have agreed to a $27.5 million, two-year contract that avoids an arbitration hearing, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday night because the agreement was pending a physical and had not been announced. Story can become a free agent following the 2021 World Series. When players and teams exchanged proposed 2020 salaries in salary arbitration two weeks ago, he asked for $11.5 million and Colorado offered him $10.75 million.A slick fielder and power hitter, the 27-year-old Story had 35 home runs and 23 stolen bases last season — making him the second shortstop in major league history with multiple 30-20 seasons. Alex Rodriguez is the other one.Story also set career highs in runs (111), batting average (.294) and on-base percentage (.363) in 2019.A first-round draft pick in 2011, Story is a career .276 hitter since making his debut in April... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers didn't have any more to say regarding his role as a whistleblower.Fiers declined Friday to answer questions about revealing the sign-stealing scam that has engulfed Major League Baseball, instead saying he simply wanted to focus on the future. He spoke a day ahead of an A's fan event, his first public appearance since divulging the Houston Astros used electronics to illicitly steal signs from opposing catchers in 2017.“I don't want this to be a distraction to them. I want them to be ready for the season," Fiers said. “For me it's all about getting ready for the season, playing baseball and not being a distraction to this team.”Fiers said he would take “baseball questions." As for the cheating scam and its aftermath, “I'm not talking about that right now," he said.“We're moving forward," he reiterated several times without saying whether he expected to face scrutiny with his decision to disclose the Astros' cheating.Fiers told The... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers didn't have any more to say regarding his role as a whistleblower.Fiers declined Friday to answer questions about revealing the sign-stealing scam that has engulfed Major League Baseball, instead saying he simply wanted to focus on the future. He spoke a day ahead of an A's fan event, his first public appearance since divulging the Houston Astros used electronics to illicitly steal signs from opposing catchers in 2017.“I don't want this to be a distraction to them. I want them to be ready for the season," Fiers said. “For me it's all about getting ready for the season, playing baseball and not being a distraction to this team.”Fiers said he would take “baseball questions." As for the cheating scam and its aftermath, “I'm not talking about that right now," he said.“We're moving forward," he reiterated several times without saying whether he expected to face scrutiny with his decision to disclose the Astros' cheating.Fiers told The... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins set a major league record for home runs last season. They created a bigger buzz with their recent signing of star third baseman Josh Donaldson to a $92 million, four-year contract — the richest in club history for a free agent. Still, the defending AL Central champions carry with them a pressing question. Is their starting pitching going to be strong enough to not only help them get back to the postseason but play deeper into October this time?With spring training less than three weeks away, diminishing the likelihood of another acquisition, the Twins have publicly expressed confidence in their rotation for 2020.“As it stands right now, I feel really good about the group we have and the ability to build around that,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. He added: “We never say never to anything, but we feel like we have a lot of good guys in the mix.”Twins starters in 2019 ranked 11th in the majors in ERA (4.11) and sixth in innings... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers didn't have any more to say regarding his role as a whistle-blower.Fiers declined Friday to answer questions about revealing the sign-stealing scam that has engulfed Major League Baseball, instead saying he simply wanted to focus on the future. He spoke a day ahead of an A's fan event, his first public appearance since divulging the Houston Astros used electronics to illicitly steal signs from opposing catchers in 2017.“I don't want this to be a distraction to them, I want them to be ready for the season," Fiers said. “For me it's all about getting ready for the season, playing baseball and not being a distraction to this team.”Fiers said he would take “baseball questions." As for the cheating scam and its aftermath, “I'm not talking about that right now," he said.“We're moving forward," he reiterated several times without saying whether he expected to face scrutiny with his decision to disclose with the Astros' cheating.Fiers... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Luis Rojas never expected to be the man behind the microphone.Eleven days earlier, he was preparing for his second spring training as the Mets' relatively anonymous quality control coach. Now he was a major league manager, just like his dad, tasked with lifting New York's perennial No. 2 team to its first World Series title since 1986.“I will lead this team into success,” he promised.Carlos Beltrán's news conference at Citi Field on Nov. 4 was a coronation, held in the spacious Foxwoods Club high above the diamond. Beltrán's tenure lasted just 84 days, cut short by his role in the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal. Rojas' introduction in the more Spartan news conference room near the clubhouse felt like the hastily arranged handover it was.Rojas' mother, Lucie, sat in the front row.“Thank you for raising us right, for teaching us what was right and wrong since early,” he told her, repeating his words in Spanish.Then he turned his attention to Felipe Alou, his 84-year-old... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Already a World Series MVP, six-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove catcher, Salvador Pérez became something else when he stepped onto the main stage at the Kansas City Royals' annual FanFest: a U.S. citizen.Pérez took his oath of citizenship on Friday, the completion of a five-year process that he described as long and difficult, but well worth it.“I would rather be in the World Series, bases loaded, two outs, 3-2, hitting than go through that again,” he said. “I was shaking and my eyes were super big. But it was fun.”“Becoming a U.S. citizen is great," said Pérez, who was born and raised in Venezuela.Pérez missed all of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery during spring training. He’s healthy and hopes to regain his old form, which include 162-game averages of 24 home runs, 87 RBIs and a .266 average.“My elbow is great,” he said, noting that he lost 22 pounds this offseason. “If everything goes well, I’ll be in the lineup on opening day."The Royals will... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Luis Rojas never expected to be the man behind the microphone.Eleven days earlier, he was preparing for his second spring training as the Mets' relatively anonymous quality control coach. Now he was a major league manager, just like his dad, tasked with lifting New York's perennial No. 2 team to its first World Series title since 1986.“I will lead this team into success,” he promised.Carlos Beltrán's news conference at Citi Field on Nov. 4 was a coronation, held in the spacious Foxwoods Club high above the diamond. Beltrán's tenure lasted just 84 days, cut short by his role in the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal. Rojas' introduction in the more Spartan news conference room near the clubhouse felt like the hastily arranged handover it was.Rojas' mother, Lucie, sat in the front row.“Thank you for raising us right, for teaching us what was right and wrong since early,” he told her, repeating his words in Spanish.Then he turned his attention to Felipe Alou, his 84-year-old... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Dallas Keuchel has become the first member of the 2017 Houston Astros to offer a public apology for the team's sign-stealing scheme during their run to the World Series championship.Speaking Friday at the fan convention for the Chicago White Sox, who signed the left-hander to a $55.5 million, three-year contract in December, Keuchel said he felt what happened was blown out of proportion, but he was sorry.“I'm not going to go into specific detail, but during the course of the playoffs in ‘17, everybody was using multiple signs," Keuchel said, “I mean, for factual purposes, when there’s nobody on base, when in the history of major league baseball has there been multiple signs?“It's just what the state of baseball was at that point and time," the former AL Cy Young Award winner said. “Was it against the rules? Yes it was, and I personally am sorry for what's come about, the whole situation."An investigation by Major League Baseball found the Astros used the video feed from a... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Dallas Keuchel has become the first member of the 2017 Houston Astros to offer a public apology for the team's sign-stealing scheme during their run to the World Series championship.Speaking Friday at the fan convention for the Chicago White Sox, who signed the left-hander to a $55.5 million, three-year contract in December, Keuchel said he felt what happened was blown out of proportion, but he was sorry.“I'm not going to go into specific detail, but during the course of the playoffs in ‘17, everybody was using multiple signs," Keuchel said, “I mean, for factual purposes, when there’s nobody on base, when in the history of major league baseball has there been multiple signs?“It's just what the state of baseball was at that point and time," the former AL Cy Young Award winner said. “Was it against the rules? Yes it was, and I personally am sorry for what's come about, the whole situation."An investigation by Major League Baseball found the Astros used the video feed from a... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon agreed to consent to a trade by the Kansas City Royals starting June 16, an unusual provision in his new $4 million, one-year contract.Gordon has spent his entire career with the Royals and has the right to block trades under baseball's collective bargaining agreement because his has at least 10 years of major league service, including five or more with his current team. The Royals lost more than 100 games in each of the last two seasons and are not projected to contend.If the 35-year-old outfielder is traded, he would receive a $500,000 assignment bonus each time he is dealt, payable by the receiving team. In addition, if he is traded he would be eligible for $500,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances starting after the initial swap: $100,000 each for 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250.A three-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner, Gordon has an array of award bonuses: $100,000 for MVP and $50,000 for second through fifth in the voting,... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon agreed to consent to a trade by the Kansas City Royals starting June 16, an unusual provision in his new $4 million, one-year contract.Gordon has spent his entire career with the Royals and has the right to block trades under baseball's collective bargaining agreement because his has at least 10 years of major league service, including five or more with his current team. The Royals lost more than 100 games in each of the last two seasons and are not projected to contend.If the 35-year-old outfielder is traded, he would receive a $500,000 assignment bonus each time he is dealt, payable by the receiving team. In addition, if he is traded he would be eligible for $500,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances starting after the initial swap: $100,000 each for 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250.A three-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner, Gordon has an array of award bonuses: $100,000 for MVP and $50,000 for second through fifth in the voting,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Mets made it official, hiring Luis Rojas as their manager to replace Carlos Beltrán.New York announced the move Thursday, a week after Beltrán departed without managing a game. Rojas, who had been the Mets' quality control coach, was given a multiyear contract.“I will work tirelessly to help this team win,” Rojas said in a statement. “I believe this team and coaching staff can do special things, and I look forward to working together with everyone to reach our goals.” Rojas became New York's fourth manager in the past 2 1/2 years — and third in four months. He is to be introduced Friday at a Citi Field news conference."He has a good finger on the pulse of this particular team. He was part of it last year,” general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said Wednesday. "He knows these guys, and he knows how to communicate to them. Every returning player on the roster has a relationship with him, and that’s valuable to us at this time.” Beltrán was let go last week as part of the... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox are still hoping to have a manager in place by spring training, but chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Thursday it's possible they won't hire someone before pitchers and catchers report Feb. 12.“It would certainly be ideal” to have replaced Alex Cora by then — but not at the cost of rushing the process, Bloom said. “Nobody wants to be at this point in a year without a manager, obviously, so that would become even more important once we get to spring training.”The Red Sox let Cora go last week after Commissioner Rob Manfred identified him as the ringleader in a sign-stealing scheme when he was the bench coach with the World Series champion Houston Astros in 2017. Major League Baseball is also looking into whether Cora engaged in similar shenanigans after taking over the Red Sox in 2018; the team has declined comment pending the results of the investigation.The Astros fired manager AJ Hinch, and the Mets fired new manager Carlos Beltrán — before he managed... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — This was already going to be a year where the Seattle Mariners would be relying heavily on young players and some of their top prospects right from the beginning of the season. Now the Mariners expect to be without one of their few veterans — likely for the first month. Outfielder Mitch Haniger is expected to miss the start of the regular season and likely needs to undergo core muscle surgery, general manager Jerry Dipoto said Thursday. Haniger suffered the injury during one of his offseason workouts earlier this week. Dipoto said the latest setback is tied to Haniger's injury issues from last season. “I was expecting him to show up for the first day of spring training ready to go but that does not appear to be the case,” Dipoto said. Haniger missed the final 3 1/2 months of the season after suffering a ruptured testicle and then experiencing back and core issues during his recovery. Haniger was limited to 63 games and batted .220 with 15 homers and 32 RBIs. A year earlier,... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — It could be another long season for the Detroit Tigers, but fans in the Motor City may not have to look far for signs of hope.About 60 miles down Interstate 75.“We've got some pretty good ones going to Triple-A Toledo," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They ought to be pretty happy down there. They're going to see some pretty good pitchers.”Gardenhire and general manager Al Avila indicated Thursday that some of Detroit's top prospects will likely spend time at Toledo this season. The Tigers are hoping to improve after losing 114 games in 2019, but they're also leery of rushing young players too quickly.Avila was asked about right-handers Casey Mize and Matt Manning, two of the game's top 20 prospects according to Baseball America. Although Avila didn't say anything certain about the organization's plans, it does not sound like those two will be joining the Tigers right away in the big leagues.“I think it would be our preference for them to start in Toledo — have a great... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger is expected to miss the start of the regular season and likely needs to undergo core muscle surgery, general manager Jerry Dipoto said Thursday. Haniger suffered the injury during one of his offseason workouts earlier this week. Dipoto said the latest setback is tied to Haniger's injury issues from last season. Haniger missed the final 3 1/2 months of the season after suffering a ruptured testicle and then experiencing back issues during his recovery. Haniger was limited to 63 games and batted .220 with 15 homers and 32 RBIs. A year earlier, Haniger was an All-Star after hitting .285 with 26 homers and 93 RBIs and an OPS of .859. Dipoto said the hope is that Haniger's recovery will take about six to eight weeks following the surgery. He could be ready to join the major league club sometime in late April. ___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Royals star catcher Salvador Perez is about to become a U.S. citizen.Perez passed his citizenship exam earlier this month and will be be joined by Chief U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips on the Royals FanFest main stage Friday at the Kansas City Convention Center to take the oath of allegiance, the Royals said in a news release. “I am grateful to this country for the many opportunities I have been given; including the ability to play professional baseball," Perez said in the release. “I thank God, my mother, my family, the Royals, and all those who have supported me during this process towards becoming a United States citizen."Perez signed with the Royals as a 16-year-old prospect from Venezuela, but shot through the minor league system. He made his big league debut in 2011 and was named the Most Valuable Player in the Royals' five-game World Series win over the New York Mets in 2015.Perez was sidelined last season by Tommy John surgery but is preparing to return to the roster this year. Royals general manager Dayton Moore said the “entire organization and the community of Kansas City look forward to celebrating this historic and special moment."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Royals star catcher Salvador Perez is about to become a U.S. citizen.Perez passed his citizenship exam earlier this month and will be be joined by Chief U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips on the Royals FanFest main stage Friday to take the oath of allegiance, the Royals said in a news release. “I am grateful to this country for the many opportunities I have been given; including the ability to play professional baseball," Perez said in the release. “I thank God, my mother, my family, the Royals, and all those who have supported me during this process towards becoming a United States citizen."Perez signed with the Royals as a 16-year-old prospect from Venezuela, but shot through the minor league system. He made his big league debut in 2011 and was named the Most Valuable Player in the Royals' five-game World Series win over the New York Mets in 2015. Perez was sidelined last season by Tommy John surgery but is preparing to return to the roster this year. Royals general manager Dayton Moore said the “entire organization and the community of Kansas City look forward to celebrating this historic and special moment."