PHOENIX (AP) — Baseball's arbitration model for relief pitchers is broken, Milwaukee closer Josh Hader said Friday after losing his case against the Milwaukee Brewers.Hader will earn $4.1 million rather than his $6.4 million request, a decision that dropped players to 1-6 in hearings this year. Arbitrators Mark Burstein, Dan Brent and Frederic Horowitz made the decision, a day after hearing arguments."We're in a unique position, the way we're used as relievers nowadays," Hader said. "I think the system's just outdated on how we're used. We're mostly being used for lineups, not innings."While teams used to have set roles for pitchers in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, computer algorithms now determine which matchups in the batting order are best for which pitcher."We're going to a new part where guys are pitching in situations that could come in the fourth inning and you're facing the middle of the lineup to get maybe out of a jam," Hader said. Hader made his big league debut in June... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians are already dealing with adversity before taking the field for their first full-squad workout.Starter Mike Clevinger could be sidelined two months after undergoing surgery Friday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, an injury the right-hander sustained while working out at the team's training complex in Goodyear, Arizona, earlier this week.“He was doing some drills a couple days ago,” manager Terry Francona said before Clevinger had the procedure. "He felt something. We took him to the training room. Then we let him go home to see how he feels. I think our trainers were a little nervous at the outset that this has meniscus written all over it. He was pretty sore so they got him an MRI."The Indians estimate Clevinger will be able to return to “major league game activity” in 6 to 8 weeks. Cleveland opens the season on March 26 against Detroit.If there's a bright spot, it's that the injury happened early in camp and not closer to the season's start.“It's... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Win. Dance. Delete.When the Boston Red Sox traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the eve of spring training, they broke up the "Killer B's” who patrolled the Fenway outfield and led the team to a World Series championship in 2018. Together, Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Andrew Benintendi formed one of the best outfields in baseball and became fan favorites by following spectacular catches with their choreographed “Win, Dance, Repeat” postgame celebrations. Now, as the Red Sox learn to live without Betts, his former fellow outfielders are figuring things out with their new partner, Alex Verdugo, who came to Boston in the trade that send the 2018 AL MVP and pitcher David Price to the Dodgers.“It’s one of those things where you have to get to know the person and see him play, hands-on,” Bradley said this week. "Sometimes people just have that natural connection. It could be something that’s just seamless. “As long as you’re able to talk,” he said. “That’s... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — At spring training last year, Yoán Moncada was at a crossroads. The switch-hitting Chicago White Sox infielder struggled in 2018, batting just .235 and striking out a major league-high 217 times. There was concern over his performance against lefty pitching (.209 average, .297 slugging percentage) and he was moving from second base to third base.One year later, Moncada has established himself as one of the top young players in the American League, and his team hopes to make a run at its first postseason in a dozen years. “I want to get better overall in my game,” Moncada said Friday through an interpreter at Camelback Ranch. “It was a good step forward last year. Now I want to let my game develop, and enjoy the game.”He played well at third base, and hit well from both sides of the plate, finishing at .315 with 25 homers. His strikeouts went down, though still high at 154, but he improved from the right side, batting .299 and slugging .500 against lefties.The .315... [More]

NL MVP Cody Bellinger called out Jos� Altuve and the Houston Astros for swiping their trophies and said he suspected they kept scheming last season, too."One hundred percent,'' the Dodgers slugger said. "I don't know why they would stop.''All-Star pitcher Trevor Bauer went even farther."I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they've stolen from a lot of other people and the game itself," Bauer told reporters at Cincinnati's spring training camp in Goodyear, Arizona.The fallout from the Astros' sign-stealing scam continued Friday, a day after Houston owner Jim Crane was widely criticized for an apology that rang hollow to many."They cheated. They were found guilty of it. And I haven't heard it yet," said Washington general Mike Rizzo, whose team beat Houston in Game 7 of the World Series last year."The thing that pains me the most is it puts a black cloud over the sport that I love. And that's not right. The commissioner did an investigation... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians are already dealing with adversity before taking the field for their first full-squad workout.Starter Mike Clevinger could be sidelined two months after undergoing surgery Friday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, an injury the right-hander sustained while working out at the team's training complex in Goodyear, Arizona, earlier this week.“He was doing some drills a couple days ago,” manager Terry Francona said before Clevinger had the procedure. "He felt something. We took him to the training room. Then we let him go home to see how he feels. I think our trainers were a little nervous at the outset that this has meniscus written all over it. He was pretty sore so they got him an MRI."The Indians estimate Clevinger will be able to return to “major league game activity” in 6 to 8 weeks. Cleveland opens the season on March 26 against Detroit.If there's a bright spot, it's that the injury happened early in camp and not closer to the season's start.“It's... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Called up in September 2017 by Houston, Tony Kemp immediately got asked by teammates whether he wanted to be a part of the Astros' sign-stealing scheme. His answer was a firm no, and Kemp didn't feel further pressure to do it.“That stood,” the second baseman said Friday after arriving in Oakland's spring training camp and reuniting with former Astros teammate Mike Fiers, who went public in November about Houston's sign-stealing that rocked the baseball offseason.“Once I got there in September the system was already in place and I just tried to keep my head down and play hard and not really concern myself with it,” Kemp said. He said what Houston did was wrong, and when asked whether the ‘17 World Series title is tainted, noted: “That’s a good question, everyone's going to have their own speculations about it, everyone's going to have their own opinions about it. I'm not sure.”Then-Houston manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired on the same day they... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Win. Dance. Delete.When the Boston Red Sox traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the eve of spring training, they broke up the "Killer B's” who patrolled the Fenway outfield and led the team to a World Series championship in 2018. Together, Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Andrew Benintendi formed one of the best outfields in baseball and became fan favorites by following spectacular catches with their choreographed “Win, Dance, Repeat” postgame celebrations. Now, as the Red Sox learn to live without Betts, his former fellow outfielders are figuring things out with their new partner, Alex Verdugo, who came to Boston in the trade that send the 2018 AL MVP and pitcher David Price to the Dodgers.“It’s one of those things where you have to get to know the person and see him play, hands-on,” Bradley said this week. "Sometimes people just have that natural connection. It could be something that’s just seamless. “As long as you’re able to talk,” he said. “That’s... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Left-hander Tommy Milone completed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles on Friday and will try to earn a roster spot at big league spring training. Milone, who turns 33 on Sunday, is 50-47 with a 4.47 ERA in nine major league seasons with Washington, Oakland, Minnesota, Milwaukee, the New York Mets and Seattle. He was 4-10 with a 4.76 ERA for the Mariners last year in six starts and 17 relief appearances.Baltimore had the major leagues' highest ERA last season at 5.59 and traded starter Dylan Bundy to the Los Angeles Angels for four minor league pitchers in December. They have been trying to sign candidates for the rotation and earlier this month added Wade LeBlanc, another left-hander who pitched for Seattle last season. ___More AP MLB coverage: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Mickey Callaway says his baseball knowledge expanded tremendously during his two seasons as the New York Mets' manager, and the Los Angeles Angels will benefit from his Queens education as he returns to his familiar role as a pitching coach.“I just think about the game more globally now than I did,” Callaway said Friday after another early-spring workout at the Angels' spring complex.“(As a pitching coach) I was so focused on, ‘OK, let’s get the out. This is how you pitch a guy.’ Now I understand why a manager gets upset when a guy steals a base. I always want our pitchers to be quick, but that was kind of the extent of it. Now I understand how impactful a stolen base is, like truly is. It makes you think more globally about the game, and hopefully that will translate into me being a better leader and coach.”Those two years in the New York pressure cooker also left Callaway with an excitement about taking a job that's slightly less stressful. After the Mets fired him,... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — At this time last year, Michael Fulmer was hoping for a healthier 2019. Instead, his injury woes went from bad to worse.Fulmer needed Tommy John surgery and did not pitch at all last season, another setback for the right-hander who won AL Rookie of the Year honors for Detroit in 2016 but now faces an uncertain future for the Tigers. Still just 26 years old, Fulmer can give the team a lift if he comes back healthy, but that's still a work in progress.“I feel better than I thought I would at this point, playing catch out to 120 feet," Fulmer said this week. "Next progression is getting on the mound. Very anxious for that moment, but we've got to wait until it gets here.”Fulmer said he was hopeful he could throw on the mound around the end of March, perhaps before the team heads north.Fulmer went 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA in 2016, his debut season in the majors. He was fairly solid again the following year, but since then, he's had one problem after another. Oblique and knee... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies president Andy MacPhail reiterated that team ownership is willing to go over the luxury tax threshold to make the playoffs. The Phillies have made several high-profile free-agent signings over the past few seasons, including a $330 million, 13-year deal for outfielder Bryce Harper last year. Philadelphia signed right-hander Zack Wheeler to a $118 million, five-year contract this offseason and are viewed as a potential trade destination for Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, who has an $18 million salary. “Speaking for the Phillies and ownership we’re not reluctant to go over it,” MacPhail said Friday. “It’s my hope, and frankly my expectation, that we’re going to exceed it this year.”But MacPhail doesn’t want such extra spending to get to a point where the penalties will hurt the Phillies down the road. “Nobody can live over it, the penalties are too severe,” MacPhail added. “Not just economically, but it grabs you every different way.... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Cody Bellinger thinks Houston's José Altuve stole the 2017 AL MVP award from the Yankees' Aaron Judge and the Astros swiped that year's World Series title from the Los Angeles Dodgers.“These guys were cheating for three years,’’ Bellinger said Friday at the Dodgers spring training camp. “I think what people don't realize is Altuve stole an MVP from Judge in '17. Everyone knows they stole the ring from us."The reigning NL MVP, Bellinger criticized Astros owner Jim Crane’s attempt at an apology Thursday and called MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's punishment “weak." Manager AJ Hinch and Jeff Luhnow were suspended for one season each, and the team was fined $5 million and stripped of its first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and '21. The Astros then fired Hinch and Luhnow.MLB found the Astros guilty of using video to steal catchers' signs in 2017 and 2018. Bellinger thinks the conduct continued throughout last season.“One-hundred percent,’’ Bellinger said. “I don’t... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Starling Marte has fond memories of his eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially the stretch from 2013 to 2015 when the franchise made it to the playoffs three straight seasons.A few minutes of research revealed his new team has a great chance to get him back to the postseason.Marte was the final big addition of the offseason for the Arizona Diamondbacks after a late January trade that sent two prospects back to the Pirates. The D-backs hope his presence — likely close to the top of a promising young lineup — can help the franchise make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.“When I looked at their roster I was like, ‘Wow, this team has a chance to make the playoffs and win it,’” Marte said Friday after reporting to camp a few days early. “So I’m coming here to do my best and help the guys as much as I can and play hard.”Marte, 31, was a mainstay in Pittsburgh's lineup the past eight years, playing mostly left field in his early years before... [More]

TAMPA. Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had suspected that the Houston Astros had been breaking rules against electronic sign stealing long before Commissioner Rob Manfred released his report in January that resulted in three big league managers losing their jobs."I'll acknowlege at that we had many a conversion with Major League Baseball the last number of years about suspicions, but having suspicions and being able to prove it are two different things," Cashman said Friday.Cashman also talked with other teams regarding the matter. Manfred disciplined the Astros after he found the team broke rules by using electronics to steal signs during 2017 and 2018. Houston manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow were given one-year suspensions by Manfred and were then fired by Astros owner Jim Crane. Boston manager Alex Cora and New York Mets skipper Carlos Beltrán also lost their jobs. Cora was a coach and Beltrán played for the 2017 Astros in his final season as a player.Beltrán... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Count Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo among those not impressed or satisfied by the Houston Astros' attempts to apologize for -- and put behind them -- their sign-stealing scandal."They cheated. They were found guilty of it. And I haven't heard it yet," Rizzo said Friday after Washington's second formal workout at the spring training complex the team shares with Houston."The thing that pains me the most is it puts a black cloud over the sport that I love. And that's not right. The commissioner did an investigation and found that they cheated in 2017 and 2018. Somebody's got to say the words over there: 'cheated.' And that's important to me," Rizzo said. "For the sport to move on, which is what I'm most concerned about, we have to make sure that all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed on this investigation before we end it."Rizzo's NL champ Nationals went into last year's World Series prepared to deal with against-the-rules actions by the... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Chris Archer is 2 ½ pounds lighter than at the end of last season.The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander didn’t go on a winter diet, though. Instead, Archer cut off his trademark dreadlocks.“It was time for a change,” Archer said Friday after a spring training workout. “It was time for something different.”Archer feels the same way about his pitching. He had an awful 2019 season, compiling a 3-9 record and 5.19 ERA in 23 starts.A Florida resident and North Carolina native, Archer spent a large portion of the offseason working out in Southern California.“The thing about being out there is it gave me a chance to disconnect,” Archer said. “And disconnecting is something I really needed to do after what happened last season.”Archer not only has less hair and a clearer mind this spring, but some strong ideas about how he can get his career back on track. He was a two-time All-Star with the Tampa Bay Rays, yet has gone 6-12 with a 4.92 ERA in 33 starts since the Pirates acquired... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians are already dealing with adversity before taking the field for their first full-squad workout.Starter Mike Clevinger was undergoing surgery Friday to repair torn meniscus in his left knee after the right-hander hurt it while working out at the team's training complex in Goodyear, Arizona.“He was doing some drills a couple days ago,” manager Terry Francona said. "He felt something. We took him to the training room. Then we let him go home to see how he feels. I think our trainers were a little nervous at the outset that this has meniscus written all over it. He was pretty sore so they got him an MRI."The Indians won't have a timetable for Clevinger's return until after the operation, but it's safe to assume he will miss at least several weeks.If there's a bright spot, it's that the injury happened early in camp and not closer to the season's start.“It's not doomsday,” Francona said. “One, we know he's a quick healer. And two, he will be able to keep his arm in... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Francisco Cervelli says he’s fully recovered from his latest concussion, and Jorge Alfaro says he’s feeling fitter after a winter spent working on the farm and running sprints.At catcher, at least, the Miami Marlins appear in good shape.Alfaro, who returns as the starter, reported for spring training this week 15 pounds lighter thanks to an active offseason regimen that included time on his dad's small farm in Colombia.Cervelli signed a $2 million, one-year contract last month after missing much of 2019 with a concussion that limited him to 48 games for the Pirates and Braves. The 12-year veteran has a long history of concussions, but said he's now fully healthy and anticipates a bounce-back season as more than just a backup.“That word,” he said, “is not in my bag.”Alfaro also wants to play a lot — even more than the 130 games he logged last year. That's why he spent the offseason improving his fitness.He helped his dad by herding cattle and harvesting yuca roots. He... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland has a new look this spring as he attempts to move past his struggles from 2019.Freeland worked in the offseason to take a small pause out of his delivery after falling from a fourth place finish in the NL Cy Young award voting in 2018 to a 3-11 record and a brief return to a the minor leagues a year ago.The result is a more fluid and athletic approach, and both Freeland and Rockies manager Bud Black are on board.“The extended pause at the top of the delivery, I think, was a little bit too extreme,” Black said. “You’ll see a more momentum-building delivery, more aggressive from the start down the mound. You won’t see the flamingo pause.”Freeland, who was 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA in 2018, entered camp as the Rockies’ No. 3 starter, with right-handers Jon Gray and German Marquez in the first two spots.“When I was doing well (with the pause), I was very in tune with my mechanics. I was able to repeat," Freeland said. "I came to realize... [More]