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]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston ace Justin Verlander is slated to make his 2020 spring training debut on Thursday, when former teammate Max Schezer is scheduled to be on the mound for World Series champion Washington.The pair were teammates on the Detroit Tigers from 2010-14 and have combined for five Cy Young Awards.“It wasn't done intentionally. That is a pretty good match-up, though,” new Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “I'm sure you guys will hype it up.”Verlander won his second Cy Young last season, going 21-6 with a 2.52 ERA. His 225 wins are the most among active players. Zack Greinke, second among active pitchers with 205 wins, is to make his first spring training appearances the following day.Scherzer, a the three-time Cy Young winner, won the World Series opener last October and did not get a decision in Game 7. Verlander lost Games 2 and 6.Scherzer opened spring training with two scoreless innings against Houston on Saturday.Houston's starting outfielders from 2019 are... [More]

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]

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman wasn't in the Braves' starting lineup Tuesday because of irritation in his right elbow.Freeman felt discomfort Monday and again Tuesday.“We're trying to nip in the bud,"“He's been throwing balls and doing things,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It's better that it's in February than the end of March."Snitker said he is not sure how long Freeman will be out.Freeman had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow on Oct. 18. The entire right elbow joint was cleaned during the procedure, which included removing three fragmented loose bodies and cleaning up multiple bone spur formations.Freeman played with the injury for part of last season. Despite that, he set career highs in home runs (38), RBIs (121) and runs (113). He was 4 for 20 with a home run in the playoffs.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — This isn’t quite how Chaim Bloom imagined things would go, back when he dreamed of running a baseball team.Less than two months after taking over the Red Sox — and with the start of spring training looming — Boston's new chief baseball officer needed to replace a World Series-winning manager. Then Bloom incurred the wrath of the Fenway fans when he traded Mookie Betts, the ballclub’s best player, as part of a salary dump. And the team is still sweating out the results of an investigation into whether it cheated when it won the championship in 2018.Like a manager reshuffling his rotation after an 18-inning game, Bloom has been forced to adjust — and quickly.“Baseball will throw different things at you every day,” he last week as he settled into his first spring training with the Red Sox. “I've been in baseball long enough to know that there's a lot of things about this business that don't go according to plan, and it throws you a lot of unexpected surprises. So the... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — For Marco Gonzales, better that this game came in his first start of spring training and not opening day at T-Mobile Park.The Seattle Mariners left-hander gave up five runs on three hits and two outs while getting just two outs Monday against the Chicago Cubs.“You go out in the first one, you just want to throw strikes. Timing was a little off and frustrated a little bit by my execution. But for the first time out, I wanted to feel good and have the ball feel good coming out got my hand,” Gonzales said. “So the results are what they are this time of year.”Gonzales, fresh off a four-year, $30 million contract he signed earlier this month, is expected to make his second consecutive opening day start for Seattle next month. At age 28, he’s coming off a 2019 season in which we he went 16-13 with a 3.99 ERA in 34 starts.Gonzales, who will make $1 million in this his third season with the Mariners, set career highs in wins, starts, innings pitched (203) and strikeouts with... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — José Altuve insisted he tuned out the hecklers. He couldn't avoid a pitch that grazed him.“He was hit in the foot. That ain’t nothing, you know what I mean?” Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday after an 11-1 win over Detroit at half-empty Joker Marchant Stadium. “It wasn’t intentional.”Altuve was loudly booed when he was introduced for his spring training debut, cheered when he struck out and called a cheater by several fans. Quite a difference from past years, when the diminutive All-Star second baseman was among the most popular players in the majors.But that was before Altuve and his Houston teammates were implicated in the sign-stealing scandal that’s rocked baseball.“We just heard a lot of noise, and that's it,” Altuve said.Altuve and fellow starters Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel all played for the first time in the exhibition season. After Houston opened the Grapefruit League in the stadium it shares with the World Series champion Washington... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Gerrit Cole got off to a fast start in his spring training debut for the New York Yankees, throwing a 97 mph heater on his first pitch and striking out two in a hitless inning against Pittsburgh on Monday night.“It went well," Cole said. “It was fun. Made some good pitches."Leadoff man Adam Frazier popped out and Bryan Reynolds struck out before Cole Tucker drew a walk. Cole then fanned Josh Bell to finish up.“I lost the one guy, 0-2, Tucker,” Cole said. " A couple of quality fastballs at the top but one of those three has to be in the zone. So next outing will continue to fine tune some command, but also try to keep the execution in terms of how the stuff’s coming out very high. I think there was only one or two really pretty poor pitches, so it was good work. Quality work.”Cole signed a $324 million, nine-year contract as a free agent after going 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts last season for the AL champion Houston Astros. He has an overall career record of... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — José Altuve insisted he tuned out the hecklers. He couldn't avoid a pitch that grazed him.``He was hit in the foot. That ain’t nothing, you know what I mean?’’ Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday after an 11-1 win over Detroit at half-empty Joker Marchant Stadium. “It wasn’t intentional.”Altuve was loudly booed when he was introduced for his spring training debut, cheered when he struck out and called a cheater by several fans. Quite a difference from past years, when the diminutive All-Star second baseman was among the most popular players in the majors.But that was before Altuve and his Houston teammates were implicated in the sign-stealing scandal that’s rocked baseball.“We just heard a lot of noise, and that's it,” Altuve said.Altuve and fellow starters Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel all played for the first time in the exhibition season. After Houston opened the Grapefruit League in the stadium it shares with the World Series champion... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Gerrit Cole struck out two and walked one over a hitless inning in his spring training debut for the New York Yankees against Pittsburgh on Monday night.Cole's first pitch to Adam Frazier was a 97 mph fastball. After Frazier popped out and Bryan Reynolds struck out, Cole Tucker drew a walk. The right-hander then fanned Josh Bell to finish up.Cole signed a $324 million, nine-year contract as a free agent after going 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts last season for the AL champion Houston Astros. He has an overall career record of 94-52.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Gerrit Cole struck out two and walked over a hitless inning in his spring training debut for the New York Yankees against Pittsburgh on Monday night.Cole's first pitch to Adam Frazier was a 97 mph fastball. After Frazier popped out and Bryan Reynolds struck out, Cole Tucker drew a walk. The right-hander then fanned Josh Bell to finish up.Cole signed a $324 million, nine-year contract as a free agent after going 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts last season for the AL champion Houston Astros. He has an overall career record of 94-52.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Kenta Maeda got off to a memorable start for the Minnesota Twins, that's for sure.The Twins newcomer gave up a home run to Boston's Andrew Benintendi to begin the game Monday, prompting the Japanese pitcher to laugh later."First time facing hitters so I just wanted to get that feel back," Maeda said through an interpreter. "And I wasn't scheduled to give up a home run on the first hitter, just so you know."Maeda threw 37 pitches in two innings, allowing two hits with one walk and one strikeout. The Twins won 3-2."Everything felt fine. Velocity is up there way more than I expected. It's just the little things that need to be refined, adjusted," he said.It's all about adjustments for Maeda right now.Maeda, 32 in April, is entering his fifth MLB season after four with the Dodgers and eight years in Japan. He went 10-8 with a 4.04 ERA last season for Los Angeles.Minnesota acquired the right-hander earlier this month in a deal that sent its top pitching prospect, right-hander... [More]