The Washington Nationals signed free-agent right-hander Rico Garcia to a minor-league deal on Wednesday, and he will report to Triple-A Rochester. Garcia chose free agency on Tuesday after declining an outright assignment from the Oakland Athletics to go to Triple-A Las Vegas. The 29-year-old reliever quickly finds a new home but will have to prove himself in the minors first before he gets a shot with the rebuilding Nationals. He pitched in just 8 2/3 innings for the A's in 2023 and allowed eight earned runs on 13 hits (four homers) while walking five and striking out six. Garcia hasn't found any success in the big leagues to this point, as he currently has a 6.89 ERA (7.70 FIP), 1.84 WHIP, 17 walks and 17 strikeouts in 32 2/3 frames over 27 appearances (one start).

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Chadwick Tromp and the San Francisco Giants agreed on a one-year deal Wednesday after the team declined to tender a contract to the rookie catcher from Aruba before last week's deadline. Tromp announced on social media he would be returning to the Giants, who initially signed him to a minor league deal for last season. He gets a salary of $583,000 while in the major leagues and $150,000 while in the minors. “GIANTS NATION!! Now that the details are finalized i cant wait to go get more WWWWWWWWWW! LETS GO BABY! (@) SFGiants," he wrote. The 25-year-old Tromp batted .213 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in 24 games last season. The Giants also announced they signed 11 players to minor league contracts that include an invitation to major league spring training: right-handers Melvin Adon, Daniel Alvarez Silvino Bracho, Rico Garcia, Dominic Leone, Yunior Marte, Raffi Vizcaino and Sam Wolff; left-handers Anthony Banda and Sam Long; and infielder/outfielder Jason Krizan, ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Chadwick Tromp and the San Francisco Giants agreed on a one-year deal Wednesday after the team declined to tender a contract to the rookie catcher from Aruba before last week's deadline. Tromp announced on social media he would be returning to the Giants, who initially signed him to a minor league deal for last season. “GIANTS NATION!! Now that the details are finalized i cant wait to go get more WWWWWWWWWW! LETS GO BABY! (@) SFGiants," he wrote. The 25-year-old Tromp batted .213 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in 24 games last season. The Giants also announced they signed 11 players to minor league contracts that include an invitation to major league spring training: RHP Melvin Adon, RHP Daniel Alvarez, LHP Anthony Banda, RHP Silvino Bracho, RHP Rico Garcia, INF/OF Jason Krizan, RHP Dominic Leone, LHP Sam Long, RHP Yunior Marte, RHP Raffi Vizcaino and RHP Sam Wolff. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

The Chicago White Sox clinched their first postseason berth since 2008, beating the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Thursday as Eloy Jim�nez hit a tiebreaking double that capped a two-run, seventh-inning rally. Chicago (33-17) opened a three-game lead over the second-place Twins (31-21) in the AL Central. The White Sox assured themselves of no worse than a wild-card berth. Jos� Abreu homered and drove in two runs and Edwin Encarnaci�n also homered for Chicago, which won three of four in the series. Chicago trailed 3-2 in the seventh when Abreu beat out an infield hit on a slow grounder that drove in Jarrod Dyson from third base. Jim�nez followed with a go-ahead double. Codi Heuer (3-0) pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings, and Alex Colom� got four outs for his 12th save in 13 chances. Tyler Clippard (1-1) gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Byron Buxton homered twice, giving him seven in his last nine games and 12 this season. Josh Donaldson also went deep for Minnesota and was ejected for kicking... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox clinched their first postseason berth since 2008, beating the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Thursday as Eloy Jiménez hit a tiebreaking double that capped a two-run, seventh-inning rally. Chicago (33-17) opened a three-game lead over the second-place Twins (31-21) in the AL Central. The White Sox assured themselves of no worse than a wild-card berth. José Abreu homered and drove in two runs and Edwin Encarnación also homered for Chicago, which won three of four in the series. Chicago trailed 3-2 in the seventh when Abreu beat out an infield hit on a slow grounder that drove in Jarrod Dyson from third base. Jiménez followed with a go-ahead double. Codi Heuer (3-0) pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings, and Alex Colomé got four outs for his 12th save in 13 chances. Tyler Clippard (1-1) gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Byron Buxton homered twice, giving him seven in his last nine games and 12 this season. Josh Donaldson also went deep for Minnesota and was... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants released Pablo Sandoval on Thursday, parting ways for a second time with the former fan favorite and 2012 World Series MVP.Sandoval ends a second stint with the club after he rejoined the Giants following parts of three seasons away with the Boston Red Sox after winning a third World Series in five years with the Giants in 2014.“Such an incredible contributor to the organization, his teammates, the coaching staff, and the entire city of San Francisco," manager Gabe Kapler said. “It was very difficult to deliver that news and for Pablo to receive it. He was a pro and a gentleman, every step of the way.”The Giants posted a thank you to the Kung Fu Panda on their Twitter page. A switch-hitter, the 34-year-old Sandoval was batting .220 with one home run and six RBIs in 33 games. He had a prorated salary of $740,741.Sandoval came back this spring from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last September, after retired manager Bruce Bochy — a father... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants released Pablo Sandoval on Thursday, parting ways for a second time with the former fan favorite and 2012 World Series MVP.Sandoval ends a second stint with the club after he rejoined the Giants following parts of three seasons away with the Boston Red Sox after winning a third World Series in five years with the Giants in 2014.The Giants posted a thank you to the Kung Fu Panda on their Twitter page. A switch-hitter, the 34-year-old Sandoval was batting .220 with one home run and six RBIs in 33 games. He had a prorated salary of $740,741.He came back this spring from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last September, after retired manager Bruce Bochy — a father figure to the Venezuelan slugger — gave him one final at-bat. But Sandoval arrived at summer training in July noticeably heavier. He recently shared how his wife and children healed from the coronavirus, and manager Gabe Kapler gave him time off to monitor the situation from afar.Newly acquired infielder Justin Smoak was added to the major league roster. In addition, left-hander Drew Smyly was activated from the 10-day injured list after dealing with a sprained index finger on his pitching hand. Right-hander Rico Garcia was optioned to the team’s Sacramento alternate site.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports