TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays said goodbye to Kevin Pillar while giving a long-term deal to Randal Grichuk.Pillar was traded by the veteran-shedding Blue Jays to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday for infielder Alen Hanson, right-hander Derek Law and minor league pitcher Juan De Paula.Toronto also acquired outfielder Socrates Brito from San Diego for Class A outfielder Rodrigo Orozco, then announced a $52 million, five-year agreement with Grichuk, an outfielder who had been eligible for free agency after the 2020 season."I love the city. I like the direction the team is going," Grichuk said. "I see the vision. I see a lot of young, talented players that can be very impactful. They have a vision, and I want to be a part of it."Grichuk is a career .247 hitter with 92 home runs and 245 RBIs in 533 games with St. Louis and Toronto, but his on-base percentage is just .297."The offense has always stood out," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said. "He's always performed. He's always hit the... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays said goodbye to Kevin Pillar while giving a long-term deal to Randal Grichuk.Pillar was traded by the veteran-shedding Blue Jays to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday for infielder Alen Hanson, right-hander Derek Law and minor league pitcher Juan De Paula.Toronto also acquired outfielder Socrates Brito from San Diego for Class A outfielder Rodrigo Orozco, then announced a $52 million, five-year agreement with Grichuk, an outfielder who had been eligible for free agency after the 2020 season."The offense has always stood out," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said of Grichuk. "He's always performed. He's always hit the ball hard. He's always hit it far, and usually it goes over the fence at a pretty good rate. In our view, he's been an above average defender, and those are hard things to piece together."Grichuk is a career .247 hitter with 92 home runs and 245 RBIs in 533 games with St. Louis and Toronto, but his on-base percentage is just .297.Atkins said... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays said goodbye to Kevin Pillar while giving a long-term deal to Randal Grichuk.Pillar was traded by the veteran-shedding Blue Jays to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday for infielder Alen Hanson, right-hander Derek Law and minor league pitcher Juan De Paula.Toronto also acquired outfielder Socrates Brito from San Diego for Class A outfielder Rodrigo Orozco, then announced a $52 million, five-year agreement with Grichuk, an outfielder who had been eligible for free agency after the 2020 season."The offense has always stood out," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said of Grichuk. "He's always performed. He's always hit the ball hard. He's always hit it far, and usually it goes over the fence at a pretty good rate. In our view, he's been an above average defender, and those are hard things to piece together."Grichuk is a career .247 hitter with 92 home runs and 245 RBIs in 533 games with St. Louis and Toronto, but his on-base percentage is just .297.Atkins said... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Jung Ho Kang and Erik Gonzalez have won starting jobs in the infield with the Pittsburgh Pirates.General manager Neal Huntington said Monday that Kang has beaten out Colin Moran at third base and Erik Gonzalez has won the shortstop competition over Kevin Newman."It was not an easy decision because all four guys, in their own way, had legitimate claims to be the regular," Huntington said.Kang is just 5 for 28 (.185) with 13 strikeouts this spring but all five hits have been solo home runs. Moran was 6 for 28 (.214) with a double and a homer through the weekend.Moran, however, had committed four errors while Kang had two."The power has been real," manager Clint Hurdle said of Kang. "It's spring training, but it's five homers. We don't have anybody else that's hit five homers."Kang missed the entire 2017 season and the beginning of 2018 because he was unable to secure a work visa to travel from his native South Korea following a third DUI arrest. He then underwent wrist... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Jung Ho Kang and Erik Gonzalez have won starting jobs in the infield with the Pittsburgh Pirates.General manager Neal Huntington said Monday that Kang has beaten out Colin Moran at third base and Erik Gonzalez has won the shortstop competition over Kevin Newman."It was not an easy decision because all four guys, in their own way, had legitimate claims to be the regular," Huntington said.Kang is just 5 for 28 (.185) with 13 strikeouts this spring but all five hits have been solo home runs. Moran was 6 for 28 (.214) with a double and a homer through the weekend.Moran, however, had committed four errors while Kang had two."The power has been real," manager Clint Hurdle said of Kang. "It's spring training, but it's five homers. We don't have anybody else that's hit five homers."Kang missed the entire 2017 season and the beginning of 2018 because he was unable to secure a work visa to travel from his native South Korea following a third DUI arrest. He then underwent wrist... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman left Wednesday's 11-5 victory over the Miami Marlins because of back stiffness.Bregman walked in the first inning and was replaced after the second. He was playing his third spring training game following arthroscopic elbow surgery on Jan. 11.Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Bregman probably will be held out a day and return to the lineup on Friday.AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESBLUE JAYS 9, PHILLIES 7Cavan Biggio, the son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, and Anthony Alford both homered for the first time for the Blue Jays. Dalton Pompey hit two doubles and drove in three runs for Toronto. Aaron Sanchez made his second start, allowing a hit and two walks in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.Vince Velasquez made his first start for Philadelphia, allowing one run, one hit and two walks in one inning. Aaron Althier went 0 for 3, striking out twice and lowering his average to .143.ORIOLES 9, RAYS 6Mike Yastrzemski, a grandson... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman left Wednesday's 11-5 victory over the Miami Marlins because of back stiffness.Bregman walked in the first inning and was replaced after the second. He was playing his third spring training game following arthroscopic elbow surgery on Jan. 11.Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Bregman probably will be held out a day and return to the lineup on Friday.AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESBLUE JAYS 9, PHILLIES 7Cavan Biggio, the son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, and Anthony Alford both homered for the first time for the Blue Jays. Dalton Pompey hit two doubles and drove in three runs for Toronto. Aaron Sanchez made his second start, allowing a hit and two walks in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.Vince Velasquez made his first start for Philadelphia, allowing one run, one hit and two walks in one inning. Aaron Althier went 0 for 3, striking out twice and lowering his average to .143.ORIOLES 9, RAYS 6Mike Yastrzemski, a grandson... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman left Wednesday's 11-5 victory over the Miami Marlins because of back stiffness.Bregman walked in the first inning and was replaced after the second. He was playing his third spring training game following arthroscopic elbow surgery on Jan. 11.Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Bregman probably will be held out a day and return to the lineup on Friday.AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUEBLUE JAYS 9, PHILLIES 7Cavan Biggio, the son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, and Anthony Alford both homered for the first time for the Blue Jays. Dalton Pompey hit two doubles and drove in three runs for Toronto. Aaron Sanchez made his second start, allowing a hit and two walks in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.Vince Velasquez made his first start for Philadelphia, allowing one run, one hit and two walks in one inning. Aaron Althier went 0 for 3, striking out twice and lowering his average to .143.ORIOLES 9, RAYS 6Mike Yastrzemski, a grandson of Red... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Little Rocket led off Day 2 of the Major League Baseball draft.The Detroit Tigers took Texas second baseman Kody Clemens, the youngest son of seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens, with the opening pick of the third round — No. 79 overall — as the draft resumed Tuesday.The younger Clemens was the Big 12 player of the year and has helped the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament super regionals. He's hitting a team-leading .346 with 21 home runs, second-most in school history, and 68 RBIs as one of college baseball's top sluggers. Clemens is a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy as the best player in the country.The Tigers selected Auburn right-hander Casey Mize with the No. 1 overall pick on Monday night .Kody Clemens was a 35th-round selection of Houston out of high school, but opted to go to his father's alma mater to play baseball. He spent most of last season as the Longhorns' designated hitter after having Tommy John surgery, but returned... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Reliever Joe Biagini is being stretched out at spring training to provide rotation depth for the Toronto Blue Jays.One bad start is not a concern to Blue Jays manager John Gibbons.Biagini lasted just 1 2/3 innings, allowing all five runs scored by Pittsburgh in the Pirates' 5-0 win over Toronto on Sunday. The right-hander walked two, struck out two, and gave up four hits, including consecutive homers to Adam Frazier and Gregory Polanco that ended his day."He had trouble locating the ball," Gibbons said. "He's being throwing pretty good this spring. It was just one of those days, spiking a lot of balls. I don't want to overanalyze it. He was off today."Biagini was touched for four earned runs over 8 1/3 innings in three previous starts,His starting work during the exhibition season has taken on added significance with Toronto ace Marcus Stroman slowed by inflammation in his right shoulder.The Blue Jays haven't ruled out Stroman being back to pitch during the first time... [More]

OF Dalton Pompey (knee) has started his second rehabilitation assignment. He opened the season on the disabled list with a concussion, incurred while playing for Canada in the World Baseball Classic. In his first game with Triple-A Buffalo on his first rehabilitation assignment, he injured his knee. He played his third game with Buffalo Thursday and was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. It was his first hit in the three games. He did not playFriday.

OF Dalton Pompey was sent to Triple-A Buffalo on a rehab assignment, and he went 0-for-3 on Tuesday. He began the season on the disabled list due to a concussion, then had a setback last month due to a leg injury.

OF Dalton Pompey (concussion) started his rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Buffalo Sundayand was 1-for-2 leading off and playing centerfield before being replaced. He started his rehab assignment at Class Ab Dunedin, where he was 4-for-14 (.286) with four walks, one double, a stolen base with three RBIs in four games. He has not played since being injured while playing in the World Baseball Classic for Canada.

OF Dalton Pompey (concussion) has hit .286 (4-for-14) with four walks, three RBIs and a stolen base in his first four rehabilitation games at Class A Dunedin, three in the outfield and one as DH. He was 0-for-4 Friday night. He has been on the disabled list all season since he suffered the concussion playing for Canada in the World Baseball Classic.

OF Dalton Pompey (concussion) was 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, three RBIs and a stolen base Tuesday night for Class A Dunedin. It was the beginning of his rehabilitation assignment after being on the disabled list following a concussion playing for Canada in the World Baseball Classic.

OF Dalton Pompey (concussion) suffered a concussion while trying to steal a base playing for Canada in the World Baseball Classic and had not returned to action with one week left in spring training.

OF Dalton Pompey was added to the Blue Jays' roster for the ALCS. At Triple-A Buffalo this year, Pompey hit .270 with four homers, 28 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. He appeared in eight game with the Blue Jays and was 0-for-2. "We've got a few guys we need to (pinch) run for, so he may end up scoring a big run for us on maybe just a double in the gap or something, with two outs," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

OF Dalton Pompey was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. He was hitting .278 (91-for-337) with four homers and 28 RBIs for Buffalo this year. This is his first call up to the majors this season.

OF Dalton Pompey was held in such high regard that he was the Opening Day center fielder in 2015. He was not ready and was returned to the minors in May but he did return in late season and was on the playoff roster where he made a contribution as a pinch-runner. He started this season at Triple-A Buffalo where he has been hampered by injuries, including a concussion that kept him out from June 19 to Friday. In his three games back he is 2-for-12 with a double. The 23-year-old is batting .272 in 47 games with one home runs, 14 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. OF Ezequiel Carrera has done an excellent job while RF Jose Bautista has been injured but Pompey could have a role to play later in the season, just as he did last year.

Pompey reportedly made the team's ALDS roster as an extra outfielder and will be used primarily in pinch-running situations, Brendan Kennedy of The Star reports.

After starting the season in the majors as a starter in the outfield, Pompey dropped down all the way to Double-A before being a September call-up and earning his keep as a pinch runner. In seven pinch-running appearances in September, Pompey scored five times, an invaluable asset come playoff time.