Kris Bryant, Rockies finalize $182M, 7-year contract
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Kris Bryant and the Colorado Rockies finalized their $182 million, seven-year contract on Friday. The third baseman and outfielder gets a $7 million signing bonus, payable within 15 days of the signing. He receives a $17 million salary this year, $27 million in each of the next...
AP source: Freddie Freeman, Dodgers agree to $162 million, 6-year deal
Freddie Freeman is headed home to Southern California and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first-time free agent and the Dodgers have agreed to a $162 million, six-year contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity late Wednesday...
AP source: Schwarber, Phils agree to deal for about $80M
PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber is coming to Philadelphia, agreeing Wednesday to a four-year deal with the Phillies worth about $80 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical. A 29-year-old slugging...
Andrew McCutchen back in NL Central on 1-year deal with Brewers
MILWAUKEE — Andrew McCutchen is heading back to the NL Central after he agreed to a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers announced they have finalized a agreement with the five-time All-Star outfielder. McCutchen spent the first nine years of his career in the NL Central with Pittsburgh...
MLB players ponder how Manfred can mend icy relationship
VENICE, Fla. — Rob Manfred made a startling admission while announcing the end of baseball’s bitter labor battle last week: He’s failed in his role as a diplomat to players. The acknowledgement was stunning enough that famously polite Atlanta Braves starter Charlie Morton nearly laughed when told about it. “The...
Mariners land All-Star Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suarez in trade with RedsVideo
As soon as the baseball lockout ended, Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto was focused on two things he wanted for his lineup. He wanted another power bat, and he wanted a left-handed hitter who could play in the outfield. Dipoto landed both in one deal, acquiring All-Star outfielder Jesse...
With Freddie Freeman free agent, Braves get star 1B Matt Olson from A’s
VENICE, Fla. — Freddie Freeman’s tenure with the Atlanta Braves appears to be over after the World Series champions acquired All-Star first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics on Monday. Oakland is getting a prize package of four players from Atlanta, including young outfielder Cristian Pache. Freeman was the...
Padres star Fernando Tatis has broken wrist, could be out 3 months
PEORIA, Ariz. — All-Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres likely will need surgery for a broken left wrist and could miss up to three months, general manager A.J. Preller said on Monday. Tatis apparently suffered the injury early in the offseason and felt it when he...
Twins get pitching vet Sonny Gray from Reds for 1st-rounder Chase Petty
The Minnesota Twins took their first significant step toward restocking their starting pitching, acquiring right-hander Sonny Gray in a trade on Sunday with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds included minor league right-hander Francis Peguero in the deal for Twins pitching prospect Chase Petty, who was their first-round draft pick last...
As MLB players report, here’s what to know when camps openVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — No more counterproposals. No quarreling over the CBT. From Clearwater, Fla., to Goodyear, Ariz., it’s time for curveballs, Cracker Jack and the perpetually inspiring clean slate in the standings that comes at the start of each season. It’s time to play ball — or at least practice...
National League finally will use DH after nearly 50-year holdoutVideo
PHOENIX — It was an impressive holdout for the National League, which made it nearly 50 years staving off a full-time designated hitter rule that the American League implemented before the 1973 season. “We’ll continue to play by baseball rules,” NL President Chub Feeney famously said back then. Well, the...
Home run derby could decide MLB All-Star Game winnerVideo
NEW YORK — If the next All-Star Game in Major League Baseball goes deep into the night, a slugger might get a chance to decide it by going deep — in a Home Run Derby. That’s right, say going, going, goodbye to extra innings in the Midsummer Classic. Instead, bring...
MLB players end up split on final dealVideo
NEW YORK — Baseball players maintained unity throughout labor negotiations, yet were divided when it came time to vote on the deal. The eight-man executive subcommittee that appeared to be most involved in the nearly year-long talks voted 8-0 Thursday against approving the five-year contract. Team player representatives, the overall...
From Arizona to Florida, sights of MLB spring training returnVideo
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Carson Kelly and manager Torey Lovullo shared a hug, a grin and a few slaps on the back under the bright blue sky that the Cactus League is known for providing. The bickering is over. Baseball is back. A day after owners and players...
Unvaccinated MLB players can’t travel to Canada to play Blue Jays
NEW YORK — MLB players who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus won’t be allowed to travel into Canada to face the Blue Jays in Toronto and won’t be paid for those games. Canada’s government requires a person must have received a second vaccine dose — or one dose of...
MLB players vote to end lockout, salvaging 162-game season
NEW YORK — Players voted to accept MLB’s latest offer for a new labor deal, paving the way to end a 99-day lockout and salvage a 162-game regular season that would begin April 7. The union’s executive board approved the agreement in a 26-12 vote Thursday, pending ratification by all...
Commissioner cancels games through April 13 as union narrows gap with MLB
NEW YORK — Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred canceled 93 more games Wednesday, appearing to close the remaining chance to play a full 162-game schedule and threatening locked out players with loss of salary and service time. After the sides narrowed many economic differences and became bogged down over management’s attempt...
MLB, union bargain into night to salvage 162-game seasonVideo
NEW YORK — Negotiators for locked-out players and Major League Baseball bargained into the night for the second time in a week ahead of commissioner Rob Manfred’s Tuesday deadline to reach a deal preserving a 162-game season. Union chief negotiator Bruce Meyer and general counsel Ian Penny headed a bargaining...
MLB owners, locked-out players closing gap on labor agreement despite tensionVideo
NEW YORK — For all of the vitriol, Major League Baseball owners and locked-out players have closed the gap in recent weeks and are negotiating on similar frameworks for a new collective bargaining agreement. With the lockout in its 96th day Monday, the sides remained apart to various degrees on...
MLB reacts angrily to latest offer from locked-out playersVideo
NEW YORK — MLB reacted angrily to the latest offer by locked-out players when bargaining resumed Sunday, accusing the union of backtracking and showing no sign of a breakthrough to get the derailed season back on track. The squabbling sides talked for 95 minutes on the 95th day of the...
MLB talks resume Sunday; Max Scherzer says players favor playoff ‘ghost win’ formatVideo
NEW YORK — Max Scherzer favors a radical reworking of the playoffs, one that would have the higher seed in the first round of a 14-team postseason start off a best-of-five series with a 1-0 lead. Major League Baseball and locked-out players, who resume talks Sunday, both would expand the...
Locked-out MLB players start $1M fund for workers impacted by work stoppageVideo
NEW YORK — Locked-out Major League Baseball players are starting a $1 million fund to support workers impacted by canceled games. The players’ association said Friday the fund will be administered by the union and the AFL-CIO. It will be distributed to stadium workers and others caused financial hardship by...
Minor league baseball, hockey teams seeking covid-19 reliefVideo
WASHINGTON — Laying off 17 people in the Charlotte Checkers front office of 25 felt like gutting a team for chief operating officer Tera Black. “The front office is a team just as much as the team on the ice,” she said. “We never want to go through that again.”...
MLB, union meet again, discuss next step in labor negotiationsVideo
NEW YORK — Deputy commissioner Dan Halem and chief union negotiator Bruce Meyer met for 1 1/2 hours Thursday and discussed the major issues in the stalled talks to reach a deal that would end Major League Baseball’s lockout. Union general counsel Ian Penny and MLB executive vice president Morgan...
Analysis: Anger as much as money at center of broken MLB labor talksVideo
JUPITER, Fla. — Anger is at the center of Major League Baseball’s broken labor negotiations as much as money. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred’s cancellation of each team’s first two series is a byproduct of failed relationships in a fractured sport that can’t get out of its own way. Negotiators headed...
