HAVANA (AP) — The United States will permit Major League Baseball players from Cuba to represent their home country in the World Baseball Classic next year.
The decision announced Saturday in a news release by the Baseball Federation of Cuba (FCB) could be a big step in once again turning Cuba’s national team into heavy hitters on an international stage.
PHOENIX (AP) — The Luke Fickell era at Wisconsin will have a soft opening.
Fickell will be on the sideline against Oklahoma State on Tuesday night in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Most of the major decisions, like naming a starting quarterback, will be made by interim coach Jim Leonhard and the other current Badgers coaches.
When Puerto Ricans belt the name Roberto Clemente in song, they want the world to understand their pride, unity and culture. Clemente, for them, is the pinnacle of what it means to be a true Puerto Rican.
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets and Carlos Correa’s agent are having discussions over the infielder’s physical days after similar concerns from the San Francisco Giants led to a collapse of their agreement with All-Star.
TORONTO (AP) — Despite the initial shock, Daulton Varsho views his trade to the Toronto Blue Jays as potentially being one of the best things that could happen to him.
The former Arizona Diamondbacks slugger was sent to Toronto for veteran outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs and pitcher Drew Smyly finalized a $19 million, two-year contract on Saturday.
Smyly has an opt out after the 2023 season. The left-hander will make $8 million next year and $8.5 million in 2024.
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired one of the top prospects in baseball, adding catcher Gabriel Moreno and veteran outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in a Friday swap that sent slugger Daulton Varsho to the Toronto Blue Jays.
CHICAGO (AP) — Drew Smyly is staying with the Chicago Cubs, agreeing to a $19 million, two-year contract.
Two people familiar with the negotiations confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the contract was pending a successful physical.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Outfielder Michael Conforto has agreed to a $36 million, two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, a deal that includes an opt out after the first season, a person with direct knowledge of the pact said Friday.
As the world reclaimed a bit of normalcy in 2022, the Newby Awards were hoping to produce an awards show featuring all the elegance and decorum that were our imaginary hallmarks in the pre-COVID-19 era.
BOSTON (AP) — The company that oversaw the construction of a minor league baseball park in Massachusetts has agreed to pay nearly $2 million to settle allegations that it failed to live up to its pledge of giving a certain portion of the work on the project to women- and minority-owned businesses, the state attorney general's office said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Trevor Bauer was reinstated Thursday by Major League Baseball's independent arbitrator, allowing the pitcher to resume his career at the start of the 2023 season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Correa was in the St. Regis San Francisco with his parents, brother and in-laws, ready to head to Oracle Park for his introductory news conference. That's when agent Scott Boras asked the prized player to meet him in room 1212.
Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa and Trea Turner combined for almost $1 billion in contracts. Xander Bogaerts, Jacob deGrom, Dansby Swanson, Carlos Rodón, Brandon Nimmo and Willson Contreras added up to another billion.
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles acquired catcher James McCann and $19 million from the New York Mets on Wednesday night for a player to be named.
McCann was an All-Star in 2019 for the Chicago White Sox, but hit just .195 with three home runs and 18 RBIs for the Mets last season.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Infielder Brandon Drury has agreed to a $17 million, two-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
Right-hander Oliver Ortega was designated for assignment Thursday to make room on the Angels' 40-man roster for Drury, who hit a career-best 28 homers last season while playing for Cincinnati and San Diego.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Free-agent reliever Seth Lugo and the San Diego Padres finalized a $15 million, two-year contract on Thursday.
Lugo gets a $7.5 million salary next season, and his deal includes a $7.5 million player option for 2024.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs bolstered their defense again on Thursday, agreeing to a $6.5 million contract with Gold Glove-winning catcher Tucker Barnhart.
A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed the deal to the AP on condition of anonymity because it was pending a successful physical.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Wil Myers agreed to a $7.5 million, one-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, joining his third big league club after spending the previous eight seasons with San Diego.
NEW YORK (AP) — As soon as he struck an agreement with the New York Yankees last week, Carlos Rodón reached for a razor.
“I was like, screw it. I might as well shave now because I know in about a week if I tried to shave and I have razor bumps, it’s not going to look great," the pitcher said.
Carlos Correa is headed to the free-spending New York Mets with a $315 million, 12-year contract after his pending deal with the San Francisco Giants came apart over concerns about an ankle injury sustained eight years ago.
HOUSTON (AP) — Veteran outfielder Michael Brantley signed a one-year, $12 million deal to remain with the Houston Astros after missing more than half of last season with a shoulder injury.
The 2023 season will be Brantley's fifth with the Astros.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Fans of the San Francisco Giants spent a week reveling in the good news: Carlos Correa was coming to the Bay Area, lured by a megadeal worth $350 million over 13 years.
And then, just like that, the two-time All-Star was gone, poached by the New York Mets and deep-pocketed owner Steve Cohen.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge stood for photo after photo as if at a wedding. And in a way it was: He had gotten hitched to the New York Yankees for the rest of his baseball life.
Judge posed with his wife, parents, Yankees management, agents and even Derek Jeter and Willie Randolph, and discussed his $360 million, nine-year contract and owner Hal Steinbrenner's decision to appoint him the team's 16th captain — the first since Jeter retired.
CHICAGO (AP) — Growing up in Georgia, Dansby Swanson used to go over to his grandfather's house right after school. He would barge in and ask Herb Swanson to hit him some grounders.
Whenever Dansby came over, Herb was watching a Chicago Cubs game on WGN.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — It has been a busy offseason so far, at least by the small-market standards of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and general manager Ben Cherington would like to continue to bolster the roster of a team that has gone 142-242 over the past three seasons.
Catcher Austin Hedges and the Pittsdurgh Pirates completed their agreement Tuesday on a $5 million, one-year contract.
The 30-year-old played for Cleveland last season, batting .163 with seven homers and 30 RBIs in 105 games.
DETROIT (AP) — Right-hander Michael Lorenzen and the Detroit Tigers finalized their $8.5 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.
Lorenzen was 8-6 with a 4.24 ERA in 18 starts last season with the Los Angeles Angels.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins and Joey Gallo finalized their one-year, $11 million contract on Tuesday, giving the slick-fielding, big-swinging corner outfielder a fresh start following a rough 2022 season.
CHICAGO (AP) — Cody Bellinger is looking forward to a fresh start with the Chicago Cubs and showing he can again be a productive hitter.
He went from winning the NL MVP with the Dodgers in 2019 to being cut by Los Angeles in November.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Matt Carpenter agreed Tuesday to a $12 million, two-year contract with the San Diego Padres after reviving his career with the New York Yankees in a season cut short by injury.
The agreement for the infielder/outfielder could be worth $21 million over two seasons if he has 550 plate appearances in each year.
Free-agent reliever Seth Lugo and the San Diego Padres have agreed on a $15 million, two-year contract, a person with knowledge of the deal said Monday night.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical and no announcement had been made.
NEW YORK (AP) — American League MVP Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees on Tuesday finalized their $360 million, nine-year contract, the third-largest deal in baseball history.
New York announced the agreement and called a news conference for Wednesday at Yankee Stadium to discuss the contract, which was agreed to on Dec.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays will split their spring training between the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee and Tropicana Field because their own facility on Florida's Gulf Coast was damaged by Hurricane Ian, the team said Tuesday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals and well-traveled right-hander Jordan Lyles have agreed to a $17 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Verlander's phone rang in November. New York Mets owner Steve Cohen was on the line.
“It really wasn’t a baseball call. It was just a ‘Hey, this is Steve. You’re Justin.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Tom Browning, an All-Star pitcher who threw the only perfect game in Cincinnati Reds history and helped them win a World Series title, died on Monday. He was 62.
The Boone County Sheriff's Office announced Browning's death on Twitter, saying he died at his home in Union, Kentucky.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Noah Syndergaard is hoping to have the same success on a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers as Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney.
“I feel like everything they touch turns to gold,” Syndergaard said during a conference call Monday.
ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves signed veteran outfielder Jordan Luplow, who has a .213 batting average in six seasons, to a $1.4 million, one-year contract on Monday.
The 29-year-old Luplow hit .176 with 11 homers and drove in 28 runs in 83 games with Arizona in 2022.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies gave general manager Sam Fuld a contract extension that will take him through the 2025 season.
The National League champion Phillies also extended the contracts of assistant general managers Ned Rice and Jorge Velandia through the 2025 season.
TORONTO (AP) — Chris Bassitt didn’t need the Toronto Blue Jays to sell him on what they were building. The All-Star right-hander already had done his research and decided which teams he was willing to engage in free agency.