MLB

Option price on Royals' Merrifield tied to healthSURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) The price of Kansas City's 2023 option on second base Whit Merrifield is conditioned on the second baseman not spending more than 109 days on the injured list in each of the next four seasons.Merrifield and the Royals...

AP Baseball WriterDodgers SS Seager close to return after elbow, hip surgeriesBy STEPHEN HAWKINSGLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) Corey Seager never really wanted to know what the next step was in his rehab process after the young Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop had the kind of elbow surgery more common for...

Associated PressNL MVP Yelich ready to work after short offseasonBy ANDREW WAGNERPHOENIX (AP) Christian Yelich had waited around long enough. He was ready to get back to work.The reigning NL MVP arrived at the Milwaukee Brewers' spring training facility Friday morning, four days before the team's first scheduled...

Associated PressMartin reunited with Kershaw, connecting with new teammatesBy THERESA SMITHGLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) Before the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled the trigger on their January trade to bring back catcher Russell Martin, they watched enough video to convince themselves he would bounce back from career lows in batting average...

Associated PressKemp looking for playing time with new Reds teamBy GARY SCHATZGOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) A week after outfielder Matt Kemp was traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds, he got a sideline pass for Oklahoma basketball game and had a chance meeting with another Oklahoma...

White Sox still waiting for Manny MachadoGLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Chicago White Sox opened spring training still waiting for Manny Machado.''We'll just see when it happens,'' first baseman Yonder Alonso, Machado's brother-in-law, said Wednesday.Machado, among the offseason's top free agents, still hasn't agreed to a deal. Alonso spoke...

AP Sports WriterMarlins open camp, and Don Mattingly knows decisions awaitBy TIM REYNOLDSJUPITER, Fla. (AP) There have been years in his managerial career where Don Mattingly has arrived for the first day of spring training without any mystery regarding who would be on the 25-man roster coming out...

Even Pirates optimistic as spring training startsBRADENTON, Fla. (AP) Optimism always runs high on the first day of spring training, even for the Pittsburgh Pirates.''This club has a feel that we can be a postseason team, that we can be a team that can advance deep in the...

Padres expect competition for rotation spots this springPEORIA, Ariz. (AP) Besides figuring out how to fill the glaring hole at third base, San Diego Padres manager Andy Green will have a lot of decisions to make this spring to round out the young, largely inexperienced rotation.With veterans Clayton...

Nola, Phillies agree to $45M, 4-year deal, avoid arbitrationCLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) Pitcher Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a $45 million, four-year contract, avoiding a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for this week.The 25-year-old right-hander set career bests last year when he was a first-time All-Star,...

Bauer, Cole, Wood win in arbitration; players ahead 6-3ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole and Alex Wood won their salary arbitration cases on Wednesday, giving players a 6-3 advantage over teams to ensure a winning record in consecutive years for the first time since 1989-90.Bauer won...

AP Sports WriterDiamondbacks open spring training with pitching questionsBy JOHN MARSHALLSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Arizona Diamondbacks will spend spring training trying to find a way to fill the void left after slugging first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was traded to St. Louis this offseason.Filling Goldschmidt's cleats was not the...