MLB

Wieters joins Nationals; Judge hits long homer for YankeesBy The Associated PressWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Matt Wieters finally has a new team. One crazy accident turned his free agency into a harrowing experience.Wieters cut his left wrist when a five-gallon glass water container broke in his garage...

Cardinals sign Cuban league MVP to minor league contractJUPITER, Fla. (AP) The St. Louis Cardinals have signed Cuban outfielder Jose Adolis Garcia to a minor league contract and invited him to their big league spring training camp.Garcia, the younger brother of Atlanta Braves third baseman Adonis Garcia, was...

Wieters joins Nationals; Judge hits long homer for YankeesBy The Associated PressWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Matt Wieters finally has a new team. One crazy accident turned his free agency into a harrowing experience.Wieters cut his left wrist when a five-gallon glass water container broke in his garage...

Strop agrees to deal adding $6.35M in guaranteed moneyMESA, Ariz. (AP) The Chicago Cubs and reliever Pedro Strop have agreed to a contract adding $6.35 million in guaranteed money through 2018, a deal that includes a club option for 2019.Strop agreed earlier this month to a $5.5 million,...

Associated PressNationals announce deal with free-agent catcher Matt WietersBy BILL WHITEHEADWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Matt Wieters said he managed to cut his left wrist severely by breaking a five-gallon glass water container in his garage on Nov. 1, delaying his offseason preparation - and, he thinks, his...

KISSIMMEE, Florida (AP) There are all sorts of ways to give baseball a much-needed boost of speed. Unfortunately, those in charge of the game are going about it all the wrong way at the moment. Extra inning gimmicks? Seven-inning games? Automatic intentional walks? ''All of it is stupid,'' Atlanta Braves second baseman Brandon Phillips...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) Eduardo Nunez finally got a chance to play regularly last season - and made the most of it. Nunez had career highs with 141 games, 553 at-bats, 159 hits, 16 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 67 RBIs. After five years in predominantly a utility role off...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) One of the best facts about this year's Arizona Diamondbacks: A.J. Pollock is back, healthy, and confident he can exceed the breakout season he put together in 2015. ''I'm not really living two years ago,'' the 29-year-old center fielder said Wednesday after playing one inning in an...

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) Josh Hamilton was back in Texas on Wednesday to have his surgically reconstructed left knee examined after he experienced discomfort during the Rangers' first full-squad spring training workout. The 2010 AL MVP, at spring training with a minor league contract, felt stiffness while doing some running drills...

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) No one in Chicago White Sox camp is happier for a new season than James Shields. The right-hander, brought in to bolster a pitching staff on a team expected to contend last season, saw his fortunes fall with the team's place in the standings. Now, with a team...

Russell was laying on his mom's bed in the house he bought the family in Pensacola, Florida, with his signing bonus. His Shih Tzu-poodle mix puppy, Oakley, started licking his face. Tears started flowing. ''That's when all the memories from this past year, from spring training to the middle of the...

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) Starling Marte, the guy displacing Andrew McCutchen in center field for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year, hasn't played the position regularly since the minor leagues. Since making his big league debut in 2012, Marte has made all but 42 of his 544 starts in left. An NL...