WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Washington Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle moves a glove out of the way as he reaches into a shelf in his spring training locker and grabs a different one, which he then hands over with a simple, if unusual, instruction: “Smell it.” So, of course, you do -- getting a sweet whiff of lavender, the sort you might get from a candle or bowl of potpourri. And now you know what Doolittle sniffed each time he jutted his right elbow toward home plate and tucked his glove under his chin to get his catcher's signs during last season's World Series.At the suggestion of Washington's director of mental conditioning, Mark Campbell, Doolittle put lavender oil on the leather laces around the webbing of his glove for the postseason. It helped the lefty relax on the mound after a rocky regular season, much the way the bullpen as a whole morphed from disaster to asset in 2019, a trend of improvement the club figures will continue in 2020."I was so nervous during the playoffs.... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale will start the season on the injured list, manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday. Sale, who reported to camp with pneumonia and is behind schedule, will be placed on the 15-day injured list and will remain in Fort Myers for extended spring training when the team breaks camp.“With the sickness, it cost him two weeks’ time and that two weeks is what we’d like to give him to make sure that he’s right,” Roenicke said. “He’s worked hard on getting his arm right and we didn’t think four starts in spring training was fair to him."Sale ended last season on the injured list with elbow inflammation, making his last appearance Aug. 13 at Cleveland, where he gave up five runs with 12 strikeouts in 6 ? innings. Roenicke emphasized this trip to the injured list is not related to Sale’s elbow.“Nothing at all with the arm, he’s doing really good with that,” Roenicke said. “We’re really happy with that. This is strictly for missing two weeks and... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Washington Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle moves a glove out of the way as he reaches into a shelf in his spring training locker and grabs a different one, which he then hands over with a simple, if unusual, instruction: “Smell it.” So, of course, you do -- getting a sweet, soothing whiff of lavender, the sort you might get from a candle or bowl of potpourri. And now you know what Doolittle sniffed each time he jutted his right elbow toward home plate and tucked his glove under his chin to get his catcher's signs during last season's World Series.At the suggestion of Washington's director of mental conditioning, Mark Campbell, Doolittle put lavender oil on the leather laces around the webbing of his glove for the postseason. It helped the lefty relax on the mound after a rocky regular season, much the way the bullpen as a whole morphed from disaster to asset in 2019, a trend of improvement the club figures will continue in 2020."I was so nervous during the... [More]

GOODYEAR, Arizona (AP) — Indians reliever Emmanuel Clase could be sidelined three months with a strained back muscle, another blow to Cleveland's pitching staff.The hard-throwing Clase, the centerpiece of an offseason trade that sent two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to Texas, experienced upper arm discomfort following a bullpen session last week. He continued to have issues this week and the Indians had him undergo imaging tests Wednesday.An MRI confirmed a moderate strain of the teres major muscle in his upper back. The team said he will be re-evaluated weekly, but the 21-year-old is expected to miss 8-to-12 weeks of game activity.Clase was expected to have a role in the back end of Cleveland's bullpen.It's been a tough start to camp for Indians pitchers as starters Mike Clevinger (knee surgery), Carlos Carrasco (hip flexor) and Aaron Civale (sore groin) are all sidelined. Clevinger is making progress but is not expected to be ready for major league games until at least mid-April.Clase's fastball has been clocked over 100 mph. He made 21 appearances for the Rangers last season and recorded 21 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.Before being hurt, he had been impressive this spring. Manager Terry Francona noted after a session earlier in camp that Clase was "throwing 100 mph bowling balls. It was heavy. It looked really heavy.”___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sport s

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston's Alex Bregman was hit on the back by a breaking ball from St. Louis reliever Ramon Santos on Wednesday, the seventh Astros player plunked in five spring training games.“It was a splitter,” Bregman said. “It just got away from him.”Some opposing players have called for retaliation against the Astros following Major League Baseball's finding that Houston broke rules against electronic sign-stealing en route to its 2017 World Series title and again in 2018.Dustin Garneau was hit Sunday against Washington, and José Altuve was grazed Monday against Detroit, when Osvaldo Duarte and Alex De Goti also were hit. Aledmys Díaz and Jake Meyers were hit Tuesday by Miami.Santos' 1-0 pitch in the fifth inning struck Bregman on the left shoulder blade. The two-time All-Star trotted to first, then was replaced by a pinch runner.“I think I got hit like 10 times last year, or something like that,” Bregman said. “One of them got me good last year, but that one was just... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Nervous or not, South Korean star Kwang Hyun Kim is proving problematic for major league hitters.The 31-year-old left-hander retired all six Miami batters he faced in his first Grapefruit League start for the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. It came after he threw one shutout inning of relief against the New York Mets on Saturday.“I was nervous today compared to my first appearance, against the Mets,” Kim said through an interpreter. "I had a long time to prepare, so that made me kind of nervous.”Kim struggled with control of his off-speed pitches in the first inning, but he found his rhythm in the second. He kept batters off balance mixing a fastball that touched 95 mph with his curve, eliciting some ugly swings and soft contact. The Marlins didn't get a ball out of the infield against Kim.“Last time against the Mets, because it was my first appearance, they tried to be patient,” Kim said. “Because I was aggressive today, pounding the strike zone, they were aggressive... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — It was only a short outing in a Cactus League game, but it meant a lot to Ubaldo Jimenez.The 36-year-old took another step in his comeback attempt with the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, pitching two innings against the Texas Rangers.Jimenez threw 21 pitches, 14 for strikes. He gave up two hits and one run, with no walks or strikeouts."It might be only a start for anyone else, but not for me," Jimenez said. "It felt great, especially coming back to the Rockies. It was fun. "I had to keep telling myself, 'Hey, just relax, don't try to do too much.' It was the first time that I've been out there in a while. I was able to step back and do my thing."The best year of Jimenez's career was 2010 with the Rockies. He was 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA and started the All-Star Game for the National League. He last pitched in the majors in 2017, when he was 6-11 with a 6.81 ERA in 25 starts for Baltimore.After taking 2018 off, he started throwing again last summer. He pitched in the... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Justin Verlander's spring training debut will be postponed at least a few more days while the Houston Astros ace deals with tightness in his groin.Verlander had been scheduled to start Thursday against Washington. Instead, he will throw a simulated game at the Astros' complex prior to that exhibition.Houston manager Dusty Baker said the tightness first appeared “a couple of days ago.”“He said he's doing good, so we'll just have to keep an eye on him and analyze him,” Baker said.Baker added that he isn't worried about the injury lingering and expects that, if all goes as planned on Thursday, Verlander would make his next scheduled start, likely early next week.“I would think so,” Baker said. “It just depends on how he feels.”Verlander won his second Cy Young Award last season by going 21-6 with a 2.52 ERA. His 225 career wins are the most among active players.The change of plans thwarts what would have been a marquee Grapefruit League pitching matchup.Washington is still planning to send Max Scherzer to the mound on Thursday. Scherzer tossed two scoreless innings at Houston in the Grapefruit League opener for both teams.Right-hander Christian Javier is now expected to get Thursday's start for Houston against Scherzer.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — For the Twins to land free agent Josh Donaldson, Miguel Sano knew what would be asked of him. He didn't hesitate.Instead, Sano sent a video to Donaldson, lobbying the 2015 American League MVP to join the Twins. The key to Sano's pitch: He would happily move across the infield to play first base with Donaldson taking over at third.Understand, too, that Sano has appeared in just 31 games at first base since making his big league debut in 2015, spending the last five seasons working to improve at third."The first time I met him, I saw that he's a really good guy and he's got a lot of energy," Sano said. "He's the kind of player that I love to see. He's positive and he loves the game. He likes to win and play hard. That's something that I see all the time."Just as his teammates saw what Sano did."The teammate that he was to kind of help on the recruiting process of JD, tell him, 'Hey, you can have third base, I'm willing to move to first base' I think needs to be put... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — George Springer could only stand there all alone and listen.The Houston Astros leadoff man had no choice when he stepped into the batter's box a bit too early and was showered with loud boos Wednesday at an exhibition game against the New York Mets.Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard turned and looked at the scoreboard clock that showed 1:09 p.m. — he waited for the minute to change so the game would officially reach the 1:10 start time, leaving Springer nowhere to go as the crowd heckled him.“Cheater! Cheater! Cheater!” one Mets fan along the first-base side chanted at Springer.The normal tranquility of a February game again was broken as a split squad of Astros continued the team's latest stop on their spring training tour of derisive boos and catcalls, the result of their exposed sign-steal scheme.Two days after José Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel got jeered for a game at Detroit's park in Lakeland, it was the Mets' turn to host at newly renovated... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton will likely miss opening day because of a strained right calf, another significant injury for a team that was beset by health problems last season.Manager Aaron Boone said Stanton was hurt near the end of defensive drills on Tuesday. An MRI found a Grade 1 strain."It will probably put us against it a little bit," Boone said Wednesday. "I would say it's time for him to get back, but then getting built up and stuff. We'll see."The announcement came a day after New York said All-Star pitcher Luis Severino needed Tommy John surgery and would miss the entire season. Slugger Aaron Judge and lefty James Paxton already had been slowed this spring by injuries.The Yankees put a major league-record 30 players on the injured list last year, with Stanton missing most of the season.Asked if felt snake-bitten, Boone replied “No.”The AL East champion Yankees open on March 26 at Baltimore.Stanton played in just 18 games due a number of injuries... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — For the Twins to land free agent Josh Donaldson, Miguel Sano knew what would be asked of him. He didn't hesitate.Instead, Sano sent a video to Donaldson, lobbying the 2015 American League MVP to join the Twins. The key to Sano's pitch: He would happily move across the infield to play first base with Donaldson taking over at third.Understand, too, that Sano has appeared in just 31 games at first base since making his big league debut in 2015, spending the last five seasons working to improve at third."The first time I met him, I saw that he's a really good guy and he's got a lot of energy," Sano said. "He's the kind of player that I love to see. He's positive and he loves the game. He likes to win and play hard. That's something that I see all the time."Just as his teammates saw what Sano did."The teammate that he was to kind of help on the recruiting process of JD, tell him, 'Hey, you can have third base, I'm willing to move to first base' I think needs to be put... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Steven Souza Jr. played in his third spring training game Wednesday, trying to make the most of an opportunity for quality playing time in the outfield for the Chicago Cubs this season.To make it to opening day healthy — a given for most players — would be a bigger deal for Souza, given that he hasn’t been able to do so in each of the past two years.Souza has overcome major knee surgery that cost him the entire 2019 season to be in Cubs camp and in position to earn a roster spot with the club.“What a blessing, I feel fantastic,” Souza said. “I’ve almost been waiting to not feel good. That probably sounds bad but I just think with how dramatic the surgery was, you just kind of are like waiting for something to be sore or even stiff.”But there is no discomfort for the moment, and Souza is running, swinging the bat and working out with nothing physical prohibiting him from doing what he enjoys the most. He’s got a bounce in his step, seen in the finger-snapping dance move... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Second baseman Brian Dozier would get a $2.2 million, one-year contract if added to the San Diego Padres' 40-man roster and would have the chance to earn $1.8 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances.Dozier agreed to a minor league contract Monday and hopes to win the starting job. His deal allows nine levels of bonuses: He would get $200,000 for 200 plate appearances and each additional 50 through 600.Jurickson Profar and Greg Garcia, both on the 40-man roster, are the leading candidates to share time at second for the Padres.The 32-year-old Dozier spent last season with the World Series champion Washington Nationals and hit .238 with 20 homers and 50 RBIs in 482 plate appearances. He was Washington's regular starter for most of the first four months but played only occasionally after Asdrúbal Cabrera signed with the Nationals in early August.A veteran of eight major league seasons with Minnesota (2012-18), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2018) and the Nationals, Dozier has a .245 career average with 192 homers and 562 RBIs.___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Brian Johnson knows about perseverance.Selected by Boston with the 31st overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft, the left-hander was hit on the face by a line drive that Aug. 18 at Fenway Park in his fourth professional appearance, a Class A game. He sustained multiple orbital fractures.Johnson recovered and made his big league debut for the Red Sox at Houston on July 21, 2015. He returned to Triple-A for two more starts but his season was cut short by elbow pain. That offseason, he was a passenger in a vehicle that was carjacked at gunpoint. He missed almost two months of the 2016 season due to anxiety and depression.Johnson made five starts for the Red Sox in 2017 — all wins — and his first opening day-roster in 2018 m when he had 13 starts and 25 relief appearances for a team that went on to win the World Series. He sank to 1-3 with a 6.02 ERA in seven starts and 14 relief appearances last year, was put on waivers, went unclaimed and was sent outright to Pawtucket."I... [More]

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — It’s still painful for reliever Chris Martin to talk about what happened in the playoffs.Game 1 of the NL Division Series last year. The 6-foot-7 reliever entered in the eighth inning against St. Louis with the Braves leading 3-1.After throwing his warmup pitches, Martin was finished.“I wanted to stay away from that question,” he said. “Real tough. One of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through.”Acquired from Texas in late July to help in those exact situations, Martin never threw a pitch in October. He suffered an oblique injury, underwent an MRI and was lost for the series.The Braves wound up losing the playoff opener 7-6 and eventually dropped the series in a decisive Game 5.“That hurt a lot,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Martin’s loss. “We win that first game and it’s a totally different series. That was a huge loss. At that time of year, you can’t afford to lose a guy like that.”To shore up their bullpen, the Braves signed Will Smith to a three-year,... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston ace Justin Verlander is slated to make his 2020 spring training debut on Thursday, when former teammate Max Schezer is scheduled to be on the mound for World Series champion Washington.The pair were teammates on the Detroit Tigers from 2010-14 and have combined for five Cy Young Awards.“It wasn't done intentionally. That is a pretty good match-up, though,” new Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “I'm sure you guys will hype it up.”Verlander won his second Cy Young last season, going 21-6 with a 2.52 ERA. His 225 wins are the most among active players. Zack Greinke, second among active pitchers with 205 wins, is to make his first spring training appearances the following day.Scherzer, a the three-time Cy Young winner, won the World Series opener last October and did not get a decision in Game 7. Verlander lost Games 2 and 6.Scherzer opened spring training with two scoreless innings against Houston on Saturday.Houston's starting outfielders from 2019 are... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — This isn’t quite how Chaim Bloom imagined things would go, back when he dreamed of running a baseball team.Less than two months after taking over the Red Sox — and with the start of spring training looming — Boston's new chief baseball officer needed to replace a World Series-winning manager. Then Bloom incurred the wrath of the Fenway fans when he traded Mookie Betts, the ballclub’s best player, as part of a salary dump. And the team is still sweating out the results of an investigation into whether it cheated when it won the championship in 2018.Like a manager reshuffling his rotation after an 18-inning game, Bloom has been forced to adjust — and quickly.“Baseball will throw different things at you every day,” he last week as he settled into his first spring training with the Red Sox. “I've been in baseball long enough to know that there's a lot of things about this business that don't go according to plan, and it throws you a lot of unexpected surprises. So the... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Kenta Maeda got off to a memorable start for the Minnesota Twins, that's for sure.The Twins newcomer gave up a home run to Boston's Andrew Benintendi to begin the game Monday, prompting the Japanese pitcher to laugh later."First time facing hitters so I just wanted to get that feel back," Maeda said through an interpreter. "And I wasn't scheduled to give up a home run on the first hitter, just so you know."Maeda threw 37 pitches in two innings, allowing two hits with one walk and one strikeout. The Twins won 3-2."Everything felt fine. Velocity is up there way more than I expected. It's just the little things that need to be refined, adjusted," he said.It's all about adjustments for Maeda right now.Maeda, 32 in April, is entering his fifth MLB season after four with the Dodgers and eight years in Japan. He went 10-8 with a 4.04 ERA last season for Los Angeles.Minnesota acquired the right-hander earlier this month in a deal that sent its top pitching prospect, right-hander... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Chris Archer was scratched from his scheduled Monday night against the New York Yankees and Gerrit Cole due to neck tightness.Pittsburgh said the move was precautionary and that Archer is day to day.Archer went 3-9 with a 5.19 ERA in 23 starts last season.Cole was scheduled to make his first start with the Yankees after signing a $324 million nine year contract as a free agent.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports