NEW YORK (AP) — Right-hander David Phelps and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the deal had not yet been announced.Phelps, a 32-year-old free agent who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, can earn an additional $3.25 million in performance bonuses this year as part of the agreement, and the Blue Jays have a $1 million team option for 2020 that could escalate to $8 million depending on appearances and games finished this year.He tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm on March 17 during his final pitch in a spring training outing against the Los Angeles Angels, and he had surgery March 26.Phelps was 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 10 relief appearances in 2017 for Seattle, which acquired him from Miami that July 20. He had a $5.55 million salary last season.During six major league seasons with the New York Yankees... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Right-hander David Phelps and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the deal had not yet been announced.Phelps, a 32-year-old free agent who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, has performance bonuses in the agreement, and the Blue Jays have a 2020 team option that includes an escalator.He tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm on March 17 during his final pitch in a spring training outing against the Los Angeles Angels, and he had surgery March 26.Phelps was 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 10 relief appearances in 2017 for Seattle, which acquired him from Miami that July 20. He had a $5.55 million salary last season.During six major league seasons with the New York Yankees (2012-14), Miami (2015-17) and the Mariners, Phelps is 30-33 with a 3.89 ERA and five saves in 64 starts and 164 relief appearances.His agreement was first reported by ESPN.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that right-hander David Phelps and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the deal had not yet been announced.Phelps, a 32-year-old free agent who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, has performance bonuses in the agreement, and the Blue Jays have a 2020 team option that includes an escalator.He tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm on March 17 during his final pitch in a spring training outing against the Los Angeles Angels, and he had surgery March 26.Phelps was 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 10 relief appearances in 2017 for Seattle, which acquired him from Miami that July 20.His agreement was first reported by ESPN.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brian Dozier found his latest team — and the Washington Nationals found a temporary solution at second base.The free agent infielder and the Nationals agreed to a $9 million, one-year contract, subject to the successful completion of a physical exam, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday.The person confirmed the deal on condition of anonymity because neither the club nor player had made an announcement.Dozier, who played for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers last season, would fill Washington's need for a new starting second baseman and could help add some power to the lineup, particularly important if slugging outfielder Bryce Harper ends up leaving the Nationals as a free agent.By only committing to Dozier for one season, the Nationals leave open the possibility of turning to leading infield prospect Carter Kieboom at second base in 2020.The 31-year-old Dozier's agreement with Washington was first reported by ESPN.Dozier... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that free agent infielder Jed Lowie and the New York Mets have agreed to a $20 million, two-year contract.The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Thursday because the agreement is subject to a successful physical.Lowrie is a switch-hitter who turns 35 in April and is coming off his first All-Star season.He set career highs with 23 homers and 99 RBIs last year for Oakland, hitting .267. While he played mostly second base for the Athletics during the past three seasons, he figures to see time at third and first with the Mets, who acquired second baseman Robinson Cano from Seattle.Lowrie is the fifth All-Star added by the Mets this offseason, following Cano, closer Edwin Diaz, catcher Wilson Ramos and reliever Jeurys Familia, traded to Oakland last summer and then re-signed by New York as a free agent.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Jay sees the rebuilding Chicago White Sox poised for big things with promising young players. He's looking forward to being a part of it."It's a great organization, a great city," he said.The free agent outfielder and the White Sox finalized a $4 million, one-year contract on Thursday.The 33-year-old played for Kansas City and Arizona last season, batting .268 with three homers and 40 RBIs in 143 games. He also made at least 24 starts at each spot in the outfield.The addition gives the White Sox another veteran hitter after they struck out 1,594 times last season, tops in the majors. Jay also is friends with slugger Manny Machado, one of Chicago's top targets in free agency."Manny's going to do what's best for his family," Jay said. "That's going to be up to them, privately. I haven't been involved in any of that. Those are their matters. Let's see how everything shakes out. Obviously, would we love to have Manny Machado on the team? Absolutely. The guy is unbelievable.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Left-handed reliever Luis Avilan has agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Mets and will report to major league spring training.The 29-year-old Venezuelan held left-handed batters to a .220 (18 for 82) average last year, when he was 2-1 with a 3.77 ERA and two saves in 70 games for the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia.He is 19-10 with a 3.09 ERA in seven major league seasons, also pitching for Atlanta and the Los Angeles Dodgers. His fastball average velocity has dropped from 94 mph in 2015 to 90.6 mph last year, according to Brooks Baseball.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Free agent outfielder Jon Jay and the Chicago White Sox have finalized a $4 million, one-year contract.The 33-year-old Jay played for Kansas City and Arizona last season, batting .268 with three homers and 40 RBIs in 143 games. He also made at least 24 starts at each spot in the outfield.The addition of Jay gives the White Sox another veteran hitter after they struck out 1,594 times last season, tops in the majors. Jay also is friends with slugger Manny Machado, one of Chicago's top targets in free agency.The White Sox announced the deal Thursday. They cleared a roster spot by designating outfielder Charlie Tilson for assignment.Jay, a Miami native, is a .285 career hitter in nine years in the majors. He made his debut with St. Louis in 2010 and helped the crosstown Cubs win the NL Central in 2017.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brian Dozier found his latest team — and the Washington Nationals found a temporary solution at second base.The free agent infielder and the Nationals agreed to a $9 million, one-year contract, subject to the successful completion of a physical exam, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday.The person confirmed the deal on condition of anonymity because neither the club nor player had made an announcement.Dozier, who played for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers last season, would fill Washington's need for a new starting second baseman and could help add some power to the lineup, particularly important if slugging outfielder Bryce Harper ends up leaving the Nationals as a free agent.By only committing to Dozier for one season, the Nationals leave open the possibility of turning to leading infield prospect Carter Kieboom at second base in 2020.The 31-year-old Dozier's agreement with Washington was first reported by ESPN.Dozier... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that free-agent second baseman Brian Dozier and the Washington Nationals have agreed to a $9 million, one-year contract, subject to the successful completion of a physical exam.The person confirmed the deal on condition of anonymity Thursday because neither the club nor player had announced the deal.Dozier, who played for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers last season, would fill Washington's need for a new starting second baseman and could help add some power to the lineup, particularly important if slugging outfielder Bryce Harper ends up leaving the Nationals as a free agent.By only committing to Dozier for one season, the Nationals leave open the possibility of turning to leading prospect Carter Kieboom at second base in 2020.Dozier's agreement was first reported by ESPN.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Catcher Yasmani Grandal and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to an $18.25 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the agreement, first reported by The Athletic, was subject to a successful physical.Grandal turned down a $17.9 million qualifying offer from the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers in November. He would be eligible for free agency again after this year's World SeriesNow 30, Grandal was an All-Star in his first season with the Dodgers in 2015. He hit .241 this year with 24 homers and 68 RBIs as Los Angeles won its second straight NL pennant. He made $7.9 million.Grandal has a .240 big league career average with 113 home runs in seven seasons. He would supplant Manny Pina and Erik Katz, who combined to get the most games behind the plate for Milwaukee last season.He is the second player to reach agreement among the six who turned down qualifying... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that catcher Yasmani Grandal and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to an $18.25 million, one-year contract.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the agreement, first reported by The Athletic, was subject to a successful physical.Grandal turned down a $17.9 million qualifying offer from the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers in November.Now 30, he was an All-Star in his first season with the Dodgers in 2015. He hit .241 this year with 24 homers and 68 RBIs as Los Angeles won its second straight NL pennant.Grandal would supplant Manny Pina and Erik Katz, who combined to get the most games behind the plate for Milwaukee last season.He is the second player to reach agreement among the six who turned down qualifying offers. Pitcher Patrick Corbin agreed to a $140 million, six-year contract with Washington.Outfielders Bryce Harper and A.J. Pollock remain on the market along with left-hander Dallas Keuchel and closer Craig Kimbrel.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Free agent right-hander Shelby Miller signed a $2 million, one-year contract with the Texas Rangers on Wednesday and can make another $3 million in performance bonuses.The Rangers expect Miller to be fully healthy by the start of spring training. The 28-year-old had Tommy John surgery in May 2017 while with Arizona, and he made four only starts last year with the Diamondbacks before going on the disabled list in mid-July with right elbow inflammation. He made one relief appearance at the end of last season."We see this as a chance to add a relatively young, power pitcher to the staff," general manager Jon Daniels said. "Healthy now after rehabbing last year, we think Shelby has more in the tank."Miller, who is from Brownwood, Texas, was the 19th overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2009 MLB draft. He is 37-53 with a 3.83 ERA in 131 games (124 starts) over seven big league seasons with St. Louis, Atlanta and Arizona.With the Rangers, Miller can earn $1.75... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Free agent right-hander Shelby Miller signed a $2 million, one-year contract with the Texas Rangers on Wednesday and can make another $3 million in performance bonuses.The Rangers expect Miller to be fully healthy by the start of spring training. The 28-year-old had Tommy John surgery in May 2017, and he made four only starts last year before going on the disabled list in mid-July with right elbow inflammation. He made one relief appearance at the end of last season."We see this as a chance to add a relatively young, power pitcher to the staff," general manager Jon Daniels said. "Healthy now after rehabbing last year, we think Shelby has more in the tank."Miller, who is from Brownwood, Texas, was the 19th overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2009 MLB draft. He is 37-53 with a 3.83 ERA in 131 games (124 starts) over seven big league seasons with St. Louis, Atlanta and Arizona.With the Rangers, Miller can earn $1.75 million in bonuses based on innings: $100,000... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Free agent right-hander Shelby Miller has signed a $2 million, one-year contract with the Texas Rangers and can make another $3 million in performance bonuses.The Rangers said Wednesday that Miller is expected to be fully healthy by the start of spring training. The 28-year-old had Tommy John surgery in May 2017, and he made four only starts last year before going on the disabled list in mid-July with right elbow inflammation. He made one relief appearance at the end of last season.Miller, who is from Brownwood, Texas, was the 19th overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2009 MLB draft.He is 37-53 with a 3.83 ERA in 131 games (124 starts) over seven big league seasons with St. Louis, Atlanta and Arizona.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SEATTLE (AP) — Former No. 2 overall pick Dustin Ackley is returning to the Seattle Mariners on a minor-league deal after spending the past two seasons in the minors with the Los Angeles Angels, according to a person familiar with the deal.The person spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. It reunites Ackley with the team that took him second in the 2009 draft.Ackley had a rocky career with the Mariners after being touted as one of the top college hitters. He made a promising debut in 2011, but his production decreased from there. Ackley hit .243 in parts of five seasons with the Mariners, but never came close to matching the .273 average of his first season.Ackley was traded to the New York Yankees in July 2015 and appeared in 51 games over two seasons with the Yankees. He spent the past two seasons with Triple-A Salt Lake in the Angels organization.___AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Kelvin Herrera helped the Kansas City Royals build to a World Series championship. He sees similar potential with the Chicago White Sox.The two-time All-Star reliever and the White Sox finalized an $18 million, two-year contract on Tuesday.Herrera will earn $8.5 million in each of the next two years as part of the deal, and the White Sox have a $10 million option for 2021 with a $1 million buyout. The option would become guaranteed it he appears at least in 110 games as a pitcher during the next two seasons, including at least 55 in 2020, and he passes a physical at the end of the 2020 season.Herrera was part of a dominant bullpen that helped Kansas City win back-to-back pennants and the 2015 World Series. He hopes to help the rebuilding White Sox complete a similar climb."I'm excited for the direction this team has taken," he said through an interpreter. "It resembles my time with Kansas City when I was starting. We were in the rebuilding mode, and we were just trying to... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians avoided salary arbitration with new catcher Kevin Plawecki, who agreed to a one-year contract for $1,137,500.Plawecki was acquired Sunday from the New York Mets. He made $557,471 last season, when he batted .201 with seven homers and a career-high 30 RBIs.Cleveland needed another experienced catcher after trading prospect Francisco Mejia at last year's trade deadline and sending All-Star Yan Gomes to Washington in December. Plawecki could share time with Roberto Perez.The 27-year-old Plawecki spent six weeks last season on the disabled list with a broken left hand. He threw out 23 percent (16 for 70) of potential base stealers and had two four-RBI games.After signing Wilson Ramos, the Mets didn't have any roster space for Plawecki, who was out of options.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Spending on Major League Baseball payrolls dropped last season for the first time since 2010, an $18 million decrease attributable to drug and domestic violence suspensions and a player retiring at midseason.Still, even a year with flat payrolls is unusual for MLB. The only previous drops since 2002 were by $3 million in 2010 and by $32 million in 2004.Teams combined to spend $4.23 billion on major league payroll last year, according to final figures compiled by the commissioner's office and obtained by The Associated Press. The decrease followed an offseason with a weak free-agent class that failed to push the average higher.Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano lost about $11.7 million and Chicago White Sox catcher Welington Castillo approximately $3.5 million after positive drug tests. Closer Roberto Osuna's domestic violence suspension cost him roughly $2.1 million from Toronto and Houston, and Baltimore outfielder Colby Rasmus walked away from about $1.5 million rather... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Left-hander Hector Santiago has agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Mets.Santiago would get a $2 million salary in the major leagues and $150,000 in the minors if added to the 40-man roster as part of the deal announced Tuesday. He would be able to earn $500,000 in performance bonuses: $100,000 each for five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 starts.The 31-year-old will report to major league spring training. He had a 4.50 ERA and two saves in 42 relief appearances and seven starts last year for the Chicago White Sox. He also struck out 103 in 102 innings but allowed 102 hits and 60 walks.He is 46-49 with a 4.06 ERA and six saves in eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins, making 137 starts and 101 relief appearances.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports