PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Yoenis Céspedes arrived at spring training and was as silent as his bat has been for most of the past two seasons. The New York Mets outfielder stepped back toward his locker as the media approached before the team's first full-squad workout on Monday and said, “Not today, not tomorrow, not at all this year” when asked if he would talk. A two-time All-Star, Céspedes said he felt no obligation to speak with the media. “Because I don’t want to,” he explained.Asked whether he would speak to his fans, he replied: “To my fans, maybe."Céspedes turned his back to media, spritzed cologne on and forcefully put the bottle down in his locker. Céspedes hit and ran but did not break with the outfielders as the horn sounded for the fielders to break into two groups when the Mets took the field for the first time in spring training. Against reliever Michael Wacha in batting practice, Céspedes turned on a curve and drove it just left of the foul pole in left field — with home-run... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Miguel Cabrera acknowledged Monday that he has something to prove after a disappointing season. But the Detroit Tigers slugger is definitely done tinkering with his swing."I don't want to change my swing anymore," Cabrera said before the Tigers' first full-squad workout of the spring. “I just want to be natural. The last three years I've been changing my swing a lot to feel comfortable at home plate.”Hobbled by a sore right knee, Cabrera tried making several adjustments to get through the 2019 season. In 136 games, he hit .282 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs — all well below his career standards.Manager Ron Gardenhire said a big part of the lack of production was Cabrera's weight, which drifted well over his official playing weight of 249 pounds.Cabrera was noticeably trimmer upon showing up for his 13th Tigers spring, and he said the knee feels "pretty good.""Last year I was heavy," he said. "I think I lost a lot of weight from last year to this year. I tried to eat... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — On the day position players reported to camp, the Washington Nationals finally got around to putting up a sign on the ivy-covered wall near the entrance to their spring training facility with a curly "W," a rendering of the Capitol dome and, most significantly, the proclamation "2019 WORLD CHAMPIONS.""Now we are happy to come back," slugger Juan Soto said, "and show the people we can do it again."And two of the reasons the Nationals did what they did last season -- and, more significantly, figure repeating is a realistic goal to pursue this season -- also showed up Monday: Soto and an enthusiastic cabbage race.Say what?Yes, the daily schedule posted in the clubhouse proclaimed this "National Cabbage Day," alongside a separate piece of paper listing the rosters for two teams of 20 pitchers and catchers each, one captained by Max Scherzer, the other by Stephen Strasburg. At precisely 9:30 a.m., clubhouse and equipment manager Mike Wallace strode outside carrying... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Mike Trout thinks the Houston Astros should pay more dearly for their cheating ways.The Los Angeles Angels' three-time AL MVP ripped the Astros and questioned the discipline handed out by Major League Baseball on Monday after he reported to spring training. Trout joined the chorus of prominent big leaguers angry about Houston's rampant sign stealing on its way to the 2017 World Series title and beyond.“It’s sad for baseball,” he said. "It’s tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing. It sucks, too, because guys' careers have been affected. A lot of people lost jobs. It was tough.“Me going up to the plate knowing what was coming? It would be fun up there. A lot of guys lost respect for some of the guys.”Trout said a few members of the Astros reached out to him during the offseason to explain their side, but Trout didn't sound impressed.“You don’t know what helped them or what not,” he said. “But... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Red Sox owner John Henry says he knows why Boston fans are angry the team traded Mookie Betts.“When I say I understand how many of you feel about this trade with the Dodgers, I know many of you — particularly our youngest fans — are disbelieving or angry or sad about it. I know it’s difficult and disappointing,” Henry said Monday, reading from a statement on the first day of full-team workouts.Henry answered questions for about 30 minutes along with chairman Tom Werner and team president Sam Kennedy. Half of them addressed the trade of Betts and David Price to Los Angeles for outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects: infielder Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong. Boston will send $96 million to the Dodgers, which matches half of the $96 million owed to Price for the next three seasons, and shed itself of Betts' $27 million salary for this year.“This trade gives us a lot of flexibility,’ Werner said. “We have made unpopular trades — not all of them have worked out... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Adalberto Mondesi might be one of the best kept secrets in baseball.The only player to make his big league debut in the World Series, the 24-year-old Mondesi has blossomed into an emerging star for the Kansas City Royals.Last season, his 10 triples tied for the most in the majors and his 43 stolen bases ranked second. He did that despite injuries limiting him to 102 games.In 2018, Mondesi became the only player to record at least 14 home runs and steal 32 bases in no more than 75 games.“I don’t think the baseball world has any idea how good this kid can be,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Just look at some of the best shortstops and some of the ones that are getting the most attention and this guy can do everything they do and then some. He’s a special player and he’s a special person.”Mondesi went on the injured list twice last year with a groin strain and left shoulder trouble. He again hurt his shoulder in the final week while diving for a ball and had surgery... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Mike Trout thinks the Houston Astros should pay more dearly for their cheating ways.The Los Angeles Angels' three-time AL MVP ripped the Astros and questioned the discipline handed out by Major League Baseball on Monday after he reported to spring training.“It’s sad for baseball,” Trout said. "It’s tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing. It sucks, too, because guys' careers have been affected. A lot of people lost jobs. It was tough.“Me going up to the plate knowing what was coming? It would be fun up there. A lot of guys lost respect for some of the guys.”Trout didn't make a suggestion for what the Astros players' punishment should have been, but the scandal obviously touched a nerve in the Halos' brilliant center fielder, who has spent his entire career playing against Houston in the AL West.“Obviously the GM got fired and Hinch got fired," Trout said of punishments for Jeff Luhnow and... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Javier Báez wants his Chicago Cubs to be better prepared this season. The two-time All-Star said Sunday at spring training that he and the Cubs were lacking last year when it came to their pregame routines and work ethic.“We had a lot of optional things, not mandatory, and everyone kind of sat back on that — including me. I wasn’t really going out there and preparing for the game. I was getting ready during the game, which is not good,” Báez said. “But this year, I think before the games, everybody should be out there as a team, stretch as a team, be together as a team so we can play together.”Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein said last week he could think of only two times in 18 years of running major league clubs that he felt “basic organizational standards for work, preparation and behavior” were not being met.He didn’t point specifically at the 2019 Cubs, but after manager Joe Maddon’s departure, many are reading between the lines.New skipper David... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — A world away, Liam Hendriks had to do something to help everyone affected by the ravaging fires back home in Australia.The Oakland Athletics reliever campaigned on social media to do his part for the cause, no matter he grew up on the country's West Coast in Perth where the massive bush fires haven't been as devastating. He made a quick visit this offseason.On Instagram, Hendriks encouraged contributions to Red Cross Australia. While he fully supported everyone rescuing koala bears and other animals from the flames, he also wanted to make sure the people affected received necessary support.“Nothing is ever enough but the response was always positive, which is highly unusual for social media regardless of the tack you're taking," Hendriks said before a recent spring training workout. “We got a decent chunk of change that we sent over there. Hopefully it helps make a difference, but at the end of the day there's only so much we can do from over here. The awareness is the... [More]

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — With baseball ablaze over the Houston Astros' cheating scandal, commissioner Rob Manfred met with nearly half of the major leagues managers Sunday and told them to knock off any notion of get-even beanballs."I hope that I made it extremely clear to them that retaliation in-game by throwing at a batter intentionally will not be tolerated, whether it's Houston or anybody else," Manfred said. "It's dangerous and it is not helpful to the current situation."Cody Bellinger, Kris Bryant, Trevor Bauer and Carlos Correa were among the All-Stars recently trading threats, accusations and barbs as spring training opened. The revelation of Houston's sign-stealing scam, the punishment imposed by Major League Baseball and poorly received apologies by the Astros further enhanced anger across the sport, with players, club management and fans all joining in. "I think that the back and forth that's gone on is not healthy," Manfred said.Manfred had previously planned to attend a news... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — The son's stay in town has outlasted the father's. The irony isn't lost on Jacob Stallings.It wasn't necessarily supposed to be this way. Stallings was still a catching prospect — and not necessarily a young one — in the Pirates' organization four years ago when his dad Kevin left a successful run as the men's basketball coach at Vanderbilt to take on the same job at the University of Pittsburgh. The marriage between the elder Stallings and the Panthers lasted all of two nightmarish seasons. By the spring of 2018, Pitt moved on. It seemed the younger Stallings might meet the same fate. Pittsburgh designated for him assignment several times as he pogoed between the minors and the majors after making his debut in 2016. The odds of him ever sticking in Pittsburgh seeming to grow more and more remote as his mid-20s turned into his late-20s.Yet rather than worry about it, Stallings buried himself in the game. When he spent the first half of 2019 as the third catcher while... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Cameron Maybin is starting his third stint with the Detroit Tigers.This one feels a bit different.“The first two times around, there were a lot of familiar faces," the veteran outfielder said Sunday. "Not that many now.”Maybin began his big league career with Detroit in 2007 and was enough of a prospect that he was traded for Miguel Cabrera. He returned to the Tigers in 2016 after a trade, and now the 32-year-old Maybin is back again after agreeing to a one-year contract.Maybin was a first-round draft pick for Detroit in 2005, and when he arrived in the majors, the Tigers were coming off a World Series appearance and were on their way to about a decade of consistent contention. They still had star pitcher Justin Verlander when Maybin returned in 2016, and that team nearly made the postseason.Now, however, Detroit is rebuilding. The Tigers still have Cabrera, but it's the team's young prospects who may end up getting much of the attention from fans in spring training.... [More]

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer says he has gotten positive response to his criticism of a plan being considered by Major League Baseball to expand the playoffs, one that includes an extended break for top seeds and some teams choosing who they will play.Bauer directed his ire toward Commissioner Rob Manfred in a tweet last week: “Your proposal is absurd for too many reasons to type on twitter and proves you have absolutely no clue about baseball. You’re a joke.” Deep into a lengthy with ESPN aired Sunday about the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, Manfred was asked specifically about his reaction to Bauer’s tweet that characterized the commissioner as a joke. “Well, I think if you look back on the questions we’ve already gone through, I’m pretty good about accepting people’s views and criticisms,” Manfred told ESPN. “I don’t have to agree with them, and I’ll say this about that particular comment. No matter how much, how completely I disagreed with what... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Be it on a Triple-A field in Syracuse or a tennis court in South Asia, Tim Tebow is still working, hoping for a shot at the majors.Now 32, the former celebrated quarterback is back for his fifth year as a minor league outfielder for the New York Mets.A two-time national champion at Florida who won the Heisman Trophy and later a playoff-winning QB for the Denver Broncos, Tebow was contacted by the XFL in its return to football action this season. He said he loves the opportunity the league is giving to players who will eventually, he feels, make an NFL roster.“But for me, this is what I wanted to do and pursue it and be all-in. When I’m 50, I can’t come back and do this," Tebow said Sunday at the Mets' spring training complex. “This is part of a season and a time, and I feel I’m in that season. I don’t know when I’ll feel like I’m out."Tebow’s steady dedication has resulted in some odd workout locations, including one in the Maldives last month with his wife,... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Jeff Samardzija calls himself old school, and that seems fairly fitting given the San Francisco Giants’ veteran right-hander is now 35 and entering his 13th major league season.But he sounds willing to embrace the style of his new manager, Gabe Kapler. In fact, the two spent some time together during the offseason in the Bay Area after Kapler was hired in November.“He’s good, man. I’m excited for the young guys to get to be around him and he’s going to be a great liaison for those guys to figure out what it’s going to take to be successful here,” Samardzija said.After four seasons with Bruce Bochy, whose managerial style was in line with Samardzija’s approach to the game, the pitcher realizes a new regime isn’t necessarily a bad thing.“I’m excited to see his way,"' he said.Samardzija didn’t need much time to process the change in managers. He has been around the game long enough to know nothing stays the same forever.“This is what we do,” he said. “There’s turnover... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Nolan Arenado said he never went as far as to request a trade from the Colorado Rockies in the wake of feeling a “disrespect” from the club given he was part of trade discussions this offseason, and the All-Star third baseman is ready to move forward despite frustrations with a quiet winter by his team.“There was different talks. I wouldn't say it went to those lengths,” Arenado said Sunday, when he reported to Rockies camp ahead of Monday's first full-squad workout. It has nearly been a year since Arenado signed a $260 million, eight-year contract — and now it's unclear how long he will stay.“I'm committed here. I'm here and I'm ready to go out there, I'm going to play hard," he said. "I'm not going to be a negative presence in that locker room. That's never really been my style. So I feel like I'm going to be me, nothing's going to change. I want to win."Arenado said he sent text messages to teammates and that he is committed to Colorado as spring training begins... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Free agent pitcher Chad Bettis signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees on Sunday with an invitation an invitation to big league spring training.The 30-year-old right-hander was 1-6 with one save and a 6.08 ERA in 39 games, including three starts, for Colorado last season. He went on the injured list Aug. 14 with a left hip impingement and didn't pitch the rest of the year.Bettis has pitched in parts of seven seasons in the majors, all for Colorado. He is 31-31 with one save and a 5.12 ERA in 164 games, 92 of them starts.Bettis was diagnosed with testicular cancer in November 2016 after going 14-8 in the Rockies' rotation. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy and returned to the majors in August 2017, throwing seven shutout innings to beat Atlanta at Coors Field.___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Dusty Baker wants action from Major League Baseball: End the criticism of the Astros from across baseball over sign stealing, and take steps to ensure pitchers don't throw at his players.“It's not good for the game, it's not good for kids to see it, so I think both,” the new Houston manager said Saturday. “Stop the comments and also stop something before it happens.”Baker spoke in response to a wave of harsh comments during spring training about the Astros' use of video to steal signs in 2017 and 2018. Los Angeles Dodger first baseman Cody Bellinger said Friday the Astros “stole” the 2017 World Series title from them and adds that Jose Altuve did likewise with the MVP, denying the Yankees' Aaron Judge.Houston players, management and ownership spent the first day of camp apologizing for their actions and professing remorse. But many players and front offices around the league didn't feel they went far enough.Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said he wanted... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant realized all along his service-time grievance against the team would be tough to win, and he still believes how he handled himself might help players in the future.The 28-year-old Bryant will be eligible for free agency in two years after arbitrator Mark Irvings ruled against the third baseman last month. If Bryant had been successful, he could have become a a free agent after the 2020 season.Irvings' decision was applauded by Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.“I just saw this as a process that is eventually going to help the players in the next round of negotiating and I was going to be that guy to have the courage to do it,” Bryant said Saturday, speaking to reporters for 35 minutes upon his arrival in Cubs camp.“I know there’s going to be backlash for it and I understand it. It was really important to me to stand up for what I believe in, what we as players believe in and that’s a good thing. There’s no hard feelings at all.” Bryant, who... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Back in a familiar bullpen, Greg Holland is hoping to recapture the glory days.Holland was part of the dominant Royals relief corps that led them to back-to-back World Series. He was a two-time All-Star selection and logged 145 of his career 205 saves with Kansas City.That bullpen also included Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera, who also were closers.“It’s a good feeling when you have a lead after six, that you’ve won the game. That was kind of the process,” Holland said. “That was a top bullpen from top to bottom for several years. That will be a lasting memory for me."“I try not to take too many steps down memory lane. I just try to stay in the moment,” he said.At 34, Holland is now at spring training with the Royals on a minor league contract. After having surgery near the end of the 2015 season, sitting out 2016 and pitching erratically the last two years, he is trying to earn a job in a bullpen that has a plethora of openings.“They gave me a chance to come into camp,... [More]