SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Right-hander Clay Buchholz is the Kansas City Royals' latest reclamation pitching project.The two-time All-Star and the Royals have finalized a minor league contract on Tuesday, and he would get a $1.5 million, one-year deal if added to the 40-man roster. The 32-year-old could earn $250,000 in performance bonuses: $25,000 per start from 10-19.Ryan Madson and Joe Blanton are among the pitchers who revived their careers with the Royals."It's just depth," manager Ned Yost said. "He pitched seven innings last year. He could bounce back like like Madson and Blanton did, two big bounce-back guys. We don't know. We'll just see how it plays out."Drafted by Boston with the 42nd overall pick in 2006, Buchholz made his debut in August 2007 and pitched a no-hitter against Baltimore in his second big league appearance. He was 81-61 in 10 seasons with the Red Sox and made four starts without a decision in the 2013 postseason as Boston won its third World Series title in a decade.Buchholz... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Right-hander Clay Buchholz is the Kansas City Royals' latest reclamation pitching project.The two-time All-Star and the Royals have finalized a minor league contract on Tuesday, and he would get a $1.5 million, one-year deal if added to the 40-man roster. The 32-year-old could earn $250,000 in performance bonuses: $25,000 per start from 10-19.Ryan Madson and Joe Blanton are among the pitchers who revived their careers with the Royals."It's just depth," manager Ned Yost said. "He pitched seven innings last year. He could bounce back like like Madson and Blanton did, two big bounce-back guys. We don't know. We'll just see how it plays out."Drafted by Boston with the 42nd overall pick in 2006, Buchholz made his debut in August 2007 and pitched a no-hitter against Baltimore in his second big league appearance. He was 81-61 in 10 seasons with the Red Sox and made four starts without a decision in the 2013 postseason as Boston won its third World Series title in a decade.Buchholz... [More]

The Los Angeles Dodgers might've caught a break with Justin Turner's broken wrist.The All-Star third baseman is expected to heal without surgery, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. No definitive word yet on how long Turner will be out.Turner was injured Monday night when he was hit by a pitch from Oakland's Kendall Graveman. The NL champion Dodgers open the regular season a week from Thursday."It's just essentially time," Roberts said. "That's the initial thought. That could change, but that's what I've heard."Turner had cast over his wrist when he arrived at camp in the morning. He was scheduled to see a hand specialist.Turner hit .322 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs last year. He had 14 RBIs in the postseason, including seven against the Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Series, when he and teammate Chris Taylor shared the MVP award.The Dodgers appear ready to move Logan Forsythe from second base to third in Turner's absence and have Enrique Hernandez and Chase Utley share time at second.ELSEWHERE... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Left-hander Brett Anderson is back pitching with the club for which he broke into the big leagues, reaching agreement on a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.The 30-year-old Anderson spent the 2009-13 seasons with the A's before being traded to the Rockies in December 2013. In nine years, he is 42-47 with a 4.04 ERA. He pitched for the Cubs and Toronto last year, going 4-4 with a 6.34 ERA in 13 starts and 55 1/3 innings.Oakland also just brought back Trevor Cahill, who came up with Anderson and hopes to earn a spot in the vacated by right-hander Jharel Cotton, who needs Tommy John surgery.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

PHOENIX (AP) — Even before the start of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers have their first hit.Milwaukee released a 2-minute, 35-second video celebrating the 25th anniversary of the movie "The Sandlot" last weekend, featuring Brewers players dressed as characters from the film reciting the movie's lines.Hank, the dog who is Milwaukee's mascot, played The Beast — a ferocious dog in the movie that the kids were frightened of when they went to retrieve home run balls. Hank is a cuddly white mixed-breed whom the Brewers adopted as a pup during spring training in 2014."It's probably my all-time favorite baseball movie," said infielder Eric Sogard, who with the spectacles he often wears was asked to play the role of Michael "Squints" Palledorous. "Anytime that movie's on, I love watching it. Squints, man, I play wearing glasses, so I feel like that nickname has been thrown around at me every once in a while.""The Sandlot" is about an adult reminiscing on his younger days playing ball with his... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Right-hander Clay Buchholz and the Kansas City Royals have finalized a minor league contract.The two-time All-Star would get a $1.5 million, one-year deal if added to the 40-man roster. Under the terms of the agreement announced Tuesday, the 32-year-old could earn $250,000 in performance bonuses: $25,000 per start from 10-19.Drafted by Boston with the 42nd overall pick in 2006, Buchholz made his debut in August 2007 and pitched a no-hitter against Baltimore in his second big league appearance. He was 81-61 in 10 seasons with the Red Sox and made four starts without a decision in the 2013 postseason as Boston won its third World Series title in a decade.Buchholz was traded to Philadelphia in December 2016 for minor league infielder Josh Tobias, made two starts for the Phillies and needed surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm.Buchholz was 0-1 with a 12.27 ERA in 7 1/3 innings for the Phillies last season, when he made $13.5 million in the second option year of a contract he signed with Boston that paid him $56.75 million from 2011-17.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — With the recent additions of Lance Lynn and Jake Odorizzi to Minnesota's rotation, Kyle Gibson has found himself bumped to the back of the group.That's no slight to the slender 30-year-old right-hander. Even when Ervin Santana returns from finger surgery in late April or early May and Gibson likely becomes the fifth starter, he's still happy to be a contributor to a contending club and proud of the depth the Twins have suddenly built up after several lean seasons of starting pitching."Having that kind of consistency day in and day out can make it really difficult on other teams," Gibson said. "I've always thought that it is harder to keep the other team from scoring runs than it is scoring runs yourself. With the staff we have here now, hopefully we can keep a lot of runs off the board and let our offense do the rest."Gibson had a 5.07 ERA in both 2016 and 2017, when he was sent to Triple-A for two separate stints. He went 6-2 with a 3.55 ERA over his last 11 starts... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — For several springs now, the St. Louis Cardinals proclaimed plans to rest Yadier Molina more frequently during the season to keep him fresh for a playoff push.Such ideas always leave the All-Star catcher shaking his head."I don't understand why people want me to be out of the lineup," Molina said.He has a point.Owner of as many Gold Gloves at catcher as he has All-Star appearances — eight — Molina is a hard man to keep in the dugout.He's started fewer than 130 games only once since 2009, the exception coming in 2014 when he tore a thumb ligament.The 35-year-old Molina is the only starting St. Louis position player remaining from the Cardinals' 2011 World Series championship team. He's the general, and he's ready to compete nearly every day.Despite the keeping fresh talk, a simple philosophy prompts St. Louis manager Mike Matheny to keep writing Molina's name on the lineup card so often."Whoever's giving us our best chance that day is going to play," Matheny said. "He... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Scott Kingery has shown the Philadelphia Phillies he's ready to play in the majors even if it takes a bit longer for him to get there.Kingery is considered the top second-base prospect in baseball and already has been compared to Hall of Famer Craig Biggio and four-time All-Star Dustin Pedroia. But Cesar Hernandez is Philadelphia's starting second baseman, causing Kingery to play other positions in spring training.He started at third base for the first time against Minnesota on Sunday and is working in the outfield."My thought process last year, knowing I was going to start the year in the minors, was to go out, have fun, give them a little bit of what I can do on the field and show them I can play up here and hold my own," Kingery said. "This year wasn't much different. I had a great spring last year and I wanted to do the same thing. Go out, have fun, prove what you can do every shot you step on the field."Kingery entered Tuesday batting .378 (14 for 37) with two... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — J.A. Happ has been picked to start opening day for the Toronto Blue Jays.Manager John Gibbons said Tuesday that the 35-year-old left-hander will face the New York Yankees and right-hander Luis Severino on March 29. Happ went 10-11 with a 3.53 ERA in 25 starts last season.He will face a Yankees lineup that could see Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez hit 2-3-4.Entering spring training, Marcus Stroman was expected to get the opening day assignment, but he was slowed by right shoulder inflammation. Stroman will start the finale of the four-game series against the Yankees.Aaron Sanchez will start the second game, followed by Marco Estrada. Jaime Garcia will be the Blue Jays' fifth starter.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Buck Showalter heard that Lance Lynn was pitching against the Orioles and knew he'd be changing his lineup.The Baltimore manager wasn't concerned about the result of last week's Grapefruit League game against Minnesota, played hours after Lynn officially joined the team. But Showalter figured the right-hander might start when the Twins travel to Camden Yards for a three-game season-opening series later this month.With that in mind, Showalter saw an opportunity.Even in spring training, when wins and losses are meaningless, managers are always hunting for significant matchups. That's especially true along the Florida Gulf Coast, where all five AL East rivals train within about three hours of each other.Picking and choosing spots for players has been key for Baltimore this spring because the Orioles play 14 of their first 17 regular season games against either division foes or the Twins, another regular spring opponent. When Minnesota signed Lynn to a free-agent deal... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The reigning National League champion Dodgers are going to be without their red-headed slugger on opening day, and possibly for a while after.Justin Turner has a broken left wrist after being hit by a pitch during Los Angeles' 3-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.Turner was struck by a pitch from right-hander Kendall Graveman in the first inning. Last year's NLCS MVP grunted and winced as he jogged away from the plate toward the dugout, his hand hanging limp at his side. He was quickly visited by a trainer and replaced by Donovan Solano."I was hoping obviously the X-rays would be negative, but there's a small non-displaced fracture," said Turner, who led the Dodgers last year by getting plunked 19 times. "We'll just play it by ear, see how it goes."General manager Farhan Zaidi said the team didn't know yet how long Turner would be out, but players with broken wrists usually miss several weeks. Turner says he'll visit the doctor again Tuesday to hopefully... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Dodgers are going to be without their red-headed slugger on opening day, and possibly for a while after.Justin Turner has a broken left wrist after being hit by a pitch during Los Angeles' 3-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.Turner was struck by a pitch from right-hander Kendall Graveman in the first inning. Turner grunted and winced as he jogged away from the plate toward the dugout, his hand hanging limp at his side. He was quickly visited by a trainer and replaced by Donovan Solano."I was hoping obviously the X-rays would be negative, but there's a small non-displaced fracture," Turner said. "We'll just play it by ear, see how it goes."General manager Farhan Zaidi said the team didn't know yet how long Turner would be out, but it should be a matter of at least a few weeks. Turner says he'll visit the doctor again Tuesday to hopefully learn more.Los Angeles seems likely to slide Logan Forsythe to third base in Turner's absence, with Chase Utley or someone else assuming regular duty at second base."We're not as good of a team without J.T.," Zaidi said, adding "We do feel good about our internal options. There are guys who can move around."The 33-year-old Turner hit .322 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs last season. He also led the team and finished third in the majors by getting plunked 19 times.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Right-hander Trevor Cahill and the Oakland Athletics have finalized a $1.5 million, one-year contract.As part of the deal announced Monday, Cahill would get a $250,000 assignment bonus if traded.The 30-year-old was 4-3 with a 4.03 ERA last season in 14 starts and seven relief appearances for San Diego and Kansas City, which acquired him on July 24. He had a $1.75 million salary and earned a $250,000 assignment bonus but fell short of a $250,000 bonus that would have been triggered by his 15th start.Oakland drafted Cahill in the second round in 2006 with the 66th overall pick. He made his big league debut with the A's in 2009 and was an All-Star in 2010.He has a 73-79 record with a 4.11 ERA in nine big league seasons that include time with Oakland (2009-11), Arizona (2012-14), Atlanta (2015) and the Chicago Cubs (2015-16).To clear a roster spot, Oakland placed 26-year-old right-hander Jharel Cotton on the 60-day disabled list. Cotton is scheduled for Tommy John surgery Wednesday. He was 9-10 with a 5.58 ERA in 24 starts for the A's last year.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Right-hander Trevor Cahill and the Oakland Athletics have finalized a $1.25 million, one-year contract.As part of the deal announced Monday, Cahill would get a $250,000 assignment bonus if traded.The 30-year-old was 4-3 with a 4.03 ERA last season in 14 starts and seven relief appearances for San Diego and Kansas City, which acquired him on July 24. He had a $1.75 million salary and earned a $250,000 assignment bonus but fell short of a $250,000 bonus that would have been triggered by his 15th start.Oakland drafted Cahill in the second round in 2006 with the 66th overall pick. He made his big league debut with the A's in 2009 and was an All-Star in 2010.He has a 73-79 record with a 4.11 ERA in nine big league seasons that include time with Oakland (2009-11), Arizona (2012-14), Atlanta (2015) and the Chicago Cubs (2015-16).To clear a roster spot, Oakland placed 26-year-old right-hander Jharel Cotton on the 60-day disabled list. Cotton is scheduled for Tommy John surgery Wednesday. He was 9-10 with a 5.58 ERA in 24 starts for the A's last year.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Alex Rodriguez thinks the New York Yankees' "breathtaking" offense could break records this season.Rodriguez arrived at spring training Monday and had high praise for a lineup led by Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius. A-Rod is a team special adviser who has worked with a number of New York's younger players."Happy to be back and see so much talent," Rodriguez said Monday night. "It's breathtaking."The Yankees added Stanton, the NL MVP after hitting 59 homers and driving in 132 last season, in a December trade with Miami. Judge had 52 homers and 114 RBIs in winning the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year Award. Sanchez added 33 homers, and Gregorius went deep 25 times."I can't remember a time to see that type of lineup one-through-nine," Rodriguez said.Rodriguez and Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner worked out a deal during the offseason to keep the former slugger involved with the team."Love to spend the rest of my life as a Yankee," Rodriguez said.

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Franklin Perez is expected to miss at least three months with a right lat strain.The Tigers say Perez was injured in a minor league game Sunday. There is no surgery recommended at this point, but the recovery is expected to take a minimum of 12 weeks.Perez, a 20-year-old right-hander, was acquired by Detroit in the trade that sent Justin Verlander to Houston last season. Perez went 6-3 with a 3.02 ERA across two levels of the minors last year. He made 10 starts at Class A and six at Double-A. Baseball America tabbed Perez as Detroit's top prospect this offseason.The rebuilding Tigers aren't expected to contend this year, but Perez figured to be a prospect to watch, no matter where in Detroit's system he ended up pitching.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke will start this season in the dugout.Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Monday that Greinke won't pitch on opening day because of what's perceived to be a minor health issue.Greinke exited his latest start after one inning because of tightness in his groin. He's scheduled to pitch again in spring training Wednesday.The Diamondbacks don't want to push him to be ready for their first game March 29 at home against Colorado. Without this wrinkle, Lovullo said Greinke would've started the opener for the third straight year."Every staff has a No. 1 and he fit the bill perfectly," Lovullo said. "He won 17 games last year. He was our staff ace."Lovullo said he wasn't ready to say who would start against the Rockies. The likely candidate is Robbie Ray, who went 15-5 with a 2.89 ERA last year."There's a strategy," Lovullo said. "We don't just look at opening day. We look at opening day and then beyond, so probably five or six days beyond that day. And we want to make... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is expected to start the regular season on the disabled list because of an oblique injury that has kept him out of exhibition games since March 1.Ellsbury had been scheduled to play Tuesday against Detroit, but his return was pushed back because he has flu-like symptoms. Ellsbury is projected as a backup outfielder after losing the starting center-field job to Aaron Hicks last season."Just a bummer," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday, calling the DL stint "very likely.""Just too hard to get him into enough games," Boone said. "The good thing, at least, we feel like he's totally healed up from his injury."Ellsbury 34-year-old is guaranteed $21,142,857 in each of the next three seasons as part of a $153 million, seven-year contract that includes a $21 million team option for 2021 with a $5 million buyout.Brett Gardner is the starting left fielder, and Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge will rotate between right field and designated... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jose Altuve sat behind a table set up on the field at the Houston Astros' spring training complex, and his teammates looked on as the World Series champions announced his $163.5 million, seven-year contract, the longest in team history."You made me more nervous, because I don't like talking in front of a lot of people. You know that," he saidHouston finalized a deal Monday that guaranteed the AL MVP an additional $151 million over five seasons."Certainly a fan favorite. Our fans love Jose," owner Jim Crane said. "Winner, MVP — what else can you say? He always leads by example. When I talk to the guys in the locker room, everybody is better because of Jose, and he's a great leader. So, Jose, you're the heart of the team. We're happy to have you for the long-term."The 27-year-old second baseman had been among baseball's best bargains. He agreed in 2013 to a deal that originally guaranteed $12.5 million from 2014-17 and included club options for 2018 at $6 million... [More]