NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets said they'll give $100,000 retention bonuses to six players at spring training with minor league contracts, assuring depth by keeping outfielders Carlos Gomez, Rajai Davis and Gregor Blanco, left-hander Hector Santiago, catcher Devin Mesoraco and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria.Just three other players received the retention bonus offers before Saturday's noon EDT deadline: Chicago White Sox right-hander Ervin Santana, San Diego catcher Chris Stewart and Toronto right-hander Bud Norris.Players will receive the bonus by April 15 and can start the season in the minor leagues. A player has until May 28 to ask for his release if not added to the 40-man roster by June 1.The deadline was Saturday for teams to make decisions on players who exercised free agency rights after the World Series and then agreed to minor league deals. Teams could inform the player they will be added to the big league roster by opening day next Thursday, offer the retention bonus or release... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets said they'll give $100,000 retention bonuses to six players at spring training with minor league contracts, assuring depth by keeping outfielders Carlos Gomez, Rajai Davis and Gregor Blanco, left-hander Hector Santiago, catcher Devin Mesoraco and shortstop Adeiny Hecnavarria.Just three other players received the retention bonus offers before Saturday's noon EDT deadline: Chicago White Sox right-hander Ervin Santana, San Diego catcher Chris Stewart and Toronto right-hander Bud Norris.Players will receive the bonus by April 15 and can start the season in the minor leagues. A player has until May 28 to ask for his release if not added to the 40-man roster by June 1.The deadline was Saturday for teams to make decisions on players who exercised free agency rights after the World Series and then agreed to minor league deals. Teams could inform the player they will be added to the big league roster by opening day next Thursday, offer the retention bonus or release... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper drew big cheers, a pair of walks and a most unusual defense in his spring training debut for the Philadelphia Phillies.Both times the slugger with the biggest contract in baseball came to the plate, the Toronto Blue Jays shifted to a four-man outfield, moved the shortstop on the other side of second base and gave the left-handed hitting Harper a wide-open left side of the infield."I've never seen that. That's intense," Harper said, adding he hopes teams don't do that to him often. "If they start playing ball like that, it's definitely different."Phillies manager Gabe Kapler didn't want to discuss shift strategy but shared his advice for Harper."Hit a lot of homers, drive the ball like you're capable of, do exactly what you always do, be Bryce Harper," Kapler said.Harper drew a loud ovation when he walked up to the plate to Will Smith's theme song from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."Wearing No. 3 on his uniform, eye black under his eyes and a white armband... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper drew big cheers, a pair of walks and a most unusual defense in his spring training debut for the Philadelphia Phillies.Both times the slugger with the biggest contract in baseball came to the plate, the Toronto Blue Jays shifted to a four-man outfield, moved the shortstop on the other side of second base and gave the left-handed hitting Harper a wide-open left side of the infield."I've never seen that. That's intense," Harper said, adding he hopes teams don't do that to him often. "If they start playing ball like that, it's definitely different."Phillies manager Gabe Kapler didn't want to discuss shift strategy but shared his advice for Harper."Hit a lot of homers, drive the ball like you're capable of, do exactly what you always do, be Bryce Harper," Kapler said.Harper drew a loud ovation when he walked up to the plate to Will Smith's theme song from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."Wearing No. 3 on his uniform, eye black under his eyes and a white armband... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have agreed to minor league contracts with first baseman Lucas Duda and journeyman infielder Adam Rosales.The Twins announced Saturday that Duda and Rosales had been invited to big league spring training.Duda hit a combined .241 with 14 home runs and 50 RBIs for Kansas City and Atlanta last season. The 33-year-old is a career .242 hitter with 152 homers in nine seasons, including 30 home runs for the New York Mets and Tampa Bay in 2017.If added to the 40-man roster, the 35-year-old Rosales would get a one-year contract paying a $1 million salary while in the major leagues.Rosales hit .211 in 13 games for Cleveland last year. He is a career .226 hitter with 48 home runs and 179 RBIs in 11 years with Cincinnati, Oakland, Texas, San Diego, Arizona and Cleveland.Rosales has split time at all four infield spots.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have signed journeyman infielder Adam Rosales to a minor league contract.The Twins announced Saturday that the 35-year-old Rosales has been invited to big league spring training.Rosales hit .211 in 13 games for Cleveland last year. He is a career .226 hitter with 48 home runs and 179 RBIs in 11 years with Cincinnati, Oakland, Texas, San Diego, Arizona and Cleveland.Rosales has split time at all four infield spots.

SEATTLE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics clinched their first playoff berth in four years, then beat the Seattle Mariners 7-3 Monday night behind Khris Davis' major league-leading 46th home run.Jonathan Lucroy, Jed Lowrie and Matt Chapman also homered for the A's, assured no worse than an AL wild card.Oakland was one out into the game when Tampa Bay was eliminated with a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees. The A's went on to win after Chapman broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run drive in the seventh off Shawn Armstrong (0-1).Coming off three straight last-place finishes in the AL West, the A's (95-62) are 4½ games behind AL West-leading Houston. They trail the Yankees by 1½ games for home-field advantage should they meet in a wild-card matchup.Robinson Cano and Dee Gordon homered for the Mariners.The Athletics will be making their fourth playoff appearance in the last seven seasons, all under manager Bob Melvin, and their 27th overall. The A's lost at Kansas City 9-8 in 12 innings in the 2014 wild-card... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics clinched their first playoff berth since 2014, then beat the Seattle Mariners 7-3 Monday night behind Khris Davis' major league-leading 46th home run.Jonathan Lucroy, Jed Lowrie and Matt Chapman also homered for the A's, assured no worse than a wild-card berth.Oakland was one out into the game when Tampa Bay was eliminated with a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees. The A's went on to win after Chapman broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run drive in the seventh off Shawn Armstrong (0-1).Coming off three straight last-place finishes in the AL West, the A's (95-62) are 4½ games behind AL West-leading Houston. They trail the Yankees by 1½ games for home-field advantage should they meet in a wild-card matchup.Robinson Cano and Dee Gordon homered for the Mariners.The Athletics will be making their fourth playoff appearance in the last seven seasons, all under manager Bob Melvin, and their 27th overall. The A's lost at Kansas City 9-8 in 12 innings in the 2014 wild-card... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Hicks injured his left hamstring running up the first-base line in the Yankees' 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night, another concern for New York heading into next week's AL wild-card game.Hicks' 11th-inning double on Saturday drove Didi Gregorius with the run that clinched a postseason berth, and on Sunday the Yankees learned Sunday that Gregorius had torn cartilage in his right wrist during his headfirst slide across the plate.Hicks, who had fouled a pitch off his left ankle just before the double, left Monday's game with left hamstring tightness.New York's win eliminated the Rays and ensured a postseason berth for Oakland, which is likely to be the wild-card opponent but also is still alive in the AL West race. At 96-60, New York is assured of its best record since going 97-65 in 2011.Gardner had a go-ahead single off Ryan Yarbrough (15-6) in a two-run fifth inning.New York used eight pitchers and gave its starters extra rest ahead of the... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Hicks injured his left hamstring running up the first-base line in the Yankees' 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night, another concern for New York heading into next week's AL wild-card game.Hicks' 11th-inning double on Saturday drove Didi Gregorius with the run that clinched a postseason berth, and on Sunday the Yankees learned Sunday that Gregorius had torn cartilage in his right wrist during his headfirst slide across the plate.Hicks, who had fouled a pitch off his left ankle just before the double, left Monday's game with left hamstring tightness.New York's win eliminated the Rays and ensured a postseason berth for Oakland, which is likely to be the wild-card opponent but also is still alive in the AL West race. At 96-60, New York is assured of its best record since going 97-65 in 2011.Gardner had a go-ahead single off Ryan Yarbrough (15-6) in a two-run fifth inning.New York used eight pitchers and gave its starters extra rest ahead of the... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Hicks injured his left hamstring running up the first-base line in the Yankees' 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night, another concern for New York heading into next week's AL wild-card game.Hicks' 11th-inning double on Saturday drove Didi Gregorius with the run that clinched a postseason berth, and on Sunday the Yankees learned Sunday that Gregorius had torn cartilage in his right wrist during his headfirst slide across the plate.Hicks, who had fouled a pitch off his left ankle just before the double, left Monday's game with left hamstring tightness.New York's win eliminated the Rays and ensured a postseason berth for Oakland, which is likely to be the wild-card opponent but also is still alive in the AL West race. At 96-60, New York is assured of its best record since going 97-65 in 2011.Gardner had a go-ahead single off Ryan Yarbrough (15-6) in a two-run fifth inning.New York used eight pitchers and gave its starters extra rest ahead of the... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Trevor Bauer threw to hitters for the first time since breaking his right leg last month and hopes to be back on the mound for Cleveland in time for the postseason.The right-hander pitched three simulated innings of about 17-to-19 pitches per inning and jokingly told manager Terry Francona he was available against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night."I'm glad he feels that way," Francona said. "I don't think that's going to happen, but it's nice to hear him say that."Bauer is 12-6 with a 2.22 ERA in 25 starts. He has been sidelined since he was struck on the lower leg by a line drive off the bat of Chicago's Jose Abreu on Aug. 11.He pitched to Indians reserves Eric Haase, Adam Rosales and Brandon Barnes."The biggest takeaway is that I was able to completely focus on competing instead of being worried about or noticing if there's any discomfort," Bauer said. "I didn't really think about it at all, and that's the most important thing."Bauer hopes to pitch in a game before the regular season ends Sept. 30. Francona said a meeting will be held with Bauer and the team's medical staff."The quicker we can get him in a game without risk the better," Francona said.Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti says the team has discussed using Bauer as a reliever in the postseason.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

INF Adam Rosales is 12-for-40 (.300) over his last 14 road games with five runs and four doubles. Rosales put the Diamondbacks in the lead for good in the seventh inning Wednesday at Dodger Stadium with a pinch-hit double. He also has two home runs, seven RBIs and an .867 OPS during those 14 road games.

INF Adam Rosales was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts while starting at second base and hitting second against Dodgers LHP Alex Wood. Rosales made his first start at second base since joining the team at the July 31 trade deadline as the D-backs continue to look for the best fit there. INF/OF Daniel Descalso and 2B Brandon Drury had been in a virtual platoon situation at second the past several weeks. "We are just looking to maximize the moments," manager Torey Lovullo said. "Daniel has been very productive for us on both sides of the ball, as has Brandon. I want to give them playing time, but I want to make sure we are maximizing the potential to score runs. How it plays out moving forward, I haven't quite mapped it out."

SS Adam Rosales was activated by the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, one day after a trade with the A's for RHP Jeferson Mejia. Rosales, 34, is hitting .300 with runners in scoring position in 2017, including eight hits over his last 21 opportunities. Overall this season, he is batting .234 with 11 doubles, four home runs and 27 RBIs in 71 games.

INF Adam Rosales was traded by the A's to the Diamondbacks for minor league RHP Jeferson Mejia. He could take over at shortstop for Arizona, which lost Chris Owings on Sunday to a broken right middle finger.Rosales, 34, was batting .234 with four home runs and 27 RBIs in 71 games with Oakland this season. He started 36 of 38 games at shortstop from April 15 to May 28 following the injury to Marcus Semien but started just 19 of 56 games since then. Rosales returned to Oakland as a free agent prior to the season and hit .226 with 19 homers and 82 RBIs in 268 games over five seasons with the A's.

The Oakland Athletics traded infielder Adam Rosales to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league right-hander Jeferson Mejia on Monday.Rosales, 34, was batting .234 with four home runs and 27 RBIs in 71 games with Oakland this season. He started 36 of 38 games at shortstop from April 15 to May 28 following the injury to Marcus Semien but started just 19 of 56 games since then.Rosales returned to Oakland as a free agent prior to the season and hit .226 with 19 homers and 82 RBIs in 268 games over five seasons with the A's. He is a .228 career hitter with 44 homers and 168 RBIs in 606 games in 10 seasons in the majors.Mejia, 22, began the season at Class A Kane County of the Midwest League and was 1-1 with a 6.08 ERA in 18 relief appearances before being transferred to Hillsboro of the short-season Class Northwest League, where he made three relief appearances. He is 13-14 with a 4.67 ERA in 79 games (23 starts) in five seasons in the minors.

SS Adam Rosales hit his fourth home run Saturday off White Sox RHP David Robertson. He's batting .235.

SS Adam Rosales has hits in 11 of his past 13 games, batting .302 (13-for-43) during the stretch.

SS Adam Rosales, who started 25 of Oakland's 26 games since Marcus Semien was injured, wasn't in the starting lineup Monday. Manager Bob Melvin said it was a routine day off for Rosales. He later entered as a pinch runner and struck out. .