TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays said goodbye to Kevin Pillar while giving a long-term deal to Randal Grichuk.Pillar was traded by the veteran-shedding Blue Jays to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday for infielder Alen Hanson, right-hander Derek Law and minor league pitcher Juan De Paula.Toronto also acquired outfielder Socrates Brito from San Diego for Class A outfielder Rodrigo Orozco, then announced a $52 million, five-year agreement with Grichuk, an outfielder who had been eligible for free agency after the 2020 season."I love the city. I like the direction the team is going," Grichuk said. "I see the vision. I see a lot of young, talented players that can be very impactful. They have a vision, and I want to be a part of it."Grichuk is a career .247 hitter with 92 home runs and 245 RBIs in 533 games with St. Louis and Toronto, but his on-base percentage is just .297."The offense has always stood out," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said. "He's always performed. He's always hit the... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Outfielder Kevin Pillar was traded by the veteran-shedding Toronto Blue Jays to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday for infielder Alen Hanson, right-hander Derek Law and minor league pitcher Juan De Paula.Pillar was due to join the Giants in Los Angeles during their game against the Dodgers."We're excited, really excited," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's somebody that's been on our radar for a while, and to have him here to help out, he'll give us plus defense, another bat, experienced guy. The energy level that he plays at, I'm looking forward to getting to know him and watching him."Pillar had been Toronto's longest-tenured player, in his seventh season with the Blue Jays. Known for stellar defense in center field, the 30-year-old has a .260 average with 55 home runs and 231 RBIs in 695 games. Pillar has a $5.8 million salary, is eligible for arbitration next winter and can become a free agent after the 2020 season.Hanson, 26, has a .238 hitter with 12 home runs... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays said goodbye to Kevin Pillar while giving a long-term deal to Randal Grichuk.Pillar was traded by the veteran-shedding Blue Jays to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday for infielder Alen Hanson, right-hander Derek Law and minor league pitcher Juan De Paula.Toronto also acquired outfielder Socrates Brito from San Diego for Class A outfielder Rodrigo Orozco, then announced a $52 million, five-year agreement with Grichuk, an outfielder who had been eligible for free agency after the 2020 season."The offense has always stood out," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said of Grichuk. "He's always performed. He's always hit the ball hard. He's always hit it far, and usually it goes over the fence at a pretty good rate. In our view, he's been an above average defender, and those are hard things to piece together."Grichuk is a career .247 hitter with 92 home runs and 245 RBIs in 533 games with St. Louis and Toronto, but his on-base percentage is just .297.Atkins said... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays said goodbye to Kevin Pillar while giving a long-term deal to Randal Grichuk.Pillar was traded by the veteran-shedding Blue Jays to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday for infielder Alen Hanson, right-hander Derek Law and minor league pitcher Juan De Paula.Toronto also acquired outfielder Socrates Brito from San Diego for Class A outfielder Rodrigo Orozco, then announced a $52 million, five-year agreement with Grichuk, an outfielder who had been eligible for free agency after the 2020 season."The offense has always stood out," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said of Grichuk. "He's always performed. He's always hit the ball hard. He's always hit it far, and usually it goes over the fence at a pretty good rate. In our view, he's been an above average defender, and those are hard things to piece together."Grichuk is a career .247 hitter with 92 home runs and 245 RBIs in 533 games with St. Louis and Toronto, but his on-base percentage is just .297.Atkins said... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Outfielder Kevin Pillar was traded by the veteran-shedding Toronto Blue Jays to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday for infielder Alen Hanson, right-hander Derek Law and minor league pitcher Juan De Paula.Pillar had been Toronto's longest-tenured player, in his seventh season with the Blue Jays. Known for stellar defense in center field, the 30-year-old has a .260 average with 55 home runs and 231 RBIs in 695 games. Pillar has a $5.8 million salary, is eligible for arbitration next winter and can become a free agent after the 2020 season.Hanson, 26, has a .238 hitter with 12 home runs and 51 RBIs in 243 games for Pittsburgh, the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco. Law, 28, was 9-3 with five saves and a 3.83 ERA in 109 games over three seasons with the Giants. De Paula, 21, struck out 55 batters in 52 1/3 innings in Class A last season.Hanson has a $650,000 salary in the major leagues and Law $567,500.San Francisco designated outfielder Michael Reed for assignment to make room for Pillar on the 40-man roster.Toronto traded designated hitter Kendrys Morales to Oakland last Wednesday, agreeing to give the Athletics $11,445,000 to cover nearly all of Morales' $12 million salary.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants acquired outfielder Michael Reed from Minnesota on Saturday while sending outfielder John Andreoli and cash to the Twins.In addition, San Francisco dealt Matt Joyce to Atlanta for cash. The Giants, under new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, have been searching all offseason for an impact outfielder.Joyce had reached agreement on a minor league deal Wednesday following his release by Cleveland. Yet the Giants were looking to balance their lineup and had an abundance of left-handed hitters. Joyce played just 83 games last season for Oakland while dealing with a lingering back injury, batting .208 with seven home runs and 15 RBIs.Reed has played in 22 major league games, with Milwaukee in 2015-16 and the Braves last year. He batted .342 with a .453 on-base percentage between Triple-A Gwinnett and Double-A Mississippi in 2018.On Friday, San Francisco released Cameron Maybin, arrested on suspicion of DUI during spring training. Left-hander Steven Okert was designated for assignment Saturday to clear room on the 40-man roster for Reed, who will join the major league team.Andreoli, claimed off waivers by San Francisco on Feb. 1, appeared in 26 games between Seattle and Baltimore last season.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The Atlanta Braves have reinstated right-handed pitcher Arodys Vizcaino from the 10-day disabled list.The reliever had been sidelined since June 21 with right shoulder inflammation. Vizcaino threw a successful bullpen Monday, but the team waited until Tuesday to activate the 27-year old.Vizcaino is 2-2 with a 1.82 ERA with 15 saves in 17 opportunities. A.J. Minter has earned a pair of saves while throwing seven scoreless innings in Vizcaino's absence.Manager Brian Snitker indicated that Vizcaino would resume his role as closer, but would not use him in the same manner as he did prior to the injury. Vizcaino pitched in four games in five days before the injury.Outfielder Michael Reed was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to make room. The 25-year old was called up Monday.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Reed will make first career start in right field and hit seventh in the lineup against the Padres on Thursday.

With Shane Peterson sitting out Thursday, Reed will make an appearance in right field. He's recorded just one at-bat since being called up last week and considering the Brewers are well out of the playoff race, Milwaukee may choose to give him a handful of extra starts with the year nearing a close just to see what they might have in the young 22-year-old.

Reed was promoted from Double-A Biloxi on Tuesday.

Reed will join a decimated Brewers' outfield that is currently dealing with injuries to Ryan Braun (back), Shane Peterson (knee) and Khris Davis, the latter of which returned to the lineup yesterday after missing a few games with a sore ankle. Considering all of the injuries, it's possible Reed could get multiple starts as the season winds to a close, however, it's unclear what his role will be with the team moving forward.

Reed went 11-for-30 (.367) with two home runs, eight RBI, eight runs scored, and four stolen bases over his last 10 games with Double-A Biloxi.

Reed has been hot lately, and he is having a fine offensive season overall, posting a .319/.407/.466 slash line and 18:28 BB:K ratio in 38 games. He has also been successful on 12 of his 14 stolen base attempts. He is doing nothing but helping his prospect status in his first extended go-around at the Double-A level.

Reed owns a .400/.533/.600 slash line to go along with a home run and five RBI through nine games with Double-A Biloxi.

Reed is doing an excellent job getting on base early this season, reaching eight times via the hit and seven times via the walk while totaling just 20 at-bats. Reed is not a heralded prospect, but he posted a .785 Low-A OPS and a .768 High-A OPS at his previous two stops, and is finding Double-A pitching even more to his liking.