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Carlos Beltran among 14 newcomers on ballot for Hall of Fame
Carlos Beltran, John Lackey and Jered Weaver are among 14 newcomers on the Baseball Writers' Association of America's Hall of Fame ballot in what could turn into an evaluation of the Houston Astros' cheating scandal. R.A. Dickey, Huston Street, Francisco Rodríguez, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Cain also are new to the ballot, joined by Jacoby Ellsbury, Jayson Werth, Mike Napoli, J.J. Hardy, Jhonny Peralta and Andre Ethier, the Hall and the BBWAA said Monday. Holdovers include Scott Rolen, Todd Helton and Billy Wagner. Rolen received 249 of 394 votes last year (63.2%), when David Ortiz was elected with 307 votes (77.9%), 11 more than the 75% needed. Helton was on 205 ballots (52%) and Wagner 201 (51%).
Justin Verlander, Albert Pupils voted Comeback Olayers of Year
Verlander, the American League recipient, returned from Tommy John surgery to lead Houston to its second World Series. - Pujols, honored in the National League, came back to St. Louis for his farewell season and posted his biggest numbers in years at age 42.
Hall of Famer Perry, spitball master, dies at 84
Perry won 314 games with a 3.11 ERA and 3,534 strikeouts. The only pitchers in history who can match all three of those numbers are Walter Johnson and Tom Seaver.
Sources: Rangers, Jacob Degrom agree to 5-year $185M deal
DeGrom finished the 2022 season with a 5-4 record and 3.08 ERA in 11 starts, though his peripherals better illustrated his dominance: 102 strikeouts against just eight walks, with nine home runs allowed.
Sources: Red Sox, Kenley Jansen reach 2-year deal
In 64 innings with the Braves, Jansen struck out 85 batters, walked 22 and posted a 3.38 ERA. Over his career, Jansen has 1,107 strikeouts in 769 innings with a 2.46 ERA and ranks among the most dominant closers in history.
MLB free agency grades: New York Yankees re-sign Aaron Judge
The New York Yankees are baseball's flagship franchise and have been since the 1920s. You don't have to be a fan of theirs to believe that. You only have to look at the championships, the names on the plaques at Cooperstown, the merchandise sales and so much else. That isn't to say the Yankees are the only team that matters, but it's important to keep their stature in mind when thinking about how to assess the news that Aaron Judge has agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal to spend his 30s donning pinstripes in the Bronx. Why? Because they are the Yankees. In other words, if this franchise, the only one for which Judge has played, was willing to meet the market to retain him, it would have been surprising, even shocking, if he had ended up elsewhere.
Xander Bogaerts, Padres agree to 11-year, $280M deal
Bogaerts won a pair of World Series and made four All-Star teams, including in 2022, when he hit .307/.377/.456 with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs in 150 games.
Blue Jays centerfielder Kiermaier agree to deal, report say
Kiermaier, 32, a three-time Gold Glove winner with the Tampa Bay Rays, joins a new-look outfield that lost right fielder Teoscar Hernandez in a trade with the Seattle Mariners last month.
Reports: Giants add free agent Sean Manaea
The 30-year-old Manaea, who spent his first six major league seasons with the Oakland Athletes, went 8-9 with a 4.96 ERA over 30 appearances with 28 starts and 158 innings in his lone campaign with the San Diego Padres and former A's manager Bob Melvin this year.
Cubs Brad Boxberger agree to 1-year, $2.8M deal
The 34-year-old Boxberger went 4-3 with a 2.95 ERA, 68 strikeouts and 27 walks in 64 innings last season. He was 5-4 with a 3.34 ERA, 83 strikeouts and 25 walks in 64⅔ innings for the Brewers in 2021.
Sources: Pardres sign Matt Carpenter to 1-year deal
Carpenter, 37, revitalized his career in 2022 after hitting 15 home runs in 47 games for the New York Yankees before breaking his left foot in early August.
Sources: Pirates agree to 1-year deal with 42-year-old left-handed Rich Hill
Hill, who turns 43 in March, carved out a role in recent years as a five-inning specialist. With the Boston Red Sox last season, he started 26 games and threw 124⅓ innings, posting a 4.27 ERA and putting up typically strong strikeout-to-walk numbers.
Sources: 10 MLB umps retiring, most since '99
Some of the retirements are due to nagging injuries while others are coincidental, as a group of the umpires entered the league around the same time -- after a labor dispute saw 22 former umps resign at the end of last century.
Yankees Aaron Judge named AP's top male athlete
The outfielder edged Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, last year's winner, in voting announced Friday. Stephen Curry of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors finished third.
Source: D-backs bring back starter Zach Davies on $5M, 1-year deal
Davies posted a 4.16 ERA and compiled 797⅔ innings while pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs from 2016 to 2021, during which he struck out only 17% of the batters he faced but maintained a ground ball rate of 46%.
Los Angeles Dodgers cut ties with embattled pitcher Trevor Bauer
The Los Angeles Dodgers officially cut ties Friday with starting pitcher Trevor Bauer, the embattled former Cy Young Award winner who was previously handed an unprecedented suspension following allegations of sexual assault. Bauer was designated for assignment, which means the Dodgers have until 2 p.m. ET on Thursday to find a trade partner. If they can't, Bauer will be placed on unconditional release waivers. If he clears those, which is considered the likely scenario, he'll become a free agent the following day. The Dodgers' decision came two weeks after an independent arbitrator trimmed Bauer's suspension from 324 games to 194, reinstating him immediately but docking his pay for the remaining 50 games to begin the 2023 season. The ruling triggered a 14-day window for the Dodgers to decide whether to add him to their 40-man roster.