Anthony Rizzo suspends talks with the Chicago Cubs about a new contract and is ready to …
Anthony Rizzo interrupts talks with the Chicago Cubs about a new contract and is ready to play the season as a vacant agency looms large after the World Series.
The first baseman to help the Cubs win their first title in 108 years in 2016 agreed to a $ 41 million seven-year contract in March 2013 that included two years of team option. He’s set a salary of $ 16.5 million this season and a deadline for the opening day of a new agreement.
“Of course there have been talks and so on, but it doesn’t look like anything will be finalized at this point. I’m looking forward to not opening until Thursday and starting this journey with this team,” said Rizzo on Monday .
CUT SMELL
Rougned Odor, the second Texas Rangers baseman for the past seven seasons, has been advised that he will no longer participate on opening day after moving to third base this spring training session.
Baseball Operations President Jon Daniels said the Rangers had no day-to-day role in odor. The 27-year-old infielder has two more seasons and $ 24.6 million on his six-year contract and a $ 3 million buyout on a $ 13.5 million team option in 2023.
“I really think it came down to us making a decision, obviously a pretty clear direction for the future. And playing it every day was not part of our plans this year, ”said Daniels. “When we’re happy, we think we’ll have some younger players. And we didn’t think it would be in his best interest, or in our best interest, to force the subject into a banking role. “
RESOLVING RESTRICTIONS
Card games, carpooling, and dining at restaurants could all be back in major leagues later this season. Trips to church and sponsorship events can also return.
The use of masks would be removed from dugouts and bullpens, and electronic tracking devices would be eliminated if 85% of major league players and primary field workers were vaccinated. The communal clubhouse video would return before and after the games. Billiard tables would be restored along with team saunas.
A three-page memorandum from Major League Baseball and the Players’ Association, mailed to players and staff on Monday and received by The Associated Press, also states: “All players and staff are strongly advised to take one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines received when they are eligible. ”
“For the purposes of this memo, individuals are considered” fully vaccinated “two weeks after receiving their second dose of a two-dose vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) or two weeks after their first dose of a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson). “It says in the memo.
Not many players have been vaccinated, according to the MLB, but the pace is expected to pick up after the teams return to their hometowns from spring training. Opening day is Thursday.
BIG THING
Randy Dobnak’s route to the major leagues was so far from the traditional route that he even chauffeured a few ridesharing opportunities along the way.
The Minnesota Twins gave the over-performing right-handed yet another key moment in the form of a $ 9.25 million five-year deal that includes three club options and could be worth $ 29.75 million over eight seasons.
“I always believed in myself, even when I was a little kid. You have career days and stuff when you’re in elementary school and so on and I kept saying, “I want to be a baseball player,” said Dobnak, whose spot as the swingman of the 13 pitcher staff was secured last week.
COOL IS THE RULE
Chad Kuhl’s long way back from surgery on Tommy John is over.
More than two years after wondering where his career would take after doctors reconfigured his mangled right elbow, Kuhl will be Pittsburgh’s opening start in Chicago on Thursday when the Pirates battle the Cubs.
The 28-year-old is the longest-serving starter of a largely inexperienced and largely anonymous staff. The void left off-season by Jameson Taillon, Joe Musgrove, Trevor Williams and Chris Archer is palpable. Kuhl knows he will play an important role in trying to fill it.
“We’re talking about the guys who left and there’s a lot of leadership, a lot of innings, a lot of youth on this team,” he said. “That adds to the leadership that I and (Steven) Brault and these guys are trying to take on. It’s all about leading by example and doing the right things. “
NOT IN THE CARDS
The St. Louis Cardinals plan to start the season on Thursday in Cincinnati with pitchers Kwang Hyun Kim, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas on the injured list along with outfielder Harrison Bader.
Hudson always had plans to start the season on the injured list when he recovered from surgery on Tommy John. Kim has a back injury, Mikolas a sore shoulder and Bader has a strained right foreman who could keep him out for a month, the Cardinals said on Sunday.
ASTROS 2, NATIONALS 2 (9)
Stephen Strasburg gave up two runs, four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. Astros starter Jake Odorizzi allowed an inexperienced run and three hits with the bases loaded in the third. Then Odorizzi returned for one in the fourth.
METS 3, CARDINALS 3 (9)
Nolan Arenado hit his first home run for St. Louis, a solo shot in the first. Edmundo Sosa hit a homer in ninth place ahead of Trevor Hildenberger. Adam Wainwright allowed two runs and three hits in 2 2/3 innings. Starter Carlos Martínez came fourth, giving up just a walk in three goalless innings. Taijuan Walker allowed two runs and three hits in five innings.
RAYS 8, ORIOLS 3 (7)
Yoshi Tsutsugo led the game with his first homer and Yandy Díaz later hit a three-point with two wins in the inning. Willy Adames hit a pair of solo homers and doubled his home run overall. Rich Hill allowed three runs, five hits, and two walks in five innings. Baltimore’s Austin Hays hit its fourth homer. Orioles starter Bruce Zimmermann allowed seven runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings after throwing nine shutout innings in three relief appearances this spring.
TIGERS 5, YANKEES 2
Domingo German allowed two runs and four hits in four after kicking in with nine innings with 13 strokes. Thairo Estrada hit his third homer. Detroit rookie Akil Baddoo hit his fifth homer at team level and Miguel Cabrera hit his second. José Ureña allowed one run, one hit and five walks in 4 2/3 innings.
RED SOX 4, BRAVES 0 (7)
JD Martinez hit his first home run for Boston, and Kiké Hernández and Marwin González each scored their third hit with their third homer, a two-run shot. Tanner Houck, Boston’s second greatest pitching expert, allowed two hits in 4 1/3 goalless innings with six strokes. Atlanta-based Ian Anderson gave up four runs and five hits in 2 2/3 innings.
BLUE JAYS 13, PHILLIES 7
Bryce Harper hit his fourth home run and Zach Eflin allowed two runs – one deserved – and eight hits in five innings. Rowdy Tellez returned to Toronto.
Twins 5, Pirates 3
Chad Kuhl was announced as the starter of the Pirates on opening day. Erik Gonzalez hit his second home run and Ke’Bryan Hayes raised his average to 0.429 with two hits. Mitch Garver took a 4-0 lead in his first move since the Minnesota catcher took a tip off his left index finger on Thursday, Willians Astudillo returned home, and Jake Cave had an RBI triple.
CUBS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 1
Craig Kimbrel allowed a hit and a walk while striking two in an inning of relief. Pedro Strop hit two in the ninth. Willson Contreras had three hits, including a double and a home run, and Nico Hoerner hit a homer with three runs. Cubs starter Zach Davies allowed one run and two hits in 3 1/3 innings. Arizona’s Caleb Smith gave up seven runs with eight hits over 3 2/3 innings, and Christian Walker hit his fifth homer.
ROYALS 5, INDIANS 4
Grabriel Cancel scored a triple at the end of the game, and Hunter Dozier and Carlos Santana faced starter Zach Plesac. Ryan O’Hearn homered too. Brady Singer, the Royals’ first pick in 2018, allowed two hits in five innings. Cleveland’s Jose Fermin hit a homer with two runs,
MARINERS 5, REDS 5
Chris Flexen allowed two hits in three innings. The closer Rafael Montero allowed a run with two hits and two walks and scored only two outs in the fifth. Reds starter Brandon Finnegan, who has not played since 2017 due to two shoulder injuries, gave up three runs, two hits and two walks in one inning.
GIANT 7, SPORTSMAN 2
Big starter Logan Webb allowed one run, his first practice session that spring, and four hits in six innings. Will Wilson finished ninth. A’s starter Sean Manaea gave up five runs, five hits and four walks in 3 1.3 innings.
ROCKIES 10, PADRES 2
Ryan Rolison, a 2018 amateur draft first round winner, gave up a run, a hit, and three walks in three innings. Garrett Hampson hit a homer with three runs and Connor Joe had a double with three runs in the fourth inning with seven runs. Padre’s starter Dinelson Lamet allowed one run and two hits in 1 1/3 innings. Pedro Florimón homered.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright © 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written, or redistributed.
Comments are closed.