WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals finally ran out of patience waiting for Trevor Rosenthal to throw strikes following his return from Tommy John surgery.Rosenthal was released by the Nationals on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the 29-year-old reliever walked all three batters he faced in a 13-9 loss to Atlanta.After undergoing elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2017, Rosenthal sat out last season before signing as a free agent with Washington in November. The Nationals were hopeful he would pitch as he did in 2014 and 2015 with St. Louis, when he totaled 93 saves.Instead, Rosenthal went 0-1 with an unsightly 22.74 ERA. He issued 15 walks and allowed 16 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings."He's got great stuff," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "He just couldn't find the strike zone."Rosenthal retired the only batter he faced Friday night before bottoming out Saturday night."I was very hopeful he had turned a corner," Martinez said. "We're up four runs (on Saturday), we're down... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Struggling Nationals reliever Trevor Rosenthal has agreed to go to extended spring training in West Palm Beach, Florida.The 28-year-old right-hander was placed on the 10-day injured list on April 26 with a viral infection. Rosenthal (0-1) has appeared in seven games with Washington, pitching to a 36.00 ERA. He did not record an out until his fifth appearance."There's no timetable," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Monday. "We just have to get him built up again."Rosenthal — an All-Star in 2015 with St. Louis — underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017 and missed all of last season."Health-wise, everything feels good, just ironing out some timing and getting just really the reps in to let my body figure it out," Rosenthal said.Signed in the offseason as a potential setup man for closer Sean Doolittle, Rosenthal has walked nine of the 28 batters he's faced and has thrown five wild pitches.Washington entered Monday with the second-worst bullpen ERA in the majors at 6.57, ahead of only Baltimore.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit two homers, Carlos Correa homered with three RBIs and the Houston Astros completed their first sweep of the New York Yankees with an 8-6 win Wednesday night.The Astros needed late-game comebacks to win the first two games of the series but used a four-run fifth inning to break the finale open and held on for their sixth straight win despite a big eighth inning by the Yankees.It's the first time since 2004 the Astros have swept a homestand of at least two series. They beat the Athletics three times this weekend before the Yankees arrived.Altuve, who has homered in three straight games, hit his first one off James Paxton (1-2) to tie it at 1 in the first inning after Brett Gardner hit a leadoff homer for New York.The Astros were up by 1 with no outs in the fifth inning when Altuve connected off Paxton again. The towering shot clanged off the light pole atop the wall in left field to make it 4-2.A single by Michael Brantley chased Paxton, who was replaced by... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit two homers, Carlos Correa homered with three RBIs and the Houston Astros completed their first-ever sweep of the New York Yankees with an 8-6 win Wednesday night.The Astros needed late-game comebacks to win the first two games of the series but used a four-run fifth inning to break the finale open and held on for their sixth straight win despite a big eighth inning by the Yankees.It's the first time since 2004 the Astros have swept a homestand of at least two series. They beat the Athletics three times this weekend before the Yankees arrived.Altuve, who has homered in three straight games, hit his first one off James Paxton (1-2) to tie it at 1 in the first inning after Brett Gardner hit a leadoff homer for New York.The Astros were up by 1 with no outs in the fifth inning when Altuve connected off Paxton again. The towering shot clanged off the light pole atop the wall in left field to make it 4-2.A single by Michael Brantley chased Paxton, who was replaced... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez plans to use struggling reliever Trevor Rosenthal in "lower pressure situations" until the former All-Star closer has some success.Rosenthal is the first pitcher since 1995 to fail to retire any of the first nine batters he faced in a season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Former Pirates right-hander John Hope was the previous pitcher with a season-opening streak as long as Rosenthal's."We're going to try to keep him in lower pressure situations, absolutely," Martinez said before the Nationals opened a three-game series in Philadelphia on Monday. "For him, it's just about throwing strikes. I think once he gets that first out, he's going to be OK."Rosenthal hit a batter, threw two wild pitches and issued a walk in the eighth inning of a 12-9 win over the Mets on Sunday. Rosenthal had 93 saves for the Cardinals in 2015-16. He's coming back from Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss the 2018 season."If it happens that we get a chance to put him in like we did yesterday, he's going to pitch," Martinez said. "He's part of the eight. He's got to pitch but he also understands that he has to throw strikes. We'll see what happens in the next few days. Hopefully we got a big lead today and we can try to get him out there again see what happens."The Nationals gave Rosenthal a one-year, $8 million contract with a mutual option for 2020.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper homered deep into the second deck in right-center field for his first hit with Philadelphia and celebrated with an emphatic curtain call, highlighting the Phillies' 8-6 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.Hitless over five at-bats this season after signing a $330 million, 13-year deal, Harper crushed Jesse Biddle's fastball 465 feet with two outs in the seventh. Fans gave Harper a standing ovation and chanted "MVP! MVP!"After getting high fives in the dugout, Harper climbed out for a curtain call, throwing both fists in the air and shouting "Let's go!"Maikel Franco and J.T. Realmuto also went deep for Philadelphia. The game was tied at 4 in the fifth when Realmuto lined a two-run drive off Wes Parsons (0-1).Adam Morgan (1-0) faced one batter in the fifth inning.Dansby Swanson and Charlie Culberson homered, and Freddie Freeman had four hits and drove in two for the Braves.BREWERS 4, CARDINALS 2MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich became the first MVP to... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper homered deep into the second deck in right-center field for his first hit with Philadelphia and celebrated with an emphatic curtain call, highlighting the Phillies' 8-6 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.Hitless over five at-bats this season after signing a $330 million, 13-year deal, Harper crushed Jesse Biddle's fastball 465 feet with two outs in the seventh. Fans gave Harper a standing ovation and chanted "MVP! MVP!"After getting high fives in the dugout, Harper climbed out for a curtain call, throwing both fists in the air and shouting "Let's go!"Maikel Franco and J.T. Realmuto also went deep for Philadelphia. The game was tied at 4 in the fifth when Realmuto lined a two-run drive off Wes Parsons (0-1).Adam Morgan (1-0) faced one batter in the fifth inning.Dansby Swanson and Charlie Culberson homered, and Freddie Freeman had four hits and drove in two for the Braves.ORIOLES 5, YANKEES 3NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Hyde earned his first win as Baltimore's... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Even if Trevor Rosenthal isn't closing for Washington, he'll take the mound believing he is."I think that's what ultimately allowed me to be successful as a closer is I just have one mentality, one approach," Rosenthal said. "I approach every single inning kind of like I'm closing. I think that's ultimately allowed me to be successful and I plan on keeping that same approach in the future."Rosenthal saved 93 games for St. Louis in 2014 and 2015 combined, but the Cardinals released him following the 2017 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery.The righty didn't pitch in 2018 and signed a one year, $8 millon contract with the Nationals in October. He arrived at camp ready to fire.In his first appearance of the spring, Rosenthal hit triple digits on the scoreboard's radar gun. The Nationals have encouraged him to back off a bit as he prepares to pitch in a major league game for the first time since August 2017."He's been going great," Washington manager Dave... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — For years, the NL East has been soft as a bunt single.Not anymore.Even before Bryce Harper decided to stay inside the division, four of the five teams spent this offseason swinging for the fences. In addition to defending champion Atlanta, the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals all have enough firepower to potentially contend for the playoffs."This is probably going to be the stiffest competition in a division race in my career," Nationals ace Max Scherzer said at spring training.It's certainly a noticeable transformation.In the past eight seasons, the NL East has won a grand total of two playoff series and produced one pennant winner — with the 2015 Mets responsible for the entirety of that October success.Two years ago, Washington finished a whopping 20 games in front, and no other team in the division was better than 77-85.Last season, Atlanta rolled to a surprise title at 90-72, the fewest wins of any postseason participant. No... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — For years, the NL East has been soft as a bunt single.Not anymore.Even before Bryce Harper decided to stay inside the division, four of the five teams spent this offseason swinging for the fences. In addition to defending champion Atlanta, the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals all have enough firepower to potentially contend for the playoffs."This is probably going to be the stiffest competition in a division race in my career," Nationals ace Max Scherzer said at spring training.It's certainly a noticeable transformation.In the past eight seasons, the NL East has won a grand total of two playoff series and produced one pennant winner — with the 2015 Mets responsible for the entirety of that October success.Two years ago, Washington finished a whopping 20 games in front, and no other team in the division was better than 77-85.Last season, Atlanta rolled to a surprise title at 90-72, the fewest wins of any postseason participant. No... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Kendall Graveman is surrounded by new faces while he travels a tedious road back to the majors.Graveman signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs in December after his 2018 season with Oakland was cut short by reconstructive elbow surgery. It's a chance to use major league facilities to rehab a major injury under the care of a top-notch medical staff, but it's also potentially awkward trying to get to know a new group of teammates without taking the field with them right away.The 28-year-old Graveman is attacking the problem with an entrepreneurial spirit, enriching himself while he bonds with the rest of Chicago's pitching staff."I've sat down and had a couple of conversations with Kyle Hendricks about the way he pitches," Graveman said. "Been able to watch some bullpens of Cole Hamels and (Yu) Darvish and some of these guys. So I'm really in a learning process. ... I'm trying to just be a sponge and soak up everything."To get close to these guys by talking pitching... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — It took a long time and a lot of money, but the Philadelphia Phillies finally landed Bryce Harper with a record contract.The young star outfielder and the Phillies agreed Thursday to a $330 million, 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history.Harper's agent, California-based Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to at 10:34 a.m. PST, subject to a successful physical.Phillies manager Gabe Kapler and his players learned of the agreement from fans behind Philadelphia's dugout who saw media reports on their mobile devices during a spring training game in Clearwater, Florida."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — It took a long time and a lot of money, but the Philadelphia Phillies finally landed Bryce Harper with a record contract.The young star outfielder and the Phillies agreed Thursday to a $330 million, 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history.Harper's agent, California-based Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to at 10:34 a.m. PST, subject to a successful physical.Phillies manager Gabe Kapler and his players learned of the agreement from fans behind Philadelphia's dugout who saw media reports on their mobile devices during a spring training game in Clearwater, Florida."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — It took a long time and a lot of money, but the Philadelphia Phillies finally landed Bryce Harper with a record contract.The young star outfielder and the Phillies agreed Thursday to a $330 million, 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history.Harper's agent, Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to shortly before noon, subject to a successful physical.Phillies manager Gabe Kapler and his players learned of the agreement from fans behind Philadelphia's dugout who saw media reports on their mobile devices during a spring training game in Clearwater, Florida."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a $330 million, 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Thursday because the agreement is subject to a successful physical.A 26-year-old All-Star outfielder who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo Stanton reached before the 2015 season with the Miami Marlins.Harper's agreement, first reported by the MLB Network, tops the previous high for a free agent, set last week when infielder Manny Machado signed a $300 million, 10-year deal with the San Diego Padres. Harper's average annual value of $25.4 million ranks 14th in baseball history, well below the high of $34.1 million set by Arizona pitcher Zack Greinke as part of a $206.5 million, six-year contract that started in 2016.Harper... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a $330 million, 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Thursday because the agreement is subject to a successful physical.A 26-year-old All-Star outfielder, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo Stanton reached before the 2015 season with the Miami Marlins.Harper's agreement, first reported by the MLB Network, tops the previous high for a free agent, set last week when infielder Manny Machado signed a $300 million, 10-year deal with the San Diego Padres. Harper's average annual value of $25.4 million ranks 14th in baseball history, well below the high of $31.4 million set by Arizona pitcher Zack Greinke as part of a $206.5 million, six-year contract that started in 2016.Harper gets a $20 million signing bonus, a $10 million salary this year, $26 million... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Zimmerman finds it odd that so many teams now feel the need to announce they are trying to win."I try and win every day," the veteran Washington Nationals first baseman said Sunday. "I think that's kind of the point of sports. That's kind of what the whole basis about professional sports is — you try and win. When you have teams actively saying that we're going to go into this free agent market in a win-now mode, I don't know that you should have to state that it's a win-now mode, but I guess that's where we're at. I think that's troubling,"Zimmerman made the comments while sitting at his locker, a few feet from where one of the offseason's two premier free agents once dressed.His former teammate Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are considered the jewels of the free-agent market, yet with position players reporting to most camps early this week, neither has signed."I don't think I'm surprised. It happened last year," Zimmerman said. "We were told it was going... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Atlanta BravesManager: Brian Snitker (fourth season).2018: 90-72, first place, lost to Dodgers in Division Series.Training Town: Kissimmee, Florida.Park: Champion Stadium.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, C Brian McCann, C Raffy Lopez, pitching coach Rick Kranitz.He's Outta Here: C Kurt Suzuki, RHP Anibal Sanchez, RHP Brandon McCarthy, RHP Brad Brach, 3B Ryan Flaherty, RHP Peter Moylan, 1B Lucas Duda, C Rene Rivera, OF Lane Adams, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.Going campin': The 2018 Baby Braves were a surprise breakthrough team, winning the club's first NL East championship since 2013. A repeat title in a tougher NL East might be a bigger challenge. A key to the start of spring will be the health of Donaldson, who signed a one-year, $23 million deal after a left... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Atlanta BravesManager: Brian Snitker (fourth season).2018: 90-72, first place, lost to Dodgers in Division Series.Training Town: Kissimmee, Florida.Park: Champion Stadium.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, C Brian McCann, C Raffy Lopez, pitching coach Rick Kranitz.He's Outta Here: C Kurt Suzuki, RHP Anibal Sanchez, RHP Brandon McCarthy, RHP Brad Brach, 3B Ryan Flaherty, RHP Peter Moylan, 1B Lucas Duda, C Rene Rivera, OF Lane Adams, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.Going campin': The 2018 Baby Braves were a surprise breakthrough team, winning the club's first NL East championship since 2013. A repeat title in a tougher NL East might be a bigger challenge. A key to the start of spring will be the health of Donaldson, who signed a one-year, $23 million deal after a left... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brian Dozier turned down a more lucrative deal to join what he hopes is a playoff team with the Nationals.The 31-year-old signed a $9 million, one-year contract with Washington that makes him the new second baseman and potentially a bridge from Daniel Murphy to prospect Carter Kieboom. Dozier said Tuesday other clubs offered him more money and longer deals, but he and his wife opted for the opportunity to win now."We're not the ones to go with the highest bidder by any means or any of that kind of stuff," Dozier said on a conference call. "With more years and dollars out there, we felt like this one-year deal with the Nats would be the best fit for us."Dozier's contract includes $2 million deferred without interest until Jan. 15, 2020. Next winter could bring an even bigger windfall if he's able to get his swing back on track.Last season, Dozier battled a bone bruise in his left knee and hit a career-low .215 with 21 homers with the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers.... [More]