TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is expected to start the regular season on the disabled list because of an oblique injury that has kept him out of exhibition games since March 1.Ellsbury had been scheduled to play Tuesday against Detroit, but his return was pushed back because he has flu-like symptoms. Ellsbury is projected as a backup outfielder after losing the starting center-field job to Aaron Hicks last season."Just a bummer," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday, calling the DL stint "very likely.""Just too hard to get him into enough games," Boone said. "The good thing, at least, we feel like he's totally healed up from his injury."Ellsbury 34-year-old is guaranteed $21,142,857 in each of the next three seasons as part of a $153 million, seven-year contract that includes a $21 million team option for 2021 with a $5 million buyout.Brett Gardner is the starting left fielder, and Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge will rotate between right field and designated... [More]

Mike Moustakas is staying with the Kansas City Royals in a surprising turn dictated by a historically slow free-agent market.Kansas City agreed Thursday to a one-year contract that guarantees the third baseman $6.5 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The deal could be worth up to $22.7 million over two seasons, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.Moustakas gets a $5.5 million salary this year and has the chance to earn $2.2 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. The agreement, reached exactly three weeks before opening day, includes a $15 million mutual option for 2019 with a $1 million buyout.The 29-year-old infielder turned down a $17.4 million, one-year qualifying offer from the Royals in November. But he found the interest of many other teams dimmed because a deal would have required compensation such as a loss of draft picks and/or international signing... [More]

Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel will have to wait even longer before playing this season.Gurriel had surgery on his left hand Wednesday and the normal recovery time is six weeks.Opening day for the World Series champions is March 29, when the Astros visit Texas. When Gurriel returns, he will serve a five-game suspension imposed by Major League Baseball for making an inappropriate gesture toward Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish during the World Series.Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said Gurriel's hand was broken before he came to camp. Luhnow said he did not know the original cause of the fracture."It was non-symptomatic until recently and he started to feel something," Luhnow said. "Once you start feeling something, the right course of action is to just remove it because it's a pretty reliable surgery, and we know what the outcome is going to be."The 33-year-old Gurriel hit .299 with 18 homers and 75 RBIs last year in his first full season in the majors. He played in one exhibition... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Nobody saw this coming, not even the Kansas City Royals.Whit Merrifield has gone from an afterthought to the American League stolen base champion. He has gone from more than 2,500 at-bats in the minors to the Kansas City starting second baseman.He began last year with Triple-A Omaha, his eighth straight season to open in the minors. He finished it hitting .288 with 19 home runs, 32 doubles, 78 RBIs and a league-leading 34 stolen bases."The most impressive thing to me about Whit Merrifield is his work ethic and how he has gone from just being an organizational player to a very, very solid major league player," Royals manager Ned Yost said Wednesday. "I don't think anybody three years ago would have projected Whit to be the player he is today."Everybody thought he'd be a nice utility player in Double-A, a nice utility player in Triple-A. I'm not sure anybody could project him to be anything more just maybe a utility player at the big league level. Maybe. And he's worked... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The offseason Royals fans have been dreading for years has come and gone, and now a team that could bear little resemblance to its championship past is ready to report to spring training in Arizona.Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas could be playing elsewhere. Lorenzo Cain is already headed to camp with Milwaukee. The only core member that reached free agency who will be back is shortstop Alcides Escobar, who agreed to one-year contract with Kansas City with nothing else materialized.One thing the Royals aren't going to do: tank.General manager Dayton Moore insisted they will not regress to their 100-loss past, even if Hosmer and Moustakas also sign with other teams. He's confident that a relatively weak farm system can replace those big names, and that the Royals will at least be competitive by opening day."If anybody thinks we're going to settle for mediocrity," Moore said, "or allow our players to be overmatched on a consistent basis, not put a competitive team on... [More]

A team-by-team look at the American League Central 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:___Cleveland IndiansManager: Terry Francona (sixth season).2017: 102-60, first place, lost to New York Yankees in ALDS.Training Town: Goodyear, Arizona.Park: Goodyear Ballpark.First Workout: Feb. 15/19.He's Here: 1B-DH Yonder Alonso, OF Melvin Upton Jr., RHP Alexi Ogando.He's Outta Here: 1B Carlos Santana, OF Jay Bruce, RHP Bryan Shaw, RHP Joe Smith, OF Austin Jackson, LHP Boone Logan.Going campin': Poised to possibly end their 70-year-old World Series title drought, the Indians, who reeled off 22 straight victories in 2017, didn't even make it back to the AL Championship Series after squandering a 2-0 playoff lead against the Yankees. Unlike last winter, when the club signed DH Edwin Encarnacion in free agency, the Indians were relatively quiet, counting on their core to carry them in... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals had hoped to retain some of the core players that helped them to back-to-back American League pennants and a World Series title after hitting free agency this offseason.They accomplished it with at least one of them.Kansas City signed Alcides Escobar to a $2.5 million deal for the upcoming season Monday, keeping their longtime shortstop on the roster after he joined first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Jason Vargas in hitting the open market.Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the framework for a contract was in place, that he hoped Escobar could give the club more time for top prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. to mature."It's important to have a lot of depth up the middle, as you know, although we really appreciate and admire the talent of Raul," Moore said. "We'll see how that unfolds."Escobar, who can earn up to $1.5 million in bonuses based on plate appearances, has spent the past... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals had hoped to retain some of the core players that helped them to back-to-back American League pennants and a World Series title after hitting free agency this offseason.They accomplished it with at least one of them.Kansas City signed Alcides Escobar to a $2.5 million deal for the upcoming season Monday, keeping their longtime shortstop on the roster after he joined first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Jason Vargas in hitting the open market.Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the framework for a contract was in place, that he hoped Escobar could give the club more time for top prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. to mature."It's important to have a lot of depth up the middle, as you know, although we really appreciate and admire the talent of Raul," Moore said. "We'll see how that unfolds."Escobar, who can earn up to $1.5 million in bonuses based on plate appearances, has spent the past... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals traded designated hitter Brandon Moss and left-hander Ryan Buchter to the Oakland A's on Monday night for right-handed pitchers Jesse Hahn and Heath Fillmyer.Not to mentioned a bit of financial relief.Moss was owed $8.25 million for the upcoming season, and the Royals sent $3.25 million to Oakland as part of the deal. That equates to a savings of about $5 million that the Royals, who have been trying to trim payroll, could use to sign free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer to a long-term deal.Moss hit a disappointing .207 with 22 homers and 50 RBIs for the Royals last season, and he was one of the names floated as recently as last week as the starting first baseman heading into spring.But the Royals have been trying to woo Hosmer, a free agent for the first time, and have reportedly offered him a seven-year, $140 million contract. That size of deal would make it difficult for general manager Dayton Moore to simultaneously succeed in his desire to trim payroll,... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals had hoped to retain some of the core players that helped them to back-to-back American League pennants and a World Series title after hitting free agency this offseason.They accomplished it with at least one of them.Kansas City signed Alcides Escobar to a $2.5 million deal for the upcoming season Monday, keeping their longtime shortstop on the roster after he joined first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Jason Vargas in hitting the open market.Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the framework for a contract was in place, that he hoped Escobar could give the club more time for top prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. to mature."It's important to have a lot of depth up the middle, as you know, although we really appreciate and admire the talent of Raul," Moore said. "We'll see how that unfolds."Escobar, who can earn up to $1.5 million in bonuses based on plate appearances, has spent the past... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals had hoped to retain some of the core players that helped them to back-to-back American League pennants and a World Series title after hitting free agency this offseason.They accomplished it with at least one of them.Kansas City signed Alcides Escobar to a $2.5 million deal for the upcoming season Monday, keeping their longtime shortstop on the roster after he joined first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Jason Vargas in hitting the open market.Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the framework for a contract was in place, that he hoped Escobar could give the club more time for top prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. to mature."It's important to have a lot of depth up the middle, as you know, although we really appreciate and admire the talent of Raul," Moore said. "We'll see how that unfolds."Escobar, who can earn up to $1.5 million in bonuses based on plate appearances, has spent the past... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have signed Alcides Escobar to a $2.5 million contract for next season, keeping their longtime shortstop on the roster after reaching free agency this offseason.The sides agreed to the framework of a deal last week, but it wasn't announced until Monday.Escobar, who has spent the past seven seasons with Kansas City, also can earn up to $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. He is expected to start the season at shortstop but will be pushed by touted prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. throughout the spring.Escobar hit .250 with six homers, 54 RBIs and a career-high 102 strikeouts last season. He won a gold glove and was voted an All-Star in 2015, when he helped the Royals win the World Series.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ned Yost strode through a ballroom inside Bartle Hall, where the Royals were having their annual fan festival, unsure of who will be in his lineup when spring training begins next month.The often-crusty manager was smiling, anyway.The reason was twofold: Yost is excited about the future of the organization, which is expected to rebuild around a wave of young players after the old core became free agents, and he's feeling good after a terrifying fall from a hunting stand last November left him with a broken pelvis and other injuries."I'm still supposed to be in a wheel chair right now," Yost said, "so I'm way ahead of schedule."Yost was checking the stands on his Georgia farm when one of them suddenly buckled, sending the avid outdoorsman on a perilous 20-foot drop. The fracture pelvis led to so much bleeding that surgeons wondered whether he would survive, and four broken bones only complicated the healing process.For weeks, the only movement Yost was allowed was... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have signed former Blue Jays infielder Ryan Goins to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to big league spring training.Kansas City announced the move Wednesday.The 29-year-old Goins was non-tendered by the Blue Jays after hitting .237 with a .286 on-base percentage last season. He did set career highs with 21 doubles, nine homers and 62 RBIs.Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar hit free agency this offseason, which means youngster Raul Mondesi is lined up to start at shortstop and Whit Merrifield at second base this season. Goins could provide some veteran depth behind both of those positions.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

SS Alcides Escobar had a triple and a two-run double. He is batting .299 in 98 games since June 10, hiking his average 74 points to .252. He hit .178 in his first 60 games.

SS Alcides Escobar's home run in the second inning on Friday night gave the Royals their first run. In September, Escobar is hitting .440 (22-for-50) with two home runs, a triple, six doubles and seven RBIs.

SS Alcides Escobar has been the Royals' hottest hitter in September. He is hitting .457 (21-for-46) in September, with a home run, a triple, six doubles, nine runs scored and six RBIs.

SS Alcides Escobar is hitting .358 in his past 30 games. He has driven in five runs in his past seven games after going 12 games without an RBI. Escobar's average is up to .248.

SS Alcides Escobar had four hits, matching his career high, against Detroit on Wednesday. He came up a homer shy of a cycle while scoring twice and knocking in a run. Escobar has nine four-hit games, but his most recent prior to Wednesday came on May 15, 2016. Escobar, now regularly batting in the No. 8 spot, is still hitting a subpar .243 with a .265 on-base percentage.

SS Alcides Escobar started his 300th consecutive game Sunday. That's the longest active streak in the majors, and it's the longest streak in Royals history. Escobar's streak began on Sept. 26, 2015.