DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies have brought in Daniel Murphy to play first base, signing the veteran to a $24 million, two-year deal.The 33-year-old Murphy started slow last season as he recovered from right knee surgery. He still hit .299 over 91 games with Washington and the Chicago Cubs.The plan is for Murphy to take over at first base, meaning Ian Desmond moves to the outfield.Murphy is a three-time All-Star who finished second in the NL MVP voting in 2016 after hitting .347 with the Nationals. He's been a postseason regular, including the 2015 World Series while with the New York Mets.The Rockies have been to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies have brought in Daniel Murphy to boost an offense big on pop but lackluster in batting average.The veteran infielder has agreed to a $24 million, two-year contract with the Rockies, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical.The Rockies hit .256 last season, their lowest mark in team history. The team had 210 homers, the fifth-most in franchise history and the most since 2001.Murphy figures to raise that batting average. He is a .330 hitter in 26 games at Coors Field.The 33-year-old Murphy spent last season with the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, where he hit a combined .299 with 12 homers. The three-time All-Star missed the start of the year after undergoing right knee surgery.Murphy could play second base for the Rockies if DJ LeMahieu departs in free agency. The Rockies also may be looking at Murphy to take... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies have brought in Daniel Murphy to boost an offense big on pop but lackluster in batting average.The veteran infielder has agreed to a $24 million, two-year contract with the Rockies, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical.The Rockies hit .256 last season, their lowest mark in team history. The team had 210 homers, the fifth-most in franchise history and the most since 2001.Murphy figures to raise that batting average. He is a .330 hitter in 26 games at Coors Field.The 33-year-old Murphy spent last season with the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, where he hit a combined .299 with 12 homers.Murphy could play second base for the Rockies if DJ LeMahieu departs in free agency. The Rockies also may be looking at Murphy to take over at first base should Ian Desmond move to the outfield. The team figures to lose outfielders... [More]

DENVER (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that infielder Daniel Murphy has agreed to a $24 million, two-year contract with the Colorado Rockies.The person spoke Thursday night on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical.Murphy spent last season with the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, where he hit a combined .299 with 12 homers.The 33-year-old Murphy could play second base for the Rockies if DJ LeMahieu departs in free agency. The Rockies may also be looking at Murphy to take over at first base should Ian Desmond move to the outfield.Murphy has hit .330 in 26 games at Coors Field.___AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington outfielder Bryce Harper and Boston closer Craig Kimbrel were among just seven free agents who received $17.9 million qualifying offers from their former clubs Friday, when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw agreed to a $93 million, three-year contract rather than test the market.Left-handers Patrick Corbin (Arizona), Dallas Keuchel (Houston) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers) also received qualifying offers as did outfielder A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks) and catcher Yasmani Grandal (Dodgers).Players have until Nov. 12 to accept. If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.Only five of 73 players given qualifying offers have accepted since the process began in 2012.The Chicago Cubs exercised their $20 million option on left-hander Cole Hamels, who went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington outfielder Bryce Harper and Boston closer Craig Kimbrel were among just seven free agents who received $17.9 million qualifying offers from their former clubs Friday, when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw agreed to a $93 million, three-year contract rather than test the market.Left-handers Patrick Corbin (Arizona) Dallas Keuchel (Houston) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers) also received offers as did outfielder A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks) and catcher Yasmani Grandal (Dodgers).Players have until Nov. 12 to accept. If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.Just five of 73 players given qualifying offers have accepted since the process began in 2012.The Chicago Cubs exercised their $20 million option on left-hander Cole Hamels, who went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts after... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of qualifying offers for Major League Baseball free agents will be $17.9 million this year.That figure is up from $17.2 million last year and $15.8 million the year before. It was determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts this year by average annual value.This year's anticipated free agent class could include Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Brian Dozier, Daniel Murphy, Michael Brantley, Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen, A.J. Pollock, Nelson Cruz, Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton and Craig Kimbrel. Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw could also decide to opt out of the remaining two years on his contract.A qualifying offer can be made through the fifth day after the World Series, and a player has a week after that to accept. If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of qualifying offers for Major League Baseball free agents will be $17.9 million this year.That figure is up from $17.2 million last year and $15.8 million the year before. It was determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts this year by average annual value.This year's anticipated free agent class could include Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Brian Dozier, Daniel Murphy, Michael Brantley, Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen, A.J. Pollock, Nelson Cruz, Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton and Craig Kimbrel. Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw could also decide to opt out of the remaining two years on his contract.A qualifying offer can be made through the fifth day after the World Series, and a player has a week after that to accept. If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — No team in the National League piled up more victories than the Chicago Cubs through 162 games. That seems like small consolation now.Kyle Hendricks gave up a tiebreaking single to Tony Wolters in the 13th inning, sending the Cubs to a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies in a marathon wild-card game on Tuesday night.Chicago lost two home games with a chance to reach the NL Division Series. The Cubs scored a total of two runs over 22 innings, dropping a tiebreaker to Milwaukee for the NL Central championship and then getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Rockies.They squandered a dominant start by Jon Lester, got shut down by Kyle Freeland and wasted several big scoring opportunities. Hendricks came in to retire the final two batters in the 12th and got the first two in the 13th before running into trouble.Trevor Story grounded a single through the left side and Gerardo Parra lined one to right, putting runners at first and third. Wolters — who came into the game as part... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — No team in the National League piled up more victories than the Chicago Cubs through 162 games. That seems like small consolation now.Kyle Hendricks gave up a tiebreaking single to Tony Wolters in the 13th inning, sending the Cubs to a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies in a marathon wild-card loss on Tuesday night.Chicago lost two home games with a chance to reach the NL Division Series. The Cubs scored a total of two runs over 22 innings, dropping a tiebreaker to Milwaukee for the NL Central championship and then getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Rockies.They squandered a dominant start by Jon Lester, got shut down by Kyle Freeland and wasted several big scoring opportunities. Hendricks came in to retire the final two batters in the 12th and got the first two in the 13th before running into trouble.Trevor Story grounded a single through the left side and Gerardo Parra lined one to right, putting runners at first and third. Wolters — who came into the game as part... [More]

A look at the National League wild-card game between the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs:___Schedule: Tuesday, at Chicago, 8:09 p.m. EDT (ESPN).___Season Series: Tied 3-3.___Projected Lineups:Rockies: CF Charlie Blackmon (.291, 29 HRs, 70 RBIs), 2B DJ LeMahieu (.276, 15, 62), LF David Dahl (.273, 16, 48), 3B Nolan Arenado (.297, 38, 110), SS Trevor Story (.291, 37, 108), RF Carlos Gonzalez (.276, 16, 64), 1B Ian Desmond (.236, 22, 88), C Chris Iannetta (.224, 11, 36).Cubs: 2B Daniel Murphy (.299, 12, 42 with Nationals and Cubs), RF Ben Zobrist (.305, 9, 58), SS Javier Baez (.290, 34, NL-best 111, 21 SBs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.283, 25, 101), 3B Kris Bryant (.272, 13, 52), LF Kyle Schwarber (.238, 26, 61), CF Jason Heyward (.270, 8, 57) or Ian Happ (.233, 15, 44) or Albert Almora (.286, 5, 41), C Willson Contreras (.249, 10, 54).___Starting Pitchers:Rockies: LH Kyle Freeland (17-7, 2.85 ERA, lowest full-season ERA for starting pitcher in team history).Cubs: LH Jon Lester (18-6, 3.32).___Relievers:Rockies:... [More]

The Latest on the Major League Baseball's final day heading into the postseason (all times Eastern):7:30 p.m.Rookie Walker Buehler tossed one-hit ball into the seventh inning, Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy slugged two-run homers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Colorado Rockies 5-2 to earn a record sixth consecutive NL West title in a tiebreaker game.That sets up a wild-card showdown Tuesday night between the Rockies and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Jon Lester will start for Chicago. Colorado has not yet named a starter, but Antonio Senzatela may get the call.The Dodgers are the first major league team to win six straight division titles since the Yankees captured nine AL East titles in a row from 1998-2006.Los Angeles hosts Atlanta in the NL Division Series beginning Thursday.___7:15 p.m.Ichiro Suzuki will go to spring training next season with the Seattle Mariners as a player.Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto says Suzuki will be in spring training with the Mariners in 2019... [More]

The Latest on the Major League Baseball's final day heading into the postseason (all times Eastern):5:10 p.m.The Dodgers led the majors in attendance this season, topping the 3 million mark.Even accounting for the usual late-arriving fans in Los Angeles, there are plenty of empty seats for the Dodgers' tiebreaker game against Colorado.Each end of the upper deck has three nearly empty sections, there's ample room in the outfield, and rows of empty seats elsewhere.A Monday day game with people at work and kids back in school surely doesn't help.The crowd that is on hand is being loud in support of Dodgers rookie starter Walker Buehler. With two outs, they've been standing up and cheering for him.The Dodgers drew 3,809,684 through 81 home dates, averaging 47,033 per game.That's well ahead of the second-place Yankees, who totaled 3,482,855.___4:55 p.m.Shohei Ohtani has undergone Tommy John surgery.Angels general manager Billy Eppler announced Monday that the surgery went well. Dr. Neal ElAttrache... [More]

The Latest on the Major League Baseball's final day heading into the postseason (all times Eastern):4:55 p.m.Shohei Ohtani has undergone Tommy John surgery.Angels general manager Billy Eppler announced Monday that the surgery went well. Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the procedure in Los Angeles.Ohtani was named the AL Rookie of the Month for September, which began with an abbreviated pitching performance and the subsequent realization he needed surgery. Ohtani went on to bat .310 with seven homers and 18 RBIs, making him a top contender for the AL Rookie of the Year award.Ohtani will spend much of the offseason in Southern California for rehabilitation, Eppler said.The GM also confirmed that the Angels plan to use Ohtani as a hitter throughout 2019. He will return to the mound in 2020.___4:30 p.m.Colorado right fielder Carlos Gonzalez was booed when he came to the plate for the first time against the Dodgers in the NL West tiebreaker.The crowd was reacting to Gonzalez's comments in a column... [More]

The Latest on the Major League Baseball's final day heading into the postseason (all times Eastern):4:30 p.m.Colorado right fielder Carlos Gonzalez was booed when he came to the plate for the first time against the Dodgers in the NL West tiebreaker.The crowd was reacting to Gonzalez's comments in a column in the Denver Post on Monday in which he said he detests hearing "I Love L.A.," a song that blares after every Dodgers home victory.Gonzalez called it "that stupid song" and says he tries to run into the visiting clubhouse as fast as he can to avoid hearing it.After Gonzalez struck out to end the second, the stadium organist played a snippet of Randy Newman's ode to the city.___4:25 p.m.Lorenzo Cain hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning, Christian Yelich collected three more hits and the Milwaukee Brewers won the NL Central title by downing the Chicago Cubs 3-1 on Monday in a high-stakes tiebreaker game.Milwaukee trailed Chicago by as many as five games in September, but it... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to finish the... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to finish the... [More]