The San Diego Padres acquired Mike Clevinger in a multiplayer deal with the Cleveland Indians on Monday, bolstering their rotation with another bold move ahead of baseball's trade deadline.A person with direct knowledge of the deal said San Diego got Clevinger, outfielder Greg Allen and a player to be named from Cleveland for a package of young players that included outfielder Josh Naylor, right-hander Cal Quantrill and catcher Austin Hedges.The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade hadn't been announced. Led by Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego is going for its first playoff appearance since 2006. The acquisition of Clevinger is the Padres' fifth trade since Saturday.San Diego acquired veteran catchers Jason Castro and Austin Nola in a pair of deals on Sunday, making Hedges expendable. First baseman Mitch Moreland came over in a trade with Boston, and the Padres added reliever Trevor Rosenthal in a deal with Kansas City.The 29-year-old... [More]

The San Diego Padres acquired Mike Clevinger in a multiplayer trade with the Cleveland Indians on Monday, bolstering their rotation with another bold move ahead of baseball's trade deadline.A person with direct knowledge of the deal said San Diego got Clevinger, outfielder Greg Allen and a player to be named from Cleveland for a package of young players that included outfielder Josh Naylor, right-hander Cal Quantrill and catcher Austin Hedges.The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade hadn't been announced. Led by Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego is going for its first playoff appearance since 2006. The acquisition of Clevinger is the Padres' fifth trade since Saturday.Cleveland is in the mix for the AL Central title, but Clevinger may have wore out his welcome when he was caught breaking COVID-19 protocols a couple weeks ago, leading to a trip to the team's alternate training site.Clevinger and teammate Zach Plesac left the team’s Chicago hotel, socialized outside the team’s “bubble,” missed curfew and caused a rift inside the clubhouse. Clevinger returned to Cleveland's rotation on Wednesday, pitching six effective innings in a victory over Minnesota.The Indians also got infielder Gabriel Arias, left-hander Joey Cantillo and infielder Owen Miller in the deal.

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___DEADLINE DAYThe Padres, Cubs and Braves were among the clubs that added players in a burst of deals a day before Monday’s trade deadline. San Diego added first baseman Mitch Moreland from Boston, Chicago picked up slugger Jose Martinez from Tampa Bay, and Atlanta acquired left-hander Tommy Milone from Baltimore. Bigger names could still move, with right-handed starters Mike Clevinger of Cleveland and Lance Lynn of Texas among those rumored to be available. Rangers slugger Joey Gallo and Diamondbacks center fielder Starling Marte might also be trade targets.Teams have until 4 p.m. ET to complete their deals. ENCORELooking to follow up his no-hitter Tuesday against Pittsburgh, right-hander Lucas Giolito starts for the Chicago White Sox at Minnesota in a matchup of AL Central contenders. Chicago is tied with Cleveland for the division lead, while the Twins are 1½ games back after losing five straight. Johnny Vander Meer is the only major... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday: ___DEADLINE DAYThe Padres, Cubs and Braves were among the clubs that added players in a burst of deals a day before Monday’s trade deadline. San Diego added first baseman Mitch Moreland from Boston, Chicago picked up slugger Jose Martinez from Tampa Bay, and Atlanta acquired left-hander Tommy Milone from Baltimore. Bigger names could still move, with right-handed starters Mike Clevinger of Cleveland and Lance Lynn of Texas among those rumored to be available. Rangers slugger Joey Gallo and Diamondbacks center fielder Starling Marte might also be trade targets.Teams have until 4 p.m. ET to complete their deals. ENCORELooking to follow up his no-hitter Tuesday against Pittsburgh, right-hander Lucas Giolito starts for the Chicago White Sox at Minnesota in a matchup of AL Central contenders. Chicago is tied with Cleveland for the division lead, while the Twins are 1½ games back after losing five straight. Johnny Vander Meer is the only major... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Perez hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday night.Perez homered to center off Mychal Givens (0-1). It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2018.Ryan Sherriff (1-0) worked a perfect eighth in his first big league game since May 7, 2018, due to Tommy John surgery. Diego Castillo pitched the ninth to get his first save. Ten Tampa Bay relievers have a save this season.Brandon Lowe hit his 10th homer for the Rays, who have won nine of 11. The Orioles are 8-3 on the road after losing the first two games of the series. Their only other defeat away from home came opening day at Boston.BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 1BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double, and Toronto beat Boston.Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line that keyed a four-run seventh inning for Toronto (15-14).... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Perez hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday night.Perez homered to center off Mychal Givens (0-1). It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2018.Ryan Sherriff (1-0) worked a perfect eighth in his first big league game since May 7, 2018, due to Tommy John surgery. Diego Castillo pitched the ninth to get his first save. Ten Tampa Bay relievers have a save this season.Brandon Lowe hit his 10th homer for the Rays, who have won nine of 11. The Orioles are 8-3 on the road after losing the first two games of the series. Their only other defeat away from home came opening day at Boston.BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 1BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double, and Toronto beat Boston.Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line that keyed a four-run seventh inning for Toronto (15-14).... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Perez hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday night.Perez homered to center off Mychal Givens (0-1). It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2018.Ryan Sherriff (1-0) worked a perfect eighth in his first big league game since May 7, 2018, due to Tommy John surgery. Diego Castillo pitched the ninth to get his first save. Ten Tampa Bay relievers have a save this season.Brandon Lowe hit his 10th homer for the Rays, who have won nine of 11. The Orioles are 8-3 on the road after losing the first two games of the series. Their only other defeat away from home came opening day at Boston.BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 1BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double, and Toronto beat Boston.Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line that keyed a four-run seventh inning for Toronto (15-14).... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:TRIPLE DOUBLESAaron Judge has rejoined the Yankees just in time for the team’s rugged patch -- three doubleheaders in a span of five days.New York’s game against the Braves was rained out Tuesday, creating a twinbill in Atlanta. That will be followed by doubleheaders Friday and Sunday vs. the Mets at Yankee Stadium.“That’s 2020, baby,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to figure it out. It’s a challenge. Obviously, these seven-inning (doubleheader) games makes it a little more doable, where it’s not as daunting, but there’s no question we’re heading into a tough stretch here.”The Yankees haven’t played since last Thursday. Their three-game Subway Series against the Mets over the weekend was postponed because of coronavirus concerns.Judge and Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. came off the injured list Tuesday. Ian Anderson, the No. 3 overall pick in 2016 and the Braves’ top pitching prospect, had been set to make his major league... [More]

TRIPLE DOUBLESAaron Judge has rejoined the Yankees just in time for the team’s rugged patch -- three doubleheaders in a span of five days.New York’s game against the Braves was rained out Tuesday, creating a twinbill in Atlanta. That will be followed by doubleheaders Friday and Sunday vs. the Mets at Yankee Stadium.“That’s 2020, baby,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to figure it out. It’s a challenge. Obviously, these seven-inning (doubleheader) games makes it a little more doable, where it’s not as daunting, but there’s no question we’re heading into a tough stretch here.”The Yankees haven’t played since last Thursday. Their three-game Subway Series against the Mets over the weekend was postponed because of coronavirus concerns.Judge and Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. came off the injured list Tuesday. Ian Anderson, the No. 3 overall pick in 2016 and the Braves’ top pitching prospect, had been set to make his major league debut and face Gerrit Cole (4-0), who has a 20-game... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians are ready to give starter Mike Clevinger another chance — and the ball.Cleveland will recall Clevinger to pitch Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins for the time since he and teammate Zach Plesac broke team rules and Major League Baseball COVID-19 protocols and were demoted for their behavior.“It's time to start the healing process with those guys,” said interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr., who is filling in while Terry Francona attends to health issues. “In order to go places, we’re going to need these guys, and also we’re going to eventually need Tito back.”Alomar did not speak to Clevinger and Plesac, but was told both showed contrition.“I guess both of them have remorse about what happened,” he said. “They want the opportunity to be given the chance to prove that they changed. And we’re human beings. We’re going to make mistakes. I think a little separation from the club helped, and it’s time for the healing process and for those two guys to let their teammates... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Indians starter Mike Clevinger will pitch Wednesday for the first time since breaking team rules and Major League Baseball COVID-19 protocols and being demoted for 10 days.Clevinger will return and pitch the series finale against the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. The right-hander last pitched on Aug. 5 at Cincinnati. Three days later, he and Zach Plesac violated the team's code of conduct by going out to dinner and risking exposure to the coronavirus.The actions of the free-spirited Clevinger drew the wrath of teammates, who expressed their unhappiness with him and Plesac during at a team meeting in Detroit. Afterward, the team optioned Clevinger and Plesac to the club's alternate training site in Eastlake, Ohio.The Indians were most upset that Clevinger didn’t initially admit to going out in Chicago with Plesac, who was driven back to Cleveland by a car service. Clevinger flew on the team plane and potentially risked others contracting the virus if he had been exposed.Adam Plutko, who took Clevinger's spot in the rotation, recently said his teammates “hurt us bad. They lied to us.”Manager Terry Francona, who has been away from the team following surgery, said Clevinger and Plesac would have to work on getting back trust from their teammates.Clevinger has been mentioned in numerous trade scenarios as the Aug. 31 deadline nears.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Highly touted pitching prospect Triston McKenzie is scheduled to make his major league debut Saturday night for the Cleveland Indians.The 23-year-old right-hander will start at home against Detroit. He has been working out at the Indians’ alternate trining site in Eastlake, Ohio.The Indians announced McKenzie as Saturday’s probable before Thursday night’s game against the Pirates.McKenzie missed last season because of a shoulder injury after pitching at Double-A Akron in 2018. He has gone 26-16 with a 2.68 ERA in 60 minor league games over four seasons.McKenzie was a supplemental first-round draft pick in 2015.The call-up of McKenzie means that Zach Plesac will not pitch this weekend in Detroit.Plesac and pitcher Mike Clevinger were sent to the alternate site last week. They were found to have broken COVID-19 protocols by leaving the team hotel the previous weekend in Chicago.Plesac was scheduled to pitch a simulated game Thursday. Clevinger pitched five innings in the same scenario Wednesday.First base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. who has been running the Indians while manager Terry Francona deals with a gastrointestinal ailment, was asked what advice he would give McKenzie.“Just be yourself, trust yourself,” said Alomar, a six-time All-Star catcher for Cleveland. “It’s a different level but you’ve still got to throw strikes and do the things that made you successful in the minor leagues.”

In Los Angeles the other night, the cutouts behind home plate had extra big smiles on their faces as Mookie Betts smashed three home runs at Dodger Stadium.On the same night, Yu Darvish took a no-hitter into the seventh inning at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs jumped off to their best start in more than a century.Fans were forced to cheer from home for both performances, for reasons well known to everyone. Still, they were a reminder that — if you suspend reality just a little — everything in sports doesn’t have to be about COVID-19.A third of the way into the strangest season ever, baseball is working, at least in spots. There are reasons to turn on the television to watch, even if nothing is really the same.There’s a new team in Buffalo, though no one in Buffalo can go to see it. Soon there will be a team again in St. Louis, assuming all goes well.Most important, baseball is starting to beat the numbers, though the cancellation of games this weekend in Cincinnati were a grim reminder that... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — After hearing Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac explain their actions, the Cleveland Indians sent the pitchers to their alternate training site on Friday after the two broke team rules and Major League Baseball coronavirus protocol last weekend in Chicago.Clevinger and Plesac drove to Detroit separately with their baseball equipment on Thursday for an “open forum” meeting at the team's hotel before the Indians opened a series with the Tigers.Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said following “the discussion” that he met with manager Terry Francona, general manager Mike Chernoff and decided it was best to option Plesac and Clevinger to the alternate training site instead of allowing them to rejoin the team.“We had a chance to meet as small group and decided this would be the best path of action for us,” Antonetti said.So before the opener, the Indians activated Clevinger and Plesac from the restricted list and optioned them to Lake County.It's a stunning... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — After hearing Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac explain their actions, the Cleveland Indians sent the pitchers to their alternate training site on Friday after the two broke team rules and Major League Baseball coronavirus protocol last weekend in Chicago.Clevinger and Plesac drove to Detroit separately with their baseball equipment on Thursday for an “open forum” meeting at the team's hotel before the Indians opened a series with the Tigers.Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said following “the discussion” that he met with manager Terry Francona, general manager Mike Chernoff and decided it was best to option Plesac and Clevinger to the alternate training site instead of allowing them to rejoin the team.“We had a chance to meet as small group and decided this would be the best path of action for us,” Antonetti said.So before the opener, the Indians activated Clevinger and Plesac from the restricted list and optioned them to Lake County.It's a stunning... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians pitcher Zach Plesac feels he and teammate Mike Clevinger have been unfairly portrayed as “bad people” in the aftermath of the pitchers being quarantined by the team for violating COVID-19 protocols last weekend in Chicago.Plesac said he posted a six-minute video on his Instagram page Thursday to “ get out the truth” to fans about his situation.The 25-year-old acknowledged breaking team curfew last Saturday after he and Clevinger left the team hotel, went out to dinner and socialized with Plesac's friends. Plesac had pitched earlier in the day, getting the win as the Indians beat the White Sox.After the Indians were told by Major League Baseball security about the players being out in public, the team got a car service to drive Plesac home so he wouldn't risk exposing himself to teammates if he had been infected by the coronavirus.Clevinger didn't tell the team he was with Plesac and flew home with the team.The Indians placed the two right-handers on the restricted... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:BLISTERING BLACKMONCharlie Blackmon raised his batting average to an amazing .500 with three more hits in Colorado's 8-7 win over Arizona.After starting out the year 0 for 9, Blackmon has hit in 15 straight games. He’s 34 for 68 through 17 games in the coronavirus-shortened 60-game season.C YOU LATERCleveland is minus two of its top starting pitchers after putting Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac on the restricted list. The Indians made the moves after the right-handers broke team rules and Major League Baseball protocols by leaving their hotel in Chicago last weekend and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus.The Indians had implemented a code of conduct for players to follow on road trips, forbidding them from socializing outside of the team’s players and staff.MLB permits teams to use the restricted list for players who are unavailable to play for non-baseball reasons. The players will be paid during their leave and be given service times.... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:BLISTERING BLACKMONCharlie Blackmon raised his batting average to an amazing .500 with three more hits in Colorado's 8-7 win over Arizona.After starting out the year 0 for 9, Blackmon has hit in 15 straight games. He’s 34 for 68 through 17 games in the coronavirus-shortened 60-game season.C YOU LATERCleveland is minus two of its top starting pitchers after putting Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac on the restricted list. The Indians made the moves after the right-handers broke team rules and Major League Baseball protocols by leaving their hotel in Chicago last weekend and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus.The Indians had implemented a code of conduct for players to follow on road trips, forbidding them from socializing outside of the team’s players and staff.MLB permits teams to use the restricted list for players who are unavailable to play for non-baseball reasons. The players will be paid during their leave and be given service... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:C YOU LATERCleveland is minus two of its top starting pitchers after putting Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac on the restricted list. The Indians made the moves after the right-handers broke team rules and Major League Baseball protocols by leaving their hotel in Chicago last weekend and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus.The Indians had implemented a code of conduct for players to follow on road trips, forbidding them from socializing outside of the team’s players and staff.MLB permits teams to use the restricted list for players who are unavailable to play for non-baseball reasons. The players will be paid during their leave and be given service times. They can come off the list at any time.SIDELINED SLUGGERYankees designated hitter/outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is expected to miss three to four weeks after being diagnosed with a grade 1 left hamstring strain.Manager Aaron Boone says the team is still evaluating the 2017 NL MVP and... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Indians went a step further than just putting Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac into quarantine.They've been sent away from the team, and it's not known when they'll be back.Cleveland placed the two starting pitchers on the restricted list after the right-handers broke team rules and Major League Baseball protocols by leaving their hotel in Chicago last weekend and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus.“This one kind of hurts,” said Indians manager Terry Francona, who returned Tuesday from a week away to address a lingering medical issue to find his team dealing with an internal situation that could affect its season. “We’ll deal with it like we always do,” Francona added. “We care about each other. It doesn’t mean you don’t get disappointed with each other or even mad at each other sometimes. But what I care about is making it better.”Clevinger and Plesac went out Saturday night with a group of people following the Indians' win over the White Sox. The team... [More]