Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez remembers all too well his exact batting average from 53 games in his rookie season in the big leagues as an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs: .139. So he is not about to tell Carter Kieboom he’s lost the right to be Washington’s third baseman, just because his small-sample-size start has not been, um, ideal. “For me to judge a kid, a prospect, after 44 games and 100-some at-bats,” Martinez said, “it doesn’t seem right.” No matter that Kieboom hit .202 last season with zero homers and 33 strikeouts in 99 at-bats — bringing his career numbers to .181 with two homers and 49 K's in 138 AB's in the majors. The job is still his, and there he was on Monday in the Nationals’ exhibition home opener in West Palm Beach, Florida, playing third base and batting fifth. “This game is crazy and works in mysterious ways. Anybody who’s played it knows you’re going to go through a time in your life where you're going to struggle. And happens, and it sucks. But it’s... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Albert Pujols woke up from a nap last Monday in Arizona to find several hundred messages and missed calls on his phone. While he was sleeping, the Los Angeles Angels slugger's wife, Deidre, had put up a complimentary Instagram post about her husband that was widely interpreted to mean Pujols had decided to retire after this season, his 21st in the majors. “Hey, that's the life we're living on social media,” Pujols said Saturday with a chuckle. “It's sad that everybody just had to run with it.” The 41-year-old slugger quickly reiterated what he has been saying for months: He hasn't decided whether he will continue playing after the conclusion of his 10-year, $240 million contract with the Angels this fall, and he won't make or announce a decision until after the season. “I think our organization, my friends, people that follow my career for 21 years deserve better than just me or her posting something on Instagram,” Pujols said in his first interviews of spring training.... [More]

Juan Soto and Trea Turner both will be key cogs in the Washington Nationals lineup this season, 20-something hitting stars who are coming off top-seven finishes in NL MVP voting. They also are both keen on improving their defense — Turner at shortstop, Soto as he moves from left field to right. And both could be cornerstones for the club’s future if they eventually agree to long-term deals, which the Nationals have tried to make happen, so far unsuccessfully. Turner, 27, has two years left before he can become a free agent; Soto, still just 22, has four. Both were asked Tuesday via video conference after Washington’s first full-squad workout in West Palm Beach, Florida, about their contract status and thoughts about the future. Soto was coy — “I just try to come here and play baseball; I don’t think about any of that,” he said -- and Turner was, well, more forthcoming. “I would love to play here, and any time that guy is on your team, I definitely don’t want him on the other team. So let’s... [More]

A team-by-team look at the American League West 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: ___ Oakland Athletics Manager: Bob Melvin (11th season). 2020: 36-24, first place, lost to Houston in Division Series. Training Town: Mesa, Arizona. Park: Hohokam Stadium. First Workout: Feb. 17/22. He’s Here: SS Elvis Andrus, C Aramis Garcia, LHP Cole Irvin, LHP Nik Turley, INF Jed Lowrie. He’s Outta Here: SS Marcus Semien, RHP Liam Hendriks, OF Khris Davis, 2B Tommy La Stella, OF Robbie Grossman, RHP Yusmeiro Petit, RHP Joakim Soria, LHP T.J. McFarland, 3B Jake Lamb, LHP Mike Minor. Going campin’: After winning their first division title in seven years, the A’s took some serious hits this offseason with Semien leaving to sign a one-year deal in Toronto after not getting a qualifying offer from Oakland and star closer Hendriks signing with the White Sox. The A’s acquired Andrus to replace... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels acquired veteran right-hander Alex Cobb from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for prospect Jahmai Jones. The Angels also get cash in the trade announced Tuesday night. The 33-year-old Cobb is expected to join the Angels' rotation alongside Dylan Bundy, who had the best season of his career in 2020 after Los Angeles obtained him from rebuilding Baltimore. Cobb went 2-5 with a 4.30 ERA in 10 starts last season for the Orioles. He is 55-57 with a 3.88 ERA during a decade in the majors with Tampa Bay and Baltimore. Although he hasn't regularly reached the heights of his best days with the Rays in recent years, Cobb is a groundball pitcher who could benefit from playing in pitcher-friendly Angel Stadium with the Halos' excellent infield defense. Cobb had Tommy John surgery in 2015 and missed most of the 2019 season with back problems. Cobb is owed $15 million in the final season of a $57 million, four-year contract, of which $4.5 million is deferred... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels have acquired veteran shortstop José Iglesias from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade for minor league right-handers Garrett Stallings and Jean Pinto. The clubs announced the deal Wednesday. Iglesias batted .373 with three homers and 17 RBIs in 39 games with the Orioles last season. He struggled with injuries, but posted the highest average in the majors among players with at least 100 plate appearances. Baltimore exercised its $3.5 million option on Iglesias for 2021 last month. He is joining his fifth big league club after nine seasons spent with Boston, Detroit — where he made the All-Star team in 2015 — Cincinnati and Baltimore. Iglesias' arrival all but confirms the departure of Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who spent the past five seasons playing the position in Anaheim. Los Angeles also could move second baseman David Fletcher full-time to his original position at shortstop, although Iglesias has played only one career game at second... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Perry Minasian had never been interviewed for a general manager job before he joined the field of 40 candidates hoping to take over the Los Angeles Angels last month. The 40-year-old Braves assistant GM went through several rounds of lengthy Zoom interviews and emerged as a finalist. After more lengthy conversations with owner Arte Moreno and the Angels' top brass, Minasian landed the responsibility to build a big-budget roster that can finally get Mike Trout's first playoff victory. During his formal introduction at Angel Stadium on Tuesday, Minasian described the Halos' audition process as “grueling, to some extent.” That's not a negative to a baseball lifer who has been waiting for this chance since he was an 8-year-old batboy for the Texas Rangers. “You start asking me baseball questions, you’d better take a seat and get comfortable,” Minasian said. The Angels' 13th general manager already has strong opinions about the immediate prospects for the Angels, who are... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Perry Minasian once served as a batboy for the Texas Rangers when they made road trips to Angel Stadium. He's headed back to Anaheim three decades later as the Los Angeles Angels' general manager. The Angels announced the hiring of the Atlanta Braves' assistant general manager Thursday to replace Billy Eppler. Minasian got a four-year contract to take charge of a big-budget franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since 2009 and didn't appear to be much closer to a breakthrough in the just-completed season. “I think this is going to be a great situation,” Minasian said in an interview with KLAA-AM, the team-owned flagship radio station. “It’s a good group of guys, and I’m looking forward to winning a lot of games.” Minasian spent the past three years in the Braves' front office with GM Alex Anthopoulos, including the past two seasons as Atlanta's vice president of baseball operations. Minasian also worked for Anthopoulos during his previous nine seasons with the Toronto... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Perry Minasian has been named the Los Angeles Angels' general manager. The Angels announced the hiring of the Atlanta Braves' assistant general manager Thursday to replace Billy Eppler. Minasian got a four-year contract. “His background in scouting and player development along with his unique understanding of roster construction were the leading factors in our decision," Angels owner Arte Moreno said in a statement. Minasian spent the past three years in the Braves' front office with GM Alex Anthopoulos, including the past two seasons as Atlanta's vice president of baseball operations. Minasian also worked for Anthopoulos during his previous nine seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, where Minasian became the club's director of pro scouting. Minasian has been a part of ample success over the past six years. Toronto and Atlanta reaching the playoffs five times in that stretch, appearing in three league championship series and winning three division titles. His new team... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Perry Minasian has been named the Los Angeles Angels' general manager. The Angels announced the hiring of the Atlanta Braves' assistant general manager Thursday to replace Billy Eppler. Minasian got a four-year contract. “His background in scouting and player development along with his unique understanding of roster construction were the leading factors in our decision," Angels owner Arte Moreno said in a statement. Minasian spent the past three years in the Braves' front office with GM Alex Anthopoulos, including the past two seasons as their vice president of baseball operations. Minasian also worked for Anthopoulos during his previous nine seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, where Minasian became the club's director of pro scouting. The 40-year-old Minasian has been in baseball since he was an 8-year-old batboy for the Texas Rangers, where his father, Zack, was the team's clubhouse manager. He became a clubhouse attendant and eventually an advance scout for the... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A person with knowledge of the decision says the Los Angeles Angels are expected to choose their new general manager Thursday, and Atlanta Braves assistant GM Perry Minasian is the frontrunner. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the Angels aren't making details of the search public. The 40-year-old Minasian has been a high-ranking official in the Braves' front office since late 2017, including the past two years with the additional title of vice president of baseball operations. He previously had a nine-year stint with the Toronto Blue Jays, including six years as their director of professional scouting. Minasian began his baseball career with the Texas Rangers, where his father worked as the team's equipment director. Minasian worked his way up from jobs as a batboy and clubhouse attendant into a scouting role for the Rangers, followed by stints as an assistant to manager Buck Showalter. The Angels are rebuilding... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A person with knowledge of the decision says the Los Angeles Angels have narrowed down a field of five candidates to be their next general manager. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the Angels aren't publicly disclosing details of their search. The finalists to replace Billy Eppler include Seattle Mariners assistant general manager Justin Hollander, Chicago Cubs senior vice president of player personnel Jason McLeod, and Arizona Diamondbacks assistant general managers Amiel Sawdaye and Jared Porter. The fifth candidate wasn't disclosed by the source. The Angels have been without a general manager since Sept. 27, when owner Arte Moreno fired Eppler immediately after the conclusion of Los Angeles' fifth consecutive losing season during his tenure. Hollander spent nine seasons in the Angels' front office before rejoining ex-Halos GM Jerry Dipoto with the Mariners in 2016. McLeod was in charge of amateur scouting and player development for... [More]

Rays manager Kevin Cash stepped out of the dugout, and Blake Snell turned his head to curse. So too, no doubt, did fans watching on TV back in Tampa, Florida. Cash pulled Snell after 73 pitches and 5 1/3 sterling innings Tuesday night, turning Game 6 of the World Series over to his vaunted bullpen — a move that backfired immediately as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 3-1 victory to wrap up their first championship in 32 years. “I guess I regret it because it didn’t work out,” Cash said, later adding, “personally, I thought Blake had done his job and then some.” Cash was immediately criticized — by fans, broadcasters and players around the majors. “So who gets to pull the manager?” Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard tweeted. The decision, driven by advanced analytics, could come to define Cash, just as past pitching moves have followed other managers when they didn’t work out. A look back at other October mishaps: ___ 1951 NL PENNANT PLAYOFF GAME 3 Who knows? Bobby Thomson’s famed “Shot... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels' search for a general manager will be broad and deep, and the process could last past Thanksgiving. Angels President John Carpino said Wednesday that the franchise is committed to a detailed examination of the reasons it hasn't won a playoff game since 2009 despite an array of high-priced talent around Mike Trout. The Halos will listen to the ideas of candidates and smart minds from all around the game while they choose a replacement for Billy Eppler. “Obviously, we're not doing it the right way,” Carpino said of the Angels, who have endured six consecutive non-playoff seasons and five straight losing seasons. “We're not winning games, so something is not right in our organization," Carpino added. "You have to look in the mirror to find out what's happening here that's causing us not to be playing this week, or deep into October. ... There are things in here that aren't working. It's obvious, because we're not getting the end result that each... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: HOW DOES IT FEEL? American League playoff teams get only one day off to assess injuries and make roster decisions before the first round begins Tuesday. Minnesota has a couple of ailing hitters in third baseman Josh Donaldson (right calf) and center fielder Byron Buxton (mild concussion symptoms). Both have missed two straight games. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Buxton is improving and the team hopes he’ll be ready for the postseason opener. White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez sprained his right foot on a slide Thursday but was “improving exponentially,” manager Rick Renteria said Sunday. Jiménez sat out the weekend series against the Cubs. Tampa Bay left-hander José Alvarado (left shoulder inflammation), first baseman Ji-Man Choi (left hamstring strain) and infielder Yandy Díaz (right hamstring strain) are set to participate in a simulated game. Brett Phillips exited Sunday’s game with right hamstring tightness, and fellow outfielder... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday: HOW DOES IT FEEL? American League playoff teams get only one day off to assess injuries and make roster decisions before the first round begins Tuesday. Minnesota has a couple of ailing hitters in third baseman Josh Donaldson (right calf) and center fielder Byron Buxton (mild concussion symptoms). Both have missed two straight games. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Buxton is improving and the team hopes he’ll be ready for the postseason opener. White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez sprained his right foot on a slide Thursday but was “improving exponentially,” manager Rick Renteria said Sunday. Jiménez sat out the weekend series against the Cubs. Tampa Bay left-hander José Alvarado (left shoulder inflammation), first baseman Ji-Man Choi (left hamstring strain) and infielder Yandy Díaz (right hamstring strain) are set to participate in a simulated game. Brett Phillips exited Sunday’s game with right hamstring tightness, and fellow outfielder... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels fired general manager Billy Eppler on Sunday after the team finished its fifth consecutive losing season under his watch. Eppler was under contract for one more year with the Angels in an extension he signed in July with no public announcement, but team president John Carpino said the franchise will move forward with new baseball leadership after missing the playoffs for the sixth straight year. The Angels have endured a historically bad half-decade during Eppler's tenure despite many positive moves made by the former New York Yankees executive, all while dealing with the spending whims of owner Arte Moreno. The Angels finished 26-34 in the pandemic-shortened season with a star-studded roster including three-time AL MVP Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols and Shohei Ohtani. Eppler took the fall for a decade of mostly miserable baseball under Moreno, whose penchant for handing out big-money contracts to older veteran players... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Trout is out again. Out of the postseason, that is. For the ninth time in 10 years, the Los Angeles Angels superstar will spend October on the couch. “I don’t like losing,” he said Saturday. “It’s frustrating and it sucks.” The Angels were rolling in the final weeks of the pandemic-shortened, 60-game season, winning 14 of 20 to revive their slim playoff hopes. Trout hit his first career home run off Clayton Kershaw and the Angels led the Dodgers 5-3 Friday night. They ended up blowing three leads altogether and lost 9-5 to be eliminated, even with the playoffs expanded to 16 teams. Trout is considered to be the best player of his generation. But at 29 he has just one playoff appearance to his credit, and that was way back in 2014 when the Angels got swept in the AL Division Series. “I really want to challenge our guys that this is the last time that this occurs for many years to come," manager Joe Maddon said. Expectations were high when spring training began, with... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Yan Gomes was asked about the 2019 World Series champion Washington Nationals essentially playing out the string over the last four games of this season, the catcher was put off by the premise. “I don’t think we’re technically out of it yet,” Gomes said. Technically, at that moment, he was right. About four hours later, once Wednesday had turned into Thursday and a game involving other teams ended the wrong way for Washington’s tiny remaining hopes, the Nationals were officially done. For the second straight season, manager Dave Martinez’s club got off to a 19-31 start. This time, there were not enough games to dig out of that hole. A year after winning the franchise’s first championship thanks to a historic turnaround, the Nationals woke up Thursday in last place in the NL East with a 23-33 record and no mathematical chance of returning to the playoffs in a pandemic-shortened 2020. That extends a trend: No team has won the World Series in consecutive years since... [More]

The Chicago White Sox clinched their first postseason berth since 2008, beating the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Thursday as Eloy Jim�nez hit a tiebreaking double that capped a two-run, seventh-inning rally. Chicago (33-17) opened a three-game lead over the second-place Twins (31-21) in the AL Central. The White Sox assured themselves of no worse than a wild-card berth. Jos� Abreu homered and drove in two runs and Edwin Encarnaci�n also homered for Chicago, which won three of four in the series. Chicago trailed 3-2 in the seventh when Abreu beat out an infield hit on a slow grounder that drove in Jarrod Dyson from third base. Jim�nez followed with a go-ahead double. Codi Heuer (3-0) pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings, and Alex Colom� got four outs for his 12th save in 13 chances. Tyler Clippard (1-1) gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Byron Buxton homered twice, giving him seven in his last nine games and 12 this season. Josh Donaldson also went deep for Minnesota and was ejected for kicking... [More]