WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — For much of his career, Houston Astros pitcher Wade Miley tried to avoid the backhanded compliment he now is grudgingly willing to embrace.Following the powerful arms of Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole in a starting rotation, along with the overall proliferation of triple-digit radar readings, can prompt a re-examination of self."I'm more of a 'crafty lefty,' I guess," Miley said. "I hate saying that because I've never classified myself as that for a long time, but in today's game, that's where I'm at. I'm a soft-tossing lefty."Cruising in the upper 80s to low 90s, Miley's fastball doesn't have the zip possessed by the two guys he calls the "two horses at the top" of Houston's rotation. But in one way, he is faster.Few in baseball take less time between pitches than the 32-year-old Miley, who signed a one-year, $4.5 million free agent contract with Houston during the offseason. That's why Major League Baseball's experiment with a 20-second pitch clock during... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A trip to Japan helped Robinson Chirinos get to Houston.Texas declined its $4.5 million option on the catcher shortly before the 34-year-old traveled to Japan last November with a big league all-star team. He developed a friendship with the squad's pitching coach, Houston's Brent Strom. Less than a month later, the Astros agreed to a $5.75 million, one-year contract."When I signed, he called me and he was saying, 'I told you you were coming here,'" Chirinos said of Strom.During the Japan trip, Chirinos liked the way Strom worked to improve pitchers who weren't even on his major league team."It showed a lot of the kind of person he is," Chirinos said. "He cared about the pitchers."Meanwhile, Strom relayed information about Chirinos' character to his bosses."Just the personality and the presence, not necessarily the catching," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said.Catchers Brian McCann and Evan Gattis had left the Astros as free agents. Chirinos impressed against Houston... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper drew big cheers, a pair of walks and a most unusual defense in his spring training debut for the Philadelphia Phillies.Both times the slugger with the biggest contract in baseball came to the plate, the Toronto Blue Jays shifted to a four-man outfield, moved the shortstop on the other side of second base and gave the left-handed hitting Harper a wide-open left side of the infield."I've never seen that. That's intense," Harper said, adding he hopes teams don't do that to him often. "If they start playing ball like that, it's definitely different."Phillies manager Gabe Kapler didn't want to discuss shift strategy but shared his advice for Harper."Hit a lot of homers, drive the ball like you're capable of, do exactly what you always do, be Bryce Harper," Kapler said.Harper drew a loud ovation when he walked up to the plate to Will Smith's theme song from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."Wearing No. 3 on his uniform, eye black under his eyes and a white armband... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper drew big cheers, a pair of walks and a most unusual defense in his spring training debut for the Philadelphia Phillies.Both times the slugger with the biggest contract in baseball came to the plate, the Toronto Blue Jays shifted to a four-man outfield, moved the shortstop on the other side of second base and gave the left-handed hitting Harper a wide-open left side of the infield."I've never seen that. That's intense," Harper said, adding he hopes teams don't do that to him often. "If they start playing ball like that, it's definitely different."Phillies manager Gabe Kapler didn't want to discuss shift strategy but shared his advice for Harper."Hit a lot of homers, drive the ball like you're capable of, do exactly what you always do, be Bryce Harper," Kapler said.Harper drew a loud ovation when he walked up to the plate to Will Smith's theme song from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."Wearing No. 3 on his uniform, eye black under his eyes and a white armband... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper drew big cheers, a pair of walks and a most unusual defense in his spring training debut for the Philadelphia Phillies.Both times the slugger with the biggest contract in baseball came to the plate, the Toronto Blue Jays shifted to a four-man outfield, moved the shortstop on the other side of second base and gave the left-handed hitting Harper a wide-open left side of the infield."I've never seen that. That's intense," Harper said, adding he hopes teams don't do that to him often. "If they start playing ball like that, it's definitely different."Phillies manager Gabe Kapler didn't want to discuss shift strategy but shared his advice for Harper."Hit a lot of homers, drive the ball like you're capable of, do exactly what you always do, be Bryce Harper," Kapler said.Harper drew a loud ovation when he walked up to the plate to Will Smith's theme song from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."Wearing No. 3 on his uniform, eye black under his eyes and a white armband... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jose Altuve struck out three times in his second game since offseason knee surgery and will return to second base for the Houston Astros on Saturday.Altuve had surgery just after last season ended to repair a broken right kneecap and had two plate appearances in his spring training debut on Monday. Despite Altuve's 0-for-3 afternoon, Astros manager AJ Hinch was encouraged by Altuve's performance in Houston's 7-5 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday."He wasn't too far off," Hinch said. "It's very rare for him to swing and miss on the strike threes. But he's in a really good place physically and even timing-wise, right on time."The 2017 American League MVP and six-time All-Star will play the field for the first time this year when the Astros visit the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie."I have no concerns with him, it's just a matter of repetition," Hinch said. "It's the first time post-surgery but I'm not apprehensive about putting him out there ... based on how... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Marwin Gonzalez was Houston's do-everything utility player for the last few years.Replacing him is probably going to be a team effort.Gonzalez signed a $21 million, two-year deal with Minnesota on Monday, making official what the Astros seemed to know all offseason: they're going to need new depth around the diamond. Gonzalez played every position except pitcher and catcher during his seven seasons with Houston.The player most likely to mimic Gonzalez is 2016 All-Star Aledmys Diaz, who was acquired from Toronto in November. Houston is also hoping first baseman Yuli Gurriel can bounce around the infield a bit more."I want to see Diaz play all four infield positions and potentially two outfield positions on the corner," manager AJ Hinch said. "We may not have enough time to do that as much as we want. As fun as it sounds, that's lot to ask out of one guy, but I would like to move him around a little bit."Diaz has experience at most of those positions. The 28-year-old... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Forget about this bullpen obsession for a moment. Believe it or not, plenty of big league teams are still anchored by well-armed rotations.In this age of openers and closers, with relievers starting games and starters rarely finishing them, it might seem starting pitchers have been devalued by executives all over baseball.Dallas Keuchel, the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner, is a 31-year-old free agent still looking for a job. Same for fellow lefty Gio Gonzalez, a two-time All-Star one season removed from going 15-9 with a 2.96 ERA in 201 innings.Meanwhile, short relievers like Zack Britton ($39 million), Jeurys Familia ($30 million), Kelvin Herrera ($18 million) and Joakim Soria ($15 million) had no trouble getting multiyear deals this winter.Doesn't anyone remember what Koufax and Drysdale did for the Dodgers?Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz with the Braves?"At the end of the day, your starting staff is the backbone of your team," Washington ace Max Scherzer said.... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole and Alex Wood won their salary arbitration cases Wednesday, giving players a 6-3 advantage over teams to ensure a winning record in consecutive years for the first time since 1989-90.Bauer won his hearing for the second straight year and was awarded $13 million by James Darby, James Oldham and Sylvia Skratek instead of the Cleveland Indians' $11 million offer.Cole was given a $13.5 million salary by Gil Vernon, Steven Wolf and Walt De Treux rather than the Houston Astros' offer of $11,425,000.Wood will get $9.65 million instead of the Cincinnati Reds' $8.7 million offer, Dan Brent, Andrew Strongin and Phillip LaPorte decided.Bauer and Cole topped the previous high for a salary awarded in an arbitration hearing, $10.5 million won last year by Boston outfielder Mookie Betts.Bauer, a 28-year-old right-hander, was a first-time All-Star last year and finished sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting after going 12-6 with a 2.21 ERA, second behind... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole and Alex Wood won their salary arbitration cases on Wednesday, giving players a 6-3 advantage over teams to ensure a winning record in consecutive years for the first time since 1989-90.Bauer won his hearing for the second straight year and was awarded $13 million by James Darby, James Oldham and Sylvia Skratek instead of the Cleveland Indians' $11 million offer.Cole was given a $13.5 million salary by Gil Vernon, Steven Wolf and Walt De Treux rather than the Houston Astros' offer of $11,425,000.Wood will get $9.65 million instead of the Cincinnati Reds' $8.7 million offer, Dan Brent, Andrew Strongin and Phillip LaPorte decided.Bauer and Cole topped the previous high for a salary awarded in an arbitration hearing, $10.5 million won last year by Boston outfielder Mookie Betts.Bauer, a 28-year-old right-hander, was a first-time All-Star last year and finished sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting after going 12-6 with a 2.21 ERA, second behind... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole and Alex Wood won their salary arbitration cases on Wednesday, giving players a 6-3 advantage over teams to ensure a winning record in consecutive years for the first time since 1989-90.Bauer won his hearing for the second straight year and was awarded $13 million by James Darby, James Oldham and Sylvia Skratek instead of the Cleveland Indians' $11 million offer.Cole was given a $13.5 million salary by Gil Vernon, Steven Wolf and Walt De Treux rather than the Houston Astros' offer of $11,425,000.Wood will get $9.65 million instead of the Cincinnati Reds' $8.7 million offer, Dan Brent, Andrew Strongin and Phillip LaPorte decided.Bauer and Cole topped the previous high for a salary awarded in an arbitration hearing, $10.5 million won last year by Boston outfielder Mookie Betts.Bauer, a 28-year-old right-hander, was a first-time All-Star last year and finished sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting after going 12-6 with a 2.21 ERA, second behind... [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:___Houston AstrosManager: AJ Hinch (fifth season).2018: 103-59, first place, lost to Boston in ALCS.Training Town: West Palm Beach, Florida.Park: Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.First Workout: Feb. 14/18.He's Here: OF Michael Brantley, C Robinson Chirinos, LHP Wade Miley, INF Aledmys Diaz.He's Outta Here: INF-OF Marwin Gonzalez, LHP Dallas Keuchel, RHP Charlie Morton, DH Evan Gattis, LHP Tony Sipp, C Brian McCann, C Martin Maldonado.Going campin': The Astros won a franchise-record 103 games last season and reached the ALCS. But mounting injuries and inconsistent play led to their elimination by Boston in five games and kept them from repeating as champions after winning their first World Series title in 2017. Houston returns aces Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, who are both coming off great... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Asked what attracted him to the Houston Astros, Wade Miley responded with a laugh and said: "Will Harris."The pair played together for Arizona in 2013 and 2014 and lived together on multiple occasions. They come small Louisiana towns north of New Orleans, about an hour apart. Miley grew up in Loranger and played college baseball at Southeastern Louisiana; Harris is from Slidell and went to LSU."It's close to home, and they've done a great job of putting together a championship team, year in and year out so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens," Miley said Friday after the Astros announced his $4.5 million, one-year contract.Miley could earn an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses: $100,000 each for 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 starts, and $100,000 apiece for 25, 35, 45, 55 and 60 relief appearances."This is a player that we're very excited about," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "We've been behind the scenes, pursuing him for a few years, and everything came... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Astros filled an opening in their rotation, agreeing to a $4.5 million, one-year contract with 32-year-old left-hander Wade Miley.Miley could earn an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses under the deal announced Friday: $100,000 each for 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 starts, and $100,000 apiece for 25, 35, 45, 55 and 60 relief appearances.Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole head a rotation also projected to include Collin McHugh and possibly Brad Peacock.Dallas Keuchel became a free agent after the World Series and remains unsigned.Miley was 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 16 starts and 80 2/3 innings for the Milwaukee Brewers last year.He agreed to a minor league contract in mid-February, made three starts at Double-A Biloxi, then joined the Brewers in early May. He went on the disabled list with a strained oblique after just two starts and did not return to the Brewers until July 12.Miley had a 1.23 ERA in four postseason starts — in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series, he walked... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Astros filled an opening in their rotation, agreeing to a $4.5 million, one-year contract with 32-year-old left-hander Wade Miley.Miley could earn an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses under the deal announced Friday.Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole head a rotation also projected to include Collin McHugh and possibly Brad Peacock.Dallas Keuchel became a free agent after the World Series and remains unsigned.Miley was 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 16 starts and 80 2/3 innings for the Milwaukee Brewers last year.He agreed to a minor league contract in mid-February, made three starts at Double-A Biloxi, then joined the Brewers in early May. He went on the disabled list with a strained oblique after just two starts and did not return to the Brewers until July 12.Miley had a 1.23 ERA in four postseason starts — in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series, he walked leadoff batter Cody Bellinger, then was replaced by right-hander Brandon Woodruff in an unusual strategy employed by Brewers manager Craig Counsell.Miley earned $2,743,011 last year, which included a prorated share of his $2.5 million salary and $700,000 in performance bonuses based on innings and starts.An eight-year major league veteran who was an All-Star in 2012, Miley is 71-76 with a 4.26 ERA. He also has pitched for Arizona (2011-14), Boston (2015), Seattle (2016) and Baltimore (2016-17).___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

HOUSTON (AP) — The Astros filled an opening in their rotation, agreeing to a $4.5 million, one-year contract with 32-year-old left-hander Wade Miley.Miley could earn an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses. Miley already has passed the physical needed to finalize the agreement, but the deal was not immediately announced by the Astros on Thursday.Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole head a rotation also projected to include Collin McHugh and possibly Brad Peacock.Dallas Keuchel became a free agent after the World Series and remains unsigned.Miley was 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 16 starts and 80 2/3 innings for the Milwaukee Brewers last year.He agreed to a minor league contract in mid-February, made three starts at Double-A Biloxi, then joined the Brewers in early May. He went on the disabled list with a strained oblique after just two starts and did not return to the Brewers until July 12.Miley had a 1.23 ERA in four postseason starts — in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series, he walked leadoff... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros have agreed to terms with seven of their arbitration-eligible players, but star shortstop Carlos Correa and right-hander Gerrit Cole are not among them.Correa, the top overall pick in the 2012 draft, made just $1 million last season. He asked for $5 million when swapping figures with the team, and the Astros offered $4.25 million. Cole, who made $6.75 million last year, asked for $13.5 million, and the team offered $11,425,000.Houston did agree to one-year deals with outfielder Jake Marisnick ($2,212,500) and right-handed pitchers Will Harris ($4,225,000), Lance McCullers Jr. ($4.1 million), Collin McHugh ($5.8 million), Roberto Osuna ($6.5 million), Brad Peacock ($3.11 million) and Ryan Pressly ($2.9 million).Reliever Chris Devenski remains eligible for arbitration. He asked for $1.65 million and the team offered $1.4 million.Cole made his second All-Star game last season. He went 15-5 with a 2.88 ERA in his first year in Houston after five seasons with... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros have agreed to terms with seven of their arbitration-eligible players, but star shortstop Carlos Correa and right-hander Gerrit Cole are not among them.Correa, the top overall pick in the 2012 draft, made just $1 million last season. He asked for $5 million when swapping figures with the team, and the Astros offered $4.25 million. Cole, who made $6.75 million last year, asked for $13.5 million, and the team offered $11,425,000.Houston did agree to one-year deals with outfielder Jake Marisnick ($2,212,500) and right-handed pitchers Will Harris ($4,225,000), Lance McCullers Jr. ($4.1 million), Collin McHugh ($5.8 million), Roberto Osuna ($6.5 million), Brad Peacock ($3.11 million) and Ryan Pressly ($2.9 million).Reliver Chris Devenski remains eligible for arbitration. He asked for $1.65 million and the team offered $1.4 million.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Houston Astros didn't cheat. They didn't want to get cheated.That's their story, and Major League Baseball agrees.Following an investigation into two incidents this postseason, MLB said that the defending World Series champions were conducting surveillance — not spying — when a credentialed Astros employee was pointing his cellphone into the opposing dugouts during playoff games in Cleveland and Boston.The Indians filed a complaint following Game 3 of the AL Division Series after the employee was observed aiming his phone into their dugout and taking pictures or video. A few days later, the same man was ejected from an area in Fenway Park during Game 1 of the ALCS.According to a person familiar with the situation, the Red Sox had been warned ahead of the series about the Astros employee, who was near Cleveland's dugout for several innings on Oct. 8 before he was removed by security. That person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Houston Astros didn't cheat. They didn't want to get cheated.That's their story, and Major League Baseball agrees.Following an investigation into two incidents this postseason, MLB said that the defending World Series champions were conducting surveillance — not spying — when a credentialed Astros employee was pointing his cellphone into the visitor's dugouts during playoff games in Cleveland and Boston.The Indians filed a complaint following Game 3 of the AL Division Series after the employee was observed aiming his phone into their dugout and taking pictures or video. A few days later, the same man was ejected from an area in Fenway Park during Game 1 of the ALCS.According to a person familiar with the situation, the Red Sox had been warned ahead of the series about the Astros employee, who was near Cleveland's dugout for several innings on Oct. 8 before he was removed by security. That person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the... [More]