NEW YORK (AP) — Houston outfielder George Springer, New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu and Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto were among just six free agents who received $18.9 million qualifying offers on Sunday from their former teams. Three right-handed pitchers also received the offers, Cincinnati’s Trevor Bauer, the New York Mets’ Marcus Stroman and San Francisco's Kevin Gausman. Those six players have until 5 p.m. on Nov. 11 to accept the offers or press ahead as free agents, who could start negotiating contracts with all teams on Sunday night. They are the only ones subject to compensation among the 181 players who became free agents in a market that also includes pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, outfielder Marcell Ozuna, shortstop Didi Gregorius and designated hitter Nelson Cruz. A brutal market is expected, with many teams likely to cut payrolls following a regular season played with no fans in the seats due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. If a team makes a qualifying offer... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Houston outfielder George Springer, New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu and Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto were among just six free agents who received $18.9 million qualifying offers on Sunday from their former teams. Three right-handed pitchers also received the offers, Cincinnati’s Trevor Bauer, the New York Mets’ Marcus Stroman and San Francisco's Kevin Gausman. Those six players have until 5 p.m. on Nov. 11 to accept the offers or press ahead as free agents, who could start negotiating contracts with all teams on Sunday night. They are the only ones subject to compensation among the 181 players who became free agents in a market that also includes pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, outfielder Marcell Ozuna, shortstop Didi Gregorius and designated hitter Nelson Cruz. A brutal market is expected, with many teams likely to cut payrolls following a regular season played with no fans in the seats due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. If a team makes a qualifying offer... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — What figures to be a down and perhaps brutal market for baseball free agents in the offseason following the pandemic began Wednesday when a dozen players were told their contract options had been declined, among them St. Louis Cardinals Gold Glove second baseman Kolten Wong. The 30-year-old Wong will receive a $1 million buyout. Wong, a first-round pick in the 2011 draft, made his big league debut in 2013 and spent his first eight seasons with St. Louis. Wong hit. 265 with a homer and 16 RBIs in 53 games during the pandemic-shortened season, helping the Cardinals make the playoffs for the second straight year. They were eliminated by San Diego in the first round. “STL will always have a special place in my heart and I will never forget all the amazing people who impacted me along the way! Much love,” Wong said Wednesday in an Instagram post. Many teams are cutting costs following a shortened regular season played with no fans in attendance due to the novel coronavirus.... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — What figures to be a down and perhaps brutal market for baseball free agents in the offseason following the pandemic began Wednesday when a dozen players were told their contract options had been declined, among them St. Louis Cardinals Gold Glove second baseman Kolten Wong. The 30-year-old Wong will receive a $1 million buyout. Wong, a first-round pick in the 2011 draft, made his big league debut in 2013 and spent his first eight seasons with St. Louis. Wong hit. 265 with a homer and 16 RBIs in 53 games during the pandemic-shortened season, helping the Cardinals make the playoffs for the second straight year. They were eliminated by San Diego in the first round. “STL will always have a special place in my heart and I will never forget all the amazing people who impacted me along the way! Much love,” Wong said Wednesday in an Instagram post. Many teams are cutting costs following a shortened regular season played with no fans in attendance due to the novel coronavirus.... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mookie Betts jumped high against the 8-foot wall in right field, landing on an advertisement with the word “Extreme. His catch that robbed Marcell Ozuna to end the fifth inning with a runner on was extreme, just like the running, shoestring scoop the Dodgers star made a night earlier that started a double play and took an Atlanta run off the scoreboard. “I feel like I did something good for the team, even though I hadn’t done too much with the bat,” Betts said Sunday. He knew what he had accomplished. Head raised and bobbing back and forth, mouth open wide as he screamed and face flush with emotion, he held the ball at his midsection and took a few gallops toward the plate before joyfully throwing the ball back in. “That’s a huge spark. That’s an unbelievable play by an unbelievable player in a big moment,” shortstop Corey Seager said. “That's what you need to win baseball games at this time of year.” Walker Buehler stood near the mound, his right hand forming a... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Miami Marlins executive Michael Hill's 19-season tenure with the franchise has ended. Hill was president of baseball operations for the past six years and provided continuity after a 2017 change in ownership, but his contract expired and he will not be back next season, CEO Derek Jeter said Sunday. “I had to approach this as a new negotiation,” Jeter said. “We had conversations over the last week or so, and I just felt it would be best for the organization at this particular time to move on without Mike.” The Marlins will cast a wide search for a replacement, but potential candidates are unlikely to include vice president of player development and scouting Gary Denbo, who has been instrumental in the franchise turnaround and is expected to remain in his current role. “We have a lot of smart baseball minds in our organization, and there are smart baseball minds around the game,” Jeter said. “We’re going to sit down and see what type of person we need in this role.” Hill joined... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Atlanta Braves made another baserunning mistake with a lead in the NL Championship Series. This one was much more costly. The Braves ruined a promising fourth inning by running into a wild double play before the bats went cold in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 on Sunday night. “We made some mistakes,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times that really hurt. Games like these, runs are so hard to come by, you pretty much got to play flawless baseball.” A year after imploding in a deciding Game 5 of their Division Series against St. Louis, the Braves fell short in their first NLCS since 2001 with their sixth straight loss in a winner-take-all game. Atlanta couldn’t hold a 3-1 series lead in an NLCS for the first time after winning each of the previous three with that commanding lead. The Braves haven't been to the World Series since 1999. Dodgers relievers retired 17 of the final 18 Braves batters, all following... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: SERIES SET In a most unpredictable season, the teams with the best records in each league are set to meet in the World Series. The Dodgers and Rays will open in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday night after each finished memorable League Championship Series matchups this weekend. Neither team has announced its starting pitcher for Game 1, but aces Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Tyler Glasnow of the Rays are lined up to throw. Because of their superior record, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, NLCS MVP Corey Seager and Los Angeles have “home field advantage” for the neutral site Series and will bat last in Games 1 and 2, and then in 6 and 7, if necessary. Manager Dave Roberts’ Dodgers went 43-17, the best record in the majors by eight wins. They overcame a 3-1 deficit in the NLCS, beat Atlanta 4-3 on Bellinger’s late home run in Game 7 Sunday night and reached the World Series for the third time in four years. Rookie sensation Randy Arozarena... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mookie Betts is leaping into the World Series, carrying to the Los Angeles Dodgers with his glove rather than with his bat. The star right fielder made his third terrific catch in three days, this time robbing Freddie Freeman of a home run and helping the Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 Sunday night in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series. Los Angeles trailed 3-2 in the fifth inning, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts already had brought on his third pitcher when the Braves made a bid to widen their lead. Freeman drove a cutter deep to right field, and Betts sprinted 64 feet to the wall and jumped, just to the side of a credit-card advertisement. His glove above the 8-foot top, he snatched the ball as it was headed over. Run saved! Another web gem, perhaps even more impressive than his robberies of Dansby Swanson in Game 5 with a shoestring grab and of Marcell Ozuna in Game 6 against the wall a little bit more toward center. “The one yesterday was probably the... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mookie Betts slid headfirst across home plate, then popped up and did a double pump with his right fist. An inning later, he got to trot around the bases after going deep. That big commitment to Betts is already paying off for the Los Angeles Dodgers this postseason. After run-saving catches in three consecutive potential elimination games to get the Dodgers this far, Betts put his speed, instincts and power on display in Game 1 of the World Series. There was a Ruth-like journey around the bases to score — and that was before his solo homer in an 8-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. Betts led off the Dodgers fifth with a walk and stole second base. After NL Championship Series MVP Corey Seagar drew a walk behind him, they pulled off a double steal. Then, with the Rays infield playing in, Max Muncy hit a bouncer to first baseman Yandy Diaz, who threw on the run after Betts broke quickly for the plate. He slid past the attempted tag for a 3-1 lead. The... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — There were pained admissions of heartbreak and declarations of hope from players and manager Brian Snitker after the Atlanta Braves fell one win shy of the World Series. The heartbreak was obvious after a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series on Sunday night. The Braves led the series 3-1. They held leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in the decisive game and still were denied their first World Series appearance since 1999. “I hate that,” Snitker said. “I want to go to the World Series so bad.” Freddie Freeman offered a balanced perspective when he spoke of the pain of the present and the promise of the future. “It hurts right now, it really does,” Freeman said. “This moment (stinks), but the Atlanta Braves organization is set up for success for a very long time. This group of guys we have this year is the start of something special.” The hope is bolstered by the emergence of young starting pitchers Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson. The three... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Monday: SERIES SET In a most unpredictable season, the teams with the best records in each league are set to meet in the World Series. The Dodgers and Rays will open in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday night after each finished memorable League Championship Series matchups this weekend. Neither team has announced its starting pitcher for Game 1, but aces Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Tyler Glasnow of the Rays are lined up to throw. Because of their superior record, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, NLCS MVP Corey Seager and Los Angeles have “home field advantage” for the neutral site Series and will bat last in Games 1 and 2, and then in 6 and 7, if necessary. Manager Dave Roberts’ Dodgers went 43-17, the best record in the majors by eight wins. They overcame a 3-1 deficit in the NLCS, beat Atlanta 4-3 on Bellinger’s late home run in Game 7 Sunday night and reached the World Series for the third time in four years. Rookie sensation Randy Arozarena... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mookie Betts is leaping into the World Series, carrying to the Los Angeles Dodgers with his glove rather than with his bat. The star right fielder made his third terrific catch in three days, this time robbing Freddie Freeman of a home run and helping the Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 Sunday night in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series. Los Angeles trailed 3-2 in the fifth inning, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts already had brought on his third pitcher when the Braves made a bid to widen their lead. Freeman drove a cutter deep to right field, and Betts sprinted to the wall and jumped, just to the side of a credit-card advertisement. His glove above the eight-foot top, he snatched the ball as it was headed over. Run saved! Another web gem, perhaps even more impressive than his robberies of Dansby Swanson in Game 5 with a shoestring grab and of Marcell Ozuna in Game 6 against the wall a little bit more toward center. “I feel like I did something good for the... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Miami Marlins executive Michael Hill's 19-season tenure with the franchise has ended. Hill was president of baseball operations for the past six years and provided continuity after a 2017 change in ownership, but his contract expired and he will not be back next season, CEO Derek Jeter said Sunday. Hill joined the Marlins' front office in 2002, and the next year they won the World Series. But this year's 31-29 finish was their first above .500 since 2009, and they made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. Hill helped steer the Marlins through a coronavirus outbreak that nearly derailed their season. The Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card round of the playoffs before being eliminated by Atlanta and exceeded all outside expectations with a young, patchwork roster one year after losing 105 games. Hill was general manager for six seasons before becoming president of baseball operations. He worked for three years in the Jeter regime as the organization underwent heavy turnover. Hill had a hand in the record $325 million, 13-year contract Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Marlins in 2014. He later was involved in trading Stanton and All-Stars Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, Dee Gordon and J.T. Realmuto as the Marlins rebuilt from the farm system up under Jeter. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports ___ Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Steve_Wine

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mookie Betts jumped high against the eight-foot wall in right field, landing against an advertisement with the word “Extreme.” His catch that robbed Marcell Ozuna to end the fifth inning with a runner on was extreme, just like the running, shoestring scoop the Dodgers star made a night earlier that started a double play and took an Atlanta run off the scoreboard. Betts knew what he had accomplished. Head raised and bobbing back and forth, the ball held at his midsection, he took a few gallops toward the plate before joyfully throwing the ball back in. Walker Buehler stood near the mound, his right hand forming a triumphant fist, arm held high. “That’s a huge spark. That’s an unbelievable play by an unbelievable player at a big moment,” shortstop Corey Seager said. Moments like this were what Los Angeles hoped for when it acquired the four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner from the Boston Red Sox in February. Betts’ defense, Buehler’s pitching and consecutive... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Marcell Ozuna and the Atlanta Braves got a little ahead of themselves. Now they’ll have to wait at least another day for the franchise’s first World Series in 20 years. Ozuna left early on what would have been a sacrifice fly with his team leading in the third inning, and the game soon turned in Los Angeles’ favor as the Dodgers stayed alive in the NL Championship Series with a 7-3 victory in Game 5 on Friday night. The Braves still have a 3-2 series lead after a bullpen game that started well but went awry, with their top two starters lined up for the final two games. Left-hander Max Fried pitches for the NL East champions on Saturday. A night after hitting two homers in a 10-2 win, Ozuna started off the bag at third base when Dansby Swanson hit a liner to right field with Atlanta already off to a 2-0 lead. Realizing Mookie Betts had a chance to make the catch, Ozuna retreated to the base, but still pulled his foot off too soon as Betts made a running, lunging catch... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Clayton Kershaw can't shake his postseason curse, not even in a neutral-site NL Championship Series a few miles from his hometown. The longtime ace of the Dodgers faltered at the start of the sixth inning against Atlanta, allowing three straight hits before watching the rest of a six-run outburst in the Braves' 10-2 win in Game 4 on Thursday night. Kershaw's franchise-high 12th postseason loss put Los Angeles down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series at the home of the Texas Rangers, on the brink of a second straight defeat in the NLCS after posting the best record in the majors during the pandemic-shortened season. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner — pitching two days after he was scratched from a Game 2 start because of back spasms — allowed four runs in five-plus innings, boosting his career playoff ERA to 4.31. While Kershaw is also the club's career leader in postseason wins with his 11-12 record, his October resume simply doesn't match his stellar regular-season... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers are having trouble figuring out the back end of their bullpen. Blake Treinen surrendered Austin Riley's tiebreaking home run leading off the ninth inning, and the right-hander combined with lefty Jake McGee to give up four runs in Atlanta's 5-1 victory over the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series opener Monday night. Treinen and McGee were two of the ninth-inning options because Kenley Jansen, the club's career leader in saves, has been struggling with his velocity and command. Manager Dave Roberts has chosen his words carefully while saying the bullpen roles are open in the ninth. Ronald Acuña Jr. followed Riley's homer with a double, and Treinen was gone after giving up Marcell Ozuna's RBI single. Treinen's only out was a long flyball to center by Freddie Freeman that moved Ozuna to third. After starter Walker Buehler allowed one run with seven strikeouts in five innings, Brusdar Graterol retired three straight to escape the sixth when... [More]

A capsule look at the best-of-seven NL Championship Series between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers in Arlington, Texas, beginning Monday night: ___ Season Series: Did not play. ___ ATLANTA BRAVES Record: 35-25. Playoff Entry: NL East champions. Playoff Seed: No. 2. Manager: Brian Snitker (fifth season). Projected Rotation: LHP Max Fried (7-0, 2.25 ERA, 50 Ks), RHP Ian Anderson (3-2, 1.95, 41 Ks, 32 1/3 IP, 6 starts), RHP Kyle Wright (2-4, 5.21, 30 Ks), RHP Josh Tomlin (2-2, 4.76), RHP Bryse Wilson (1-0, 4.02, 1 save in 15 2/3 IP) or RHP Huascar Ynoa (0-0, 5.82). Top Hitters: 1B Freddie Freeman (.341, 13 HRs, 53 RBIs, 51 runs, 1.102 OPS), DH Marcell Ozuna (.338, 18, 56, 77 hits, 1.067 OPS), OF Ronald Acu�a Jr. (.250, 14, 29), C Travis d'Arnaud (.321, 9, 34). Top Relievers: RHP Mark Melancon (2-1, 2.78 ERA, 11 saves), LHP Will Smith (2-2, 4.50), LHP Tyler Matzek (4-3, 2.79, 43 Ks in 29 IP), RHP Chris Martin (1-1, 1.00, 1 save), RHP Shane Greene (1-0, 2.60). Series Summary: Winners... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Carlos Correa hit a go-ahead, three-run homer after Michael Brantley’s two-run shot in the fourth inning, helping the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 11-6 on Thursday to win their home-run heavy AL Division Series in four games. Correa drove in five as the Astros — October villains to many a year after their sign-stealing scandal was exposed — advanced to the AL Championship Series for the fourth consecutive season. It will be their first ALCS under Dusty Baker, their 71-year-old manager. Baker earned his first closeout win since the 2003 NL Division Series and improved to 4-13 in closeouts. Houston will play either the New York Yankees or Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven ALCS in San Diego. The Rays lead their ALDS 2-1. The Astros and A’s combined for 24 homers — 12 each — the most in a postseason series of five games or fewer. Houston clinched at Dodger Stadium, where it won the 2017 World Series in seven games. The Astros’ sign-stealing scheme used during... [More]