PITTSBURGH (AP) — Utility infielder Nick Franklin has agreed to a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and will attend big league spring training.The 27-year-old Franklin is a career .214 hitter, appearing in 301 games for four different teams since making his debut in 2013 with Seattle.Franklin has moved around during his career, playing 143 games at second base, 37 in left field, 30 at shortstop, 19 at first base, 11 in right field and one at first base. He made two plate appearances for Milwaukee last May before straining a quadriceps. He made six injury rehabilitation starts in the minor leagues before being moved to the disabled list for the rest of the season.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

There are 11 teams within six games of a playoff spot in the National League, which could make for a thrilling last two months of the regular season.It also means some front offices are facing tough decisions as the non-waiver trade deadline looms.It's easy to deal away your top players when you're 20 games behind, but if the postseason is still a possibility, the decision to buy or sell becomes trickier. The Washington Nationals, for example, are six games back in their division and trail the second wild card by the same margin — but there are enough legitimate stars on that roster that a medium-sized deficit is certainly surmountable with this much time to go.Fangraphs.com gives the Nats a 42.5 percent chance to make the postseason, while fivethirtyeight.com (20 percent) and baseballprospectus.com (22 percent as of Sunday morning) are more pessimistic. Whichever website you believe, it would be unusual for a team in Washington's position to become a seller at the deadline. That tends... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers have selected the contract of utility player Nick Franklin from Double-A Biloxi, sending infielder Eric Sogard to Triple-A Colorado Springs.Milwaukee also transferred Stephen Vogt to the 60-day disabled list after the catcher suffered a setback in his comeback from a right shoulder injury.But the bullpen could get All-Star closer Corey Knebel back from a left hamstring injury. He has been sidelined since early April.Manager Craig Counsell said that Knebel could be activated in the next few days, strengthening what is already one of the league's best bullpens. The Brewers are second in the majors with a 2.59 bullpen ERA."He passed everything at a pretty good rate and did everything in a timely manner, and really probably a little ahead of schedule," Counsell said about Knebel's rehab. "So it's good to go and it'll be great to get him back."Franklin was in the starting lineup at second base on Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians. The switch-hitter... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers have selected the contract of utility player Nick Franklin from Double-A Biloxi, sending infielder Eric Sogard to Triple-A Colorado Springs.Milwaukee also transferred Stephen Vogt to the 60-day disabled list after the catcher suffered a setback in his comeback from a right shoulder injury.But the Brewers bullpen could get All-Star closer Corey Knebel back from a left hamstring injury. Manager Craig Counsell said that Knebel could be activated in the next few days.Franklin was in the starting lineup at second base on Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians. The switch-hitter was hitting .288 in the minors.Production at second base has been a problem for the Brewers. Sogard was hitting .100 in 28 games in splitting time with Jonathan Villar and Hernan Perez.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

The Philadelphia Phillies are banking on young Scott Kingery.A prized prospect who has never played in the majors, Kingery reached a six-year deal with the Phillies on Sunday that takes him through the 2023 season.The contract includes three team options running through 2026. Multiple media reports said Kingery was guaranteed more than $23 million.The 23-year-old Kingery is batting .392 in 20 spring training games and is tied for the Grapefruit League lead with 20 hits.Kingery hit a combined .304 with 26 home runs and 29 steals as a second baseman for Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Double-A Reading last year. He was a second-round pick in the 2015 draft from the University of Arizona.Kingery is regarded as the best second-base prospect in baseball. The Phillies currently have Cesar Hernandez as their starting second baseman, so Kingery has also seen time at third base this spring and worked in the outfield.Coming off a 66-96 record and last-place finish in the NL East, the Phillies have been... [More]

INF Nick Franklin, designated for assignment Saturday, was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday. Franklin was acquired from the Brewers on June 30 for a player to be named or cash considerations. He was 3-for-24, batting .125/.300/.167 with two RBIs in 13 games for the Angels.

INF Nick Franklin was designated for assignment Saturday after RHP Troy Scribner was selected from Triple-A Salt Lake. Franklin was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers June 30 for a player to be named or cash considerations. He was 3-for-24, batting .125/.300/.167 with two RBIs in 13 games for the Angels. This move means INF Kaleb Cowart will become the regular second baseman although INF Cliff Pennington played at second Saturday in the 6-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. "In fairness to Nick, it's not like he got an extended look," manager Mike Scioscia said. "The direction we've moving wasn't going to give him a lot of at-bats or playing time right now."

Nobody knows what Tim Raines will be feeling on Sunday afternoon more than his best friend in baseball, Andre Dawson. And Dawson knows there's nothing he can say to Raines to properly prepare him for the task of delivering a Hall of Fame acceptance speech that will serve as the culmination of his career in baseball."With Tim, I'm sure it's going to be a lot of humor and some fun to it," Dawson said after an autograph signing Friday. "I just hope he's not too impacted by what he sees when he steps out at that podium."Raines and the rest of the Hall of Fame Class of 2017 -- fellow former players Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez as well as former commissioner Bud Selig and former Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves general manager John Schuerholz -- will all be uncertain of what to expect in a familiar environment Sunday when they will be inducted in front of a crowd of more than 30,000 expected at Clark Sports Center.Raines, who will be the third Hall of Famer to represent the Montreal Expos,... [More]

The Los Angeles Angels designated infielder Nick Franklin for assignment on Saturday and called up right-handed pitcher Troy Scribner from Triple-A Salt Lake.Franklin was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on June 30 for a player to be named or cash considerations. He was 3-for-24, batting .125/.300/.167 with two RBIs in 13 games for the Angels.Scribner was 10-3 with a 4.16 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) at Salt Lake. He was called up to bolster the bullpen with reliever Yusmeiro Petit starting the game in Toronto on Saturday.

INF/OF Nick Franklin was acquired Friday from the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade for a player to be named or cash considerations. Franklin, who is expected to be activated to the big league roster Saturday, hit .195 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 53 games for Milwaukee this season.

UTL Nick Franklin was dealt to the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Franklin was claimed off waivers during the opening the week of the season from Tampa and batted .189 in 89 plate appearances for the Brewers, who designated him for assignment when Ryan Braun and Jonathan Villar returned from the disabled list earlier this week.

OF Nick Franklin was designated for assignment on Tuesday. Franklin batted .195 in 53 games. "We ran out of space," manager Craig Counsell said. "We claimed Nick early in the season and the way things worked out, there wasn't a way for him to gain any traction with playing time." Franklin was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay on April 5.

OF Nick Franklin was ejected for arguing from the bench in the first inning, even though he was not in the starting lineup. It was his first ejection this season. Franklin was overly loud when complaining about how much time the umpires were giving Atlanta to decide whether to challenge a call.

LF Nick Franklin started his fourth game of the season in left field. He's made two more starts in right field as the Brewers deal with the absences of Ryan Braun in the outfield. Franklin went 0-for-4 and his average dropped to .146 on the season.

RF/LF Nick Franklin broke out of an 0-for-6 slump Friday by going 3-for-4 with three singles. He accounted for three of Milwaukee's seven hits.

INF/OF Nick Franklin recoded his first hit of the season Saturday, a game-tying two-run home run off Kyle Hendricks. Franklin also made his first start of the year, taking over for Ryan Braun in left field after he was scratched just before game time because of tightness in his lower back. Franklin was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay earlier this week.

INF Nick Franklin was added to the Brewers' active roster after being claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay earlier this week. Franklin expects to be deployed all over the field for Milwaukee, just as he was by the Rays last year, when he played five different positions. Franklin is also a switch-hitter, giving manager Craig Counsell more late-inning matchup options off the bench.

INF/OF Nick Franklin will report to Milwaukee on Friday after he was claimed off waivers Wednesday from Tampa Bay. Milwaukee liked Franklin's versatility: He can play in the infield and outfield and he's also a switch-hitter, giving manager Craig Counsell a valuable tool on the bench. Last year, he batted .270 with a .328 on-base percentage, six home runs and 26 RBI for the Rays. He is a career .219 hitter.

LF Nick Franklin (hamstring) was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game after leaving in the fifth inning Friday. His status is uncertain. "He's still pretty sore," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We'll see how he gets through the off day."

IF/OF Nick Franklin's left hamstring strain remains a day-to-day situation. He came out of Thursday's game in Baltimore with the injury and has not been back since.