SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Saying he's not disappointed about being passed over as Arizona's opening day starter, Robbie Ray dominated a minor league game in his final spring training appearance on Sunday. And with that, he pronounced himself ready to build on his breakout 15-win season of a year ago.Ray struck out 12 with no walks in 6 1-3 innings against Colorado players from the high Class A ranks. He allowed two runs on five hits, including a two-run homer. He threw 86 pitches.Ray said his command was "really good.""Obviously it's tough when you go and play guys (on the back field) to get the adrenalin going, the same atmosphere that you're going to encounter in a big league game," he said, "but it went really well."When manager Torey Lovullo announced last week that Zack Greinke would not be ready to start on opening day, the obvious choice to replace him would've seemed to be Ray. Greinke was 17-7 with a 3.20 ERA and 215 strikeouts in 32 starts last season — Ray was 15-5 with a 2.89... [More]

The Seattle Mariners are running out of healthy outfielders. To the rescue — Ichiro?Ben Gamel will miss opening day, the Mariners said Monday, because of a strained oblique muscle that's expected to sideline him four to six weeks.That could open a spot for Ichiro Suzuki, and a deal with the Mariners might be close.Suzuki was the AL MVP and Rookie of the Year for Seattle in 2001 and remained a fan favorite until he was traded away in 2012. The 44-year-old Suzuki spent the past three seasons in Miami, batting .255 last year and starting 23 times in the outfield.Gamel hit .275 with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs in 134 games last year during his first full season in the majors.The Mariners were hopeful Gamel would miss only a few days, but an MRI showed a more extensive problem. He first felt the injury after batting practice late last week.Gamel joined a growing list of banged-up Mariners. Seattle has already seen first baseman Ryon Healy (hand), outfielder Mitch Haniger (hand) and pitcher Felix... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have finalized an $8.25 million, two-year contract with free agent catcher Alex Avila.Avila fills a roster spot vacated by Chris Iannetta, who shared the catching duties last year and left for an $8.5 million, two-year deal with Colorado.The 31-year-old Avila, a son of Detroit general manager Al Avila, hit .264 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs last year for the Tigers and Chicago Cubs, who acquired him at the July 31 trade deadline. He is a .243 hitter in nine major league seasons.Avila gets $4 million this year and $4.25 million in 2019. He can earn an additional $250,000 annually in performance bonuses based on plate appearances: $25,000 each for 350 and 400, $50,000 apiece for 450 and 500 and $100,000 for 550Avila said the deal came together over the last two weeks."Essentially the first thing that popped into mind was how talented of a team they had," Avila said.Avila joins Jeff Mathis and Chris Herrmann as the Diamondbacks' catchers.Arizona opened... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have finalized an $8.25 million, two-year contract with free agent catcher Alex Avila.Avila fills a roster spot vacated by Chris Iannetta, who shared the catching duties last year and left for an $8.5 million, two-year deal with Colorado.The 31-year-old Avila, a son of Detroit general manager Al Avila, hit .264 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs last year for the Tigers and Chicago Cubs, who acquired him at the July 31 trade deadline. He is a .243 hitter in nine major league seasons.Avila, speaking in a conference call Wednesday evening, said the deal came together over the last two weeks, and he likes the makeup of the team he is joining."Essentially the first thing that popped into mind was how talented of a team they had," Avila said.Avila joins Jeff Mathis and Chris Herrmann as the Diamondbacks' catchers.Arizona opened a roster spot by designating outfielder Rey Fuentes for assignment Wednesday.Avila said he has no problem sharing the catching duties."It... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have finalized an $8.25 million, two-year contract with free agent catcher Alex Avila.Avila fills a roster spot vacated by Chris Iannetta, who shared the catching duties last year and left for an $8.5 million, two-year deal with Colorado.The 31-year-old Avila, a son of Detroit general manager Al Avila, hit .264 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs last year for the Tigers and Chicago Cubs, who acquired him at the July 31 trade deadline. He is a .243 hitter in nine major league seasons.Avila joins Jeff Mathis and Chris Herrmann as the Diamondbacks' catchers.Arizona opened a roster spot by designating outfielder Rey Fuentes for assignment on Wednesday.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

OF Reymond Fuentes was activated from the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. Fuentes suffered a left thumb contusion July 18 and was placed on the disabled list the next day. He batted .238 with one RBI in 11 rehab games for Triple-A Reno. Fuentes, who is expected to fill a reserve role for the Diamondbacks down the stretch, is batting .240 with two homers and six RBIs in 41 games this season.

OF Reymond Fuentes (bruised thumb) continued his rehab assignment Tuesday, when he went 0-for-1 before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the third inning for Triple-A Reno. It was the 13th rehab game for Fuentes, who is batting .277 with no homer and three RBIs between Reno and the rookie-level Arizona League Diamondbacks. His 20-day rehab clock expires Thursday so the Diamondbacks will have to decide whether to activate him or option him to the minor leagues. Fuentes was placed on the 10-day disabled list July 19. He is batting .240 with two homers and six RBIs in 41 games this season.

OF Rey Fuentes (thumb) was 2-for-4 with an RBI in his fourth rehab game at Triple--A Reno on Wednesday before the team's off day Thursday. He is 7-for-13 with three RBIs since returning to play Aug. 4. "He's been doing very well," manager Torey Lovullo said. "He feels good."

OF Rey Fuentes (left thumb contusion) was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk in his first rehab game at Triple-A Reno on Tuesday. He is eligible to return after being placed on the disabled list July 19, but the D-backs are full in the outfield after the acquisition of J.D. Martinez.

OF Rey Fuentes (left thumb) was sent on a rehab assignment to AZL D-backs. He went 2-for-3 with an RBI Friday.

OF Rey Fuentes (left thumb) was given an x-ray Friday that did not show any breaks, manager Torey Lovullo said, but he will be shut down for several days. Fuentes was placed on the disabled list Wednesday, when OF J.D. Martinez was added to the roster. Fuentes homered and grounded out in two at-bats after entering as part of a double-switch Tuesday.

OF Rey Fuentes figured to be the odd-man out when J.D. Martinez was acquired on Tuesday in a four-player deal with the Tigers. On Wednesday, Fuentes was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left thumb contusion, essentially opening a roster spot for Martinez. Fuentes suffered the injury grounding to first base in the ninth inning Tuesday. He appeared in 41 games with Arizona this season, hitting .240 with two home runs, including his first career pinch-hit homer in the seventh inning on Tuesday. "Rey's done a really good job for us," Diamondbacks manager Torey Luvollo said. "He's been a very capable backup, gotten some start, for some meaningful hits for us. But we'll get him rested and get him moving in the right direction health-wise. Made the most sense at this point."

OF Rey Fuentes picked a great time for his first career home run. After coming in the game as a pinch-runner in the eighth inning, Fuentes launched a go-ahead home run in the 10th inning to lift the Diamondbacks to a 5-4 win in Philadelphia Sunday. It was his first career homer in his 150th plate appearance.

CF Rey Fuentes misplayed Josh Harrison's short fly ball for a double leading off the fourth inning, but redeemed himself in the sixth with a leadoff single and scored the first Arizona run on Chris Owings' double.

OF Rey Fuentes was called up from Triple-A Reno on Monday when A.J. Pollock went to the disabled list. Fuentes, who had brief stints in the major with San Diego in 2013 and Kansas City last year, was immediately inserted into the lineup as the leadoff hitter on Monday against the Mets. He went 1-for-5 in his Diamondbacks debut. "We have a very capable player in Reymond Fuentes that can step in and fill that void," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. Lovullo will most likely use Fuentes and Gregor Blanco in center field in the absence of Pollock.

RF Reymond Fuentes was released by the Royals. Fuentes was designated for assignment on Sept. 7. Fuentes hit .317 with one extra-base hit in 13 games with Kansas City.

OF Reymond Fuentes was designated for assignment. He was optioned to Triple-A Omaha June 17 to make roster space for OF Brett Eibner, who came off the disabled list. Fuentes hit .317 with one extra-base hit in 13 games with Kansas City.

OF Reymond Fuentes was designated for assignment.

OF Reymond Fuentes was optioned to Triple-A Omaha.

OF Reymond Fuentes was optioned to Triple-A Omaha to make roster space for OF Brett Eibner, who came off the disabled list. Fuentes hit .317 with one extra-base hit in 13 games with Kansas City.