Former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen has agreed to terms on a deal with the Seattle Seahawks, the team announced Tuesday.

Terms weren't released, but a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter the deal is for one year and worth $7 million, with $5.5 million in guaranteed money.

Olsen visited with Buffalo, Seattle and Washington and felt most comfortable with the Seahawks, the source said.

Tight end was an area of need for the Seahawks, with Will Dissly coming off a ruptured Achilles tendon, his second major injury in as many NFL seasons. Veteran tight end Ed Dickson is a candidate to be released after missing most of his two seasons with Seattle due to injuries. Luke Willson, whom Seattle re-signed after trading Nick Vannett last year, is an unrestricted free agent. Jacob Hollister is a restricted free agent.

Because Olsen was released by Carolina, his addition won't cost the Seahawks a compensatory pick.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson posted a tweet later Tuesday expressing excitement over Olsen's signing.

This aged well.. https://t.co/hHIB4vDuln

— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) February 18, 2020

Olsen became a free agent after he and the Panthers mutually agreed to part ways after nine seasons. A three-time Pro Bowl selection who has played 13 NFL seasons, he said he was still interested in playing in the NFL.

Olsen's cap number for the 2020 season was to be $11,675,000 after he ruled out an extension to lower that number.

After dabbling in broadcasting during some time off, Olsen returned to the field in 2019 to prove he could still be among the top tight ends in the league. From 2014 to 2016, he became the first tight end in NFL history to have 1,000 receiving yards in three straight seasons.

The 31st pick by the Chicago Bears in 2007, Olsen had 52 catches for 597 yards and two touchdowns last season. He has 718 career catches for 8,444 yards and 59 touchdowns.

Olsen, who will turn 35 on March 11, holds the Panthers' franchise record for single-season receiving yards (1,104 in 2015) and receptions (84 in 2014) by a tight end.

ESPN's David Newton and Brady Henderson contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Kyrie Irving continues to struggle with the shoulder injury that caused him to miss 26 games earlier this season and is scheduled to see another specialist this week, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said.

"That's about all I can tell you," Atkinson said. "His shoulder continues to bother him. That's about the extent of it now."

Atkinson said Irving will be unavailable for Brooklyn's first game after the All-Star Break against the 76ers on Thursday. Irving was not at practice on Tuesday night.

Atkinson said he will have a clearer timetable after Irving sees the specialist.

Irving saw a specialist in Phoenix in December, but Atkinson said the guard will see a different doctor this time.

On Dec. 24, Irving was given a cortisone shot in an attempt to treat the pain. At the time, Irving said the cortisone shot was done in an attempt to stave off surgery.

"A cortisone shot lasts as long as it can," Irving said in December. "You either continue to get cortisone shots, which is obviously detrimental to your health and your muscles, or you go get arthroscopic surgery. For me, it's just about being able to go back out there after the right amount of rehab, the right amount of rest and recovery and see what we can do for the rest of the season and then re- evaluate after a few months."

Atkinson said Tuesday that it was not a specific play or practice that caused Irving to be in pain again, but rather something he's been dealing with continuously.

"The shoulder is a tough thing," Atkinson said. "I just think it was an on and off thing where it's bothering you. Some days you feel good, some days you don't feel good. But I think it got to the point it was, 'Hey let's see another specialist.'"

When asked whether he thought Irving was in danger of missing the rest of the season, Atkinson said he "did not want to go there."

Irving has missed a total of 33 games this season, including five games before the All-Star break with a sprained knee. Atkinson said that Irving's knee was feeling better, but his shoulder was still causing discomfort.

"Obviously, we pray for his health," teammate Spencer Dinwiddie said. "That's all you can do."

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry still isn't cleared to take contact in practice as he continues his rehab from a broken left hand. But as he gets closer to returning over the next few weeks, his teammates and coaches dropped a new nickname on him during Tuesday's practice as he ran around the floor in a red jersey sleeve, worn on top of his jersey to signify that he wasn't to be touched.

"We were calling him Tom Brady today," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the evening session. "'Don't touch Steph.' I think it was more for fun than anything, but he took part in everything other than our scrimmage. We scrimmaged at the end and he didn't do that, but he took part in everything else, and he's looking great."

Kerr noted that the team still doesn't have an official timetable on when Curry will return, but the hope within the organization has always been that the former MVP would be back at some point in early March.

Kerr said that Curry -- who has been around the team much more over the past month or so after spending some of the early rehab process in Los Angeles -- will not take contact in practice this week.

"I don't know when he's going to be allowed to scrimmage," Kerr said. "It's not this week or anything, but he looks really good. He's gaining strength, gaining confidence, and he's been putting himself through some brutal workouts. So his conditioning is about as good as it can possibly be for somebody who hasn't been able to scrimmage because of what he does and how he goes about his work."

Curry broke his hand after a collision with Phoenix Suns center Aron Baynes on Oct. 30. After the initial surgery to fix the fracture on Nov. 1, Curry had a scheduled follow-up procedure in December to take out pins from the hand.

He has appeared in good spirits as he gets closer to rejoining his teammates on the floor. Kerr acknowledged after Tuesday's practice that one of the keys is that Curry will be adjusting to all the new faces on the roster, including Andrew Wiggins, whom the Warriors acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves before the trade deadline.

"I think it's important for Steph and Andrew to get to know each other and to play together," Kerr said. "I think it's important for Steph to play without all the guys we've lost who are not gonna be back next year -- Kevin [Durant] and Andre [Iguodala] and Shaun [Livingston]. Steph, in many ways, has depended on those guys, as sort of a giant security blanket. For a guy who is so skilled and talented, this has still been a team effort over the years, and he's been blessed with some of the smartest players and most talented players in the league.

"And so it's gonna be a different look for him, and I think it's important. He only got three games before his injury, I think it was, so it's important for him to feel the difference, because it feels different for us. And with all these young guys, we're trying to teach them on the fly, and a lot of things that we have taken for granted over the last five years, we can't take for granted anymore. Steph needs to feel that himself. And so that's a big part of this last quarter of the season that he's gonna be a part of."

Aside from Curry's progress, Kerr reiterated that it's doubtful swingman Klay Thompson will return this season as he continues his rehab from a torn ACL in his left knee. Thompson suffered the injury in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in June against the Toronto Raptors.

"It's so different, because with Steph, there's a definite timetable," Kerr said. "It's easy to look and say, 'In a couple weeks, Steph's going to be ready to play.' I don't know exactly [when], but Klay's a long ways from that, so I don't even entertain any thoughts of Klay playing this year.

"But I do know that this last part of the season is an important stretch for us to springboard into next year. And with the trade for Andrew and all the young guys we're trying to develop and Steph's return, these are important games. They allow us to get to know each other and to play together and maybe fiddle with some lineups, fiddle with some schemes, and get a look at them over the summer before we get back to camp."

After a brief and tumultuous tenure, John Beilein is leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers as head coach, league sources told ESPN.

The Cavaliers are promoting associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to become the full-time head coach, and he will run his first practice Wednesday evening, league sources said.

Beilein, 67, is expected to say goodbye to staff and players late Wednesday afternoon when they return from the All-Star break, league sources said.

The Cavaliers and Beilein negotiated a financial settlement that will pay him a portion of the remaining money on his 2019-20 contract, league sources said. He left Michigan and signed a five-year contract with Cleveland that included a team option for the final season, a deal that paid him more than $4 million per season, league sources said.

Beilein struggled to connect with NBA players and was never able to implement his collegiate offense into the pro game. He befell the plight of some previous coaches who made the leap to the NBA: players quickly tuning him out with his penchant for screaming and believing that Beilein was treating them as young, college athletes, not as professionals, league sources said.

The coach struggled with the stress of losing games and the lack of control he felt within the locker room, league sources said. The organization largely wanted him to just concentrate on developing the young talent on the roster.

Bickerstaff was hired as part of an eventual succession plan with Beilein, who came to the NBA after 40-plus years in college basketball. That elevation came much sooner than expected after Beilein was hired in the spring.

Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman and Beilein began discussing the possibility of the coach stepping down before the beginning of the All-Star break last week, sources said.

Cleveland ownership and management had been determined to see through a difficult start with Beilein, but it became increasingly apparent to the front office and the coach that the partnership was headed for an inevitable split.

Friends and associates of Beilein have described him as unhappy -- even miserable -- with the move to the Cavaliers. The losing that comes with a rebuild, as well as several skirmishes in public and private with players, has played a part in the rapid deterioration of tenure, sources said.

Beilein had to apologize to his team after a January team meeting in which he referred to his players as "no longer playing as a bunch of thugs."

Cleveland's 14-40 record is the worst in the Eastern Conference and second-worst in the NBA, ahead of only the Golden State Warriors (12-43). Management expected the team to lose a significant number of games as it turned toward rebuilding its roster around a younger core, but Beilein had several missteps along the way that shook the players' confidence in his leadership, league sources said.

Altman had hired Beilein with the hopes that the coach's well-regarded history as a teacher at the college level would infuse the Cavaliers with a strong program for player development and his storied offensive sets. Opposing teams realized early that Beilein had scrapped his offense shortly into the season and retreated to more traditional NBA sets.

Beilein had been sought after in the NBA, discussing job opportunities with the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks in recent years.

He has a career record of 571-325 as a college coach. He made the NCAA tournament in his last four seasons at Michigan, including a Final Four appearance in 2017-18.

As the interim head coach with Houston in 2015-16, Bickerstaff led the Rockets to the playoffs with a 37-34 record. In two seasons with the rebuilding Memphis Grizzlies, Bickerstaff was 15-48 as an interim coach in 2017-18 following David Fizdale's firing and 33-49 in 2018-19.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst contributed to this report.

Can LeBron James catch Giannis Antetokounmpo in the NBA MVP race? Who is the favorite to win the NBA Finals? Does Zion Williamson have any chance in the Rookie of the Year race against Ja Morant?

We polled the ESPN Forecast panel of experts for their predictions now that we are two-thirds of the way through the 2019-20 NBA season. The topics include the most likely conference finals and NBA Finals matchups, the best franchises for the next three seasons, the player you'd want most in a championship series and more.

Who is most likely to win MVP?

Note: Voters ranked their top three picks.

On a dominant Bucks team, Antetokounmpo is increasing his lead in this MVP race. In December, he took 56.5% of first-place votes here, and now he's up to 80%.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL (80% first-place votes): 161 points

• LeBron James | LAL (17.1%): 108 points

• James Harden | HOU: 16 points

• Luka Doncic | DAL: 14 points

• Kawhi Leonard | LAC (2.9%): 6 points

Others receiving votes: Anthony Davis, Chris Paul, Nikola Jokic, Jimmy Butler, Damian Lillard, Pascal Siakam

MORE: LeBron adds to epic collection of iconic images with must-see dunk

Who is most likely to win Rookie of the Year?

Morant's clean bill of health has given the Memphis Grizzlies point guard a nearly insurmountable lead. Can Williamson keep up his blazing start to challenge for the award?

• Ja Morant | MEM (88.6%): 88.6%

• Zion Williamson | NOP (11.4%): 11.4%

MORE: How high is Zion Williamson's NBA superstar ceiling?

Which team will get the final playoff spot in the West?

The Portland Trail Blazers have gone from playing in the Western Conference finals last season to being on the fringes of postseason qualifying this season. Can the Blazers, Pelicans, Spurs and Kings make a run at the 8-seed?

• Grizzlies: 51.4%

• Trail Blazers: 20%

• Pelicans: 20%

• Spurs: 5.7%

• Kings: 2.9%

MORE: Can Zion and the Pelicans push their way into the playoffs?

What is the most likely Eastern Conference finals matchup?

Everyone believes in the Bucks, but the rest of the East has little consensus. In December, 76.1% of our experts had the Sixers here. Now the Raptors have the lead.

• Bucks vs. Raptors: 37.1%

• Bucks vs. Celtics: 34.3%

• Bucks vs. Heat: 14.3%

• Bucks vs. 76ers: 11.4%

MORE: Did the Heat and Rockets trade their way into the title chase?

What is the most likely Western Conference finals matchup?

The two Los Angeles teams still look to be squaring off in the conference finals, but the Nuggets, Jazz and Rockets have retooled their rosters in hopes of challenging the Lakers and Clippers.

• Lakers vs. Clippers: 85.7%

• Lakers vs. Nuggets: 5.7%

• Lakers vs. Jazz: 2.9%

• Lakers vs. Rockets: 2.9%

• Clippers vs. Jazz: 2.9%

MORE: NBA trade deadline debate -- bold moves and what's next

What is the most likely NBA Finals result?

The Bucks, on a 70-win pace, are the panel's leaders to win the NBA title.

Winner

• Bucks: 45.7%

• Lakers: 34.3%

• Clippers: 20%

Loser

• Bucks: 51.4%

• Lakers: 28.6%

• Clippers: 14.3%

• Nuggets: 2.9%

• Heat: 2.9%

MORE: NBA Power Rankings Week 18

NBA champs: Los Angeles or the field?

Although the Bucks have the best record in the NBA, the panel believes the two Los Angeles squads have a better chance of winning it all come June.

• Los Angeles: 57.1%

• The field: 42.9%

MORE: How real plus-minus can reveal hidden NBA stars

Which player would you most want on your team in a Finals series?

Although Giannis is likely to repeat as the winner of the league's MVP award, LeBron and Kawhi hold higher standing when it comes to must-win games.

• LeBron James: 45.7%

• Kawhi Leonard: 22.9%

• Giannis Antetokounmpo: 20%

• Kevin Durant: 5.7%

• Luka Doncic: 2.9%

• Stephen Curry: 2.9%

MORE: This NBA All-Star Game showed the power of basketball

Which West team will be the best over the next three seasons?

Note: This vote includes this season.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are signed until 2021, but will the Clippers be able to re-sign both elite wings beyond their second season with the team?

• Clippers: 68.6%

• Lakers: 22.9%

• Jazz: 2.9%

• Nuggets: 2.9%

• Mavericks: 2.9%

MORE: NBA mock draft -- new top-10 picks, risers and fallers

Which East team will be the best over the next three seasons?

Note: This vote includes this season.

With Antetokounmpo eligible to sign a supermax contract next summer during free agency, the Bucks hold the poll position. Can teams such as the Raptors and Heat carve out enough space and lure The Greek Freak away from Milwaukee?

• Bucks: 57.1%

• Celtics: 20%

• Heat: 11.4%

• Raptors: 8.6%

• Nets: 2.9%

MORE: Drafting 2020 NBA rising stars based on future star potential

_{Image credits: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images, Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE, Brandon Dill/AP Photo, Stacy Revere/Getty Images, Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports}

The Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants are pushing ahead with pay raises for minor league players this season, days after Major League Baseball mandated salary bumps beginning in 2021.

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer and Giants baseball executive Farhan Zaidi confirmed the wage hikes Tuesday.

MLB informed teams on Friday that it would be raising minimum salaries for minor leaguers in 2021, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. Those increases, ranging from 38% to 72% depending on the level, mean players will earn from $4,800 in rookie ball to $14,000 at Triple-A.

Hoyer said the Cubs' pay bumps will take effect this season and will mirror those made by the Blue Jays in 2019, when Toronto became the first club to boost pay by giving all minor leaguers 50% raises. Hoyer said the idea was pushed by the Ricketts family, which owns the Cubs franchise.

"They obviously had read about all the teams talking about changing it,'' Hoyer said. "They read about the Blue Jays, and they're like, 'We need to do this.' We put a tremendous emphasis on player development. We put a tremendous emphasis on our minor league talent, and the Ricketts family were pretty adamant that we treat them as well as anybody.

"So that's the move we're going to make, and we're proud to do it. I'm really happy and proud that they wanted to do it, and they just sort of took it on as kind of an ownership project, which is great.''

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants' pay bumps will be slightly more aggressive than the MLB-mandated minimums, with Triple-A players earning $15,000 for the five-month season. By comparison, the major league minimum is $563,500 this year, and the top players make over $30 million annually.

A group of minor leaguers filed a lawsuit against major league teams in February 2014 claiming their meager salaries violated minimum wage laws. While the case has not yet gone to trial, Congress passed legislation in 2018 stripping minor league players from protection under federal minimum wage laws.

San Francisco, which already had a reputation among minor leaguers as being relatively player-friendly after eliminating clubhouse dues and providing nutritious food, is also giving players a hand with housing. Rookie-ball, short-season and low-Class A players will be provided free housing. Class A Advanced players will be placed with host families, and Double-A and Triple-A players will be given $500 housing allowances each month.

Zaidi, entering his second season as president of baseball operations with the Giants, said the club would take feedback from players and could make further adjustments in 2021.

"There was really some momentum behind it before I came into the organization, but just from a personal standpoint, I'm excited that we were able to do it,'' he said. "I think that it does a lot of good for the organization. I think it's the right thing to do, and we're kind of looking forward to having it in place.

"It's a quality of life issue,'' he added. "It's a convenience issue. It's a time issue, and just getting a better sense of all that, something we'll continue to evaluate.''

MLB's mandated raises come as the league is negotiating with the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the governing body of the minors, to replace the Professional Baseball Agreement that expires after the 2020 seasons. MLB proposed cutting 42 of the 160 required affiliated teams during those negotiations, a plan criticized by small-town fans and politicians at the local and national level.

MLB also has sought assistance from minor league teams in paying salaries and for facility upgrades in those negotiations.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred apologized Tuesday for describing the World Series trophy as "a piece of metal" during an on-camera interview with ESPN, a description that drew pointed criticism from Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner and Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester.

Manfred said he referred to the World Series trophy, named the Commissioner's Trophy, "in a disrespectful way" while attempting to make "a rhetorical point" about the possibility of stripping the Houston Astros of their 2017 championship.

"I want to apologize for that," Manfred said at a news conference at the Omni Scottsdale Resort. "There's no excuse for it. I made a mistake. I was trying to make a point, but I should've made it in a more effective way, and again, I want to apologize for it.

"I will say this: I've awarded five World Series trophies. There is no greater pleasure in this job than awarding that trophy. I understand what it means, and again, it was a mistake to say what I said."

Manfred spoke two days after he addressed a media contingent in Florida in another news conference that appeared to make fans and players angrier with his handling of the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.

On Tuesday, Manfred again defended the investigation and punishment. He addressed assertions from players that MLB chose not to respond to an assortment of sign-stealing concerns that were filed to the league over the years by saying that "every complaint about sign stealing, whether it involved the Houston Astros or another club, was investigated by our office in real time at the time that complaint was made."

Manfred acknowledged that he could have set precedent by stripping the Astros of their title, but he said he would be "very concerned about opening the door to altering results that took place on the field."

"There are a lot of things that happened in the history of the game that arguably could be corrected," Manfred said, "and I just think it's an impossible task for an institution to undertake."

In its investigation, the league found that the 2017 Astros used a live feed from a center-field camera to decipher the opposing catchers' signs in real time and deployed a system that involved banging on a trash can to alert their hitters of upcoming pitches, supporting comments made by Mike Fiers to The Athletic in November.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch were suspended by Manfred for the 2020 season and subsequently fired by team owner Jim Crane. The team was fined $5 million, the maximum amount, and lost a total of four draft picks within the first two rounds in 2020 and 2021.

Many, both inside and outside the game, have taken issue with the fact that Crane wasn't directly punished and that the players were granted immunity for their testimony.

Manfred reiterated that Crane was unaware of the Astros' sign-stealing practices and noted that the owner was nonetheless affected by the punishments levied against his team. Manfred also said the Major League Baseball Players Association did not allow the league to interrogate players without granting them immunity.

"We would not have gotten where we got, in terms of understanding the facts, learning the facts, disclosing the facts," Manfred said, "if we hadn't reached that agreement."

In a statement later Tuesday night, the MLBPA confirmed that, in the wake of The Athletic story, it sought confirmation from the league that players connected to the allegations would not be disciplined. The union said it received that confirmation promptly, and player interviews in the league investigation began soon thereafter.

"Any suggestion that the Association failed to cooperate with the Commissioner's investigation, obstructed the investigation or otherwise took positions which led to a stalemate in the investigation is completely untrue," the union said as part of its statement. "We acted to protect the rights of our members, as is our obligation under the law."

Manfred said he will uphold his promise of immunity for Astros players but admitted that he might have to "think long and hard" about granting immunity again in the future. The union, in its statement, said it has exchanged proposals with the league in recent weeks on potential rule changes for affecting sign stealing and other areas, and "we have made it clear to MLB that no issue is off the table, including player discipline."

The commissioner said he recently met with managers from the 29 other teams to emphasize that pitchers should not take justice into their own hands by intentionally throwing at Astros hitters, an issue that was raised by new Houston manager Dusty Baker. Manfred also promised to "take every possible step" to protect Fiers, who currently pitches for the Oakland Athletics.

"I want to be really clear about this: Mike, who I do not know at all, did the industry a service," Manfred said. "I do believe that we will be a better institution when we emerge at the end of this episode, and without a Mike Fiers, we probably would have had a very difficult time cleaning this up. It would have taken longer. I think we would have done it eventually, but it would have taken a lot longer, and I have a real problem with anyone that suggests Mike did anything other than the right thing."

Manfred said he believes the league needs to "drastically restrict in-game access by player personnel to video" in an effort to curb sign-stealing practices, but MLB and the MLBPA are still working through new protocols.

Manfred, entering his sixth season as commissioner, is in the thick of a particularly turbulent time in his sport. Revelations about an uneven playing field have increased cynicism from players and triggered mistrust from fans. Players are openly criticizing the commissioner and their peers in ways that seem unprecedented. A game that is bursting with young talent is marred by a cheating scandal that has shown no signs of losing momentum.

"I think that trust is something that has to be earned -- or earned back," Manfred said. "I think that we have tried to send our fans the message that no matter who's involved, if there is an allegation that involves a violation of the rules, we'll investigate it. We'll investigate it with tremendous vigor and effort. We did that in Houston. We're doing it again in Boston.

"I think we need to show our fans that not only have we taken steps to prevent this type of activity, but we continue to take steps to ensure fans that it's not going on on a go-forward basis. And I have to say, that's a joint obligation. It's something we have to do, and it's something that the players have to help us do."

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on Tuesday weighed in on the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and Rob Manfred's handling of the situation, urging Major League Baseball's commissioner to "fix this for the sake of sports."

"Listen I know I don't play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be f---ing irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do!" James wrote on Twitter. "Listen here baseball commissioner listen to your players speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc about this.

"Literally the ball is in your court(or should I say field) and you need to fix this for the sake of Sports! #JustMyThoughtsComingFromASportsJunkieRegardlessMyOwnSportIPlay"

James joined a growing chorus of players who have called out the cheating Astros and Manfred, among them Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner -- whose Dodgers lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros in seven games -- three-time American League MVP Mike Trout from the crosstown Los Angeles Angels and Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who finished as the runner-up to Astros second baseman Jose Altuve in the 2017 AL MVP voting.

A league investigation confirmed that the Astros cheated by using a camera-based, sign-stealing system during the regular season and playoffs of their World Series-winning 2017 season and during part of the 2018 regular season. MLB announced its discipline of the team last month, suspending general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch for the 2020 season, stripping the organization of four draft picks and levying a $5 million fine. Both Luhnow and Hinch were fired by owner Jim Crane after the announcement.

The only player mentioned in the report was since-retired Carlos Beltran, who lost his job managing the New York Mets in the fallout from the scandal. No other players have been punished because Manfred promised them immunity as part of the league's investigation, and there are no plans to strip the Astros of their 2017 World Series title -- decisions that have drawn widespread criticism from the baseball community.

Manfred in recent days defended his punishment of the Astros, but he came under fire for characterizing the World Series trophy as a "piece of metal" during an interview with ESPN's Karl Ravech.

Manfred on Tuesday apologized for referring to the Commissioner's Trophy "in a disrespectful way."

"I've awarded five World Series trophies," he said. "There is no greater pleasure in this job than awarding that trophy. I understand what it means. And again, it was a mistake to say what I said."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Spring training provides opportunities for players both young and old to make their mark and change their future outlook. Some young players are trying to do enough to make the team. Veterans who have bounced around and might not have a contract are doing the same. Meanwhile, former stars and once-heralded prospects might be working their way back from injury to take a spot that's far from guaranteed. The players below are all fighting this spring for a place on the roster, or in the rotation or starting lineup, but their performance this spring is worth a look as it will decide their fate once spring is over and the season begins.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mike Trout -- exemplary athlete, polished face of baseball, as uncontroversial as they come -- stood in front of an Angels-themed backdrop Monday morning and joined the swelling list of star players taking pointed shots at the Houston Astros. Trout stated that he "lost respect" for peers he once considered friends, called all of this "sad for baseball" and cracked jokes about how "fun" it would be to know which pitch was coming. Twenty-five miles west, at Dodgers camp in Glendale, Arizona, Justin Turner, among the game's most respected veterans, went out of his way to torch Major League Baseball's commissioner, Rob Manfred, for the way he seemed to minimize the World Series trophy.

Players everywhere, from Arizona to Florida, in spring training camps dotted throughout both states, have been outspoken in ways a buttoned-up sport like this has never seen. The scathing remarks, aimed at both their peers and the man who oversees their sport, have come from household names and fringe major leaguers, each new voice empowering the other, every day producing new triggers. By the time Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon held court Monday, Trout's comments had already gone viral, adding more fuel to a fire that seemingly won't stop burning.

Maddon called for a moratorium.

"At some point," he said, "we have to stop talking about it. I mean, it's been hashed, rehashed and triple-rehashed. If you watch TV, which I don't do a lot of but they put it on in my office -- my goodness, how many different ways can you dissect this? Wounds have to heal. They have to scab over. But if you keep picking at it, it never heals. We have to get to that point where you allow the healing process to begin."

This, perhaps, is part of the healing process. Probably the initial stage of it. Some of the players' comments have been flawed and reckless and hyperbolic, which merely provides a snapshot into the way most of us process anger -- emotionally, not rationally. Today's baseball players are displaying a transparency and honesty rarely seen by athletes of their stature. It's humanizing them in ways that fans should appreciate.

"I figured they would get backlash," Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon said of the Astros, "but the anger that's been coming out is definitely surprising."

Rendon was born and raised in Houston and grew up rooting for Astros teams featuring Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio. He spoke less than five months after his Washington Nationals defeated the Astros in seven World Series games and sounded more sympathetic than most.

"None of us are perfect people," Rendon said. "We've all made mistakes, we've all fallen short."

That same morning, Boston Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez struck a similar tone.

"I understand players' frustration and stuff like that, but I think, in my opinion, it's already getting a little bit too much," he said. "We have to move past it at some point."

A mere 24 hours later, Atlanta Braves right fielder Nick Markakis stated that every Astros player "needs a beating" and New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge said their 2017 title doesn't "hold any value." Before them, Trout vouched for stronger punishment. Before Trout, Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen called the cheating scandal "worse than steroids." Before Jansen, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant deemed the Astros' apologies "a disgrace." Before Bryant, Cincinnati Reds starter Trevor Bauer provided a 1,500-word soliloquy disparaging his sport. And before all of them, reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger talked about how Jose Altuve "stole" the 2017 AL MVP award and how his entire team "stole" the championship.

The opinions have been diverse but have mostly followed these common themes:

1. Stealing signs the way the Astros did, and knowing which pitch was coming, is a big deal and should not be diminished.

2. Astros players should have been punished.

3. The Astros -- particularly owner Jim Crane -- have not shown enough contrition.

4. The Astros' illegal sign-stealing practices extended into the 2019 season, even though MLB's investigation stated otherwise.

5. Manfred, entering his sixth season as the sport's commissioner, didn't act quickly enough, wasn't firm enough and hasn't been forthright enough.

Before fielding questions from the assembled media at a ballroom in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Tuesday afternoon, Manfred apologized profusely for referring to the World Series trophy as "a piece of metal," a choice of words that drew the ire of Turner and Jon Lester. Later, Manfred was asked if he had ever experienced such vitriol within his sport.

"I've been around a long time," Manfred said, "and I've never seen this kind of commentary from players about other players in the entire time that I've been involved."

Most of the anger is rooted in self-interest, as is typically the case. It stems from a belief that nothing in sports is more difficult than hitting major league pitching. More specifically: that nothing is more difficult than deciphering spin coming out of a pitcher's hand and reacting quickly enough to meet the barrel with the baseball, particularly in an era of unprecedented movement and velocity. Hitters dedicate their lives to shortening that reaction time; pitchers obsess over ways to keep them guessing. The Astros changing that calculus by skirting the rules has elicited a public, league-wide anger that not even the steroid scandal could match.

"You see guys who maybe got kicked out of the league because they got beat by Houston in 2017, you got guys who maybe should've won an MVP, or whatever it may be, or stats that are changed," Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw said. "It's just a bad feeling because you feel kind of helpless about it. I think guys don't really know how to feel just because it's never really happened before, so you're seeing a lot of different responses from a lot of different people."

There's a lingering fear, amid all the noise, that all of this anger has disjointed the players' union at a time when it must come together for a brewing labor fight. One player rep made a counterpoint -- most of the players are actually together, both in their anger toward Manfred and in their anger toward the Astros, whose members make up only 3% of their union. But what if the criticism continues, and suddenly other teams are outed for similar crimes, and the distrust among players escalates?

"Yeah," the player rep said, "that would be bad.

It illustrates a predominant fear, one represented by the question several coaches, managers and front-office executives have posed in recent days: When, and how, will this end?