MINNEAPOLIS -- Jhoulys Chacin finalized a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins on Monday after a miserable 2019 season that saw him go from an Opening Day start to an August release.

He would get a $1.6 million, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster and would have the chance to earn $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on innings.

The 32-year-old right-hander was 15-8 with a 3.50 ERA for Milwaukee in 2018 after signing a two-year, $15.5 million deal with the Brewers.

He beat St. Louis on opening day last year and won at Cincinnati in his second start, then went 1-10 with a 6.00 ERA in his next 17 starts. After his release, he signed with the Boston Red Sox and was 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance.

He figures to compete during spring training with Randy Dobnak, Devin Smeltzer and Lewis Thorpe for rotation spots behind Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi and Homer Bailey.

Michael Pineda will miss the first 36 games while completing a suspension for a positive test for a banned diuretic, and Rich Hill is not expected back until June following elbow surgery.

Left-hander Marco Gonzales and the Seattle Mariners agreed Monday to a four-year extension.

The extension, which begins in 2021, contains a club option for 2025. The four-year deal is worth $30 million, according to The Athletic.

Gonzales is about to begin his third full season with the Mariners after arriving in 2017 via a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals. Gonzales gets $1 million this year in the final season of a $1.9 million, two-year deal.

"Since joining the Mariners, Marco has been a model of consistency, quietly ranking among the most productive starting pitchers in the AL," Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. "His presence, competitiveness, preparation and leadership make him a key part of our future."

Gonzales is coming off the best season of his career. He tied for the American League lead with 34 starts and was tied for fifth with 16 victories. His 3.99 ERA was the lowest of his career, and he set career highs in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts.

The 27-year-old was Seattle's Opening Day starter last year and is likely to hold that spot for years to come.

"This organization has a vision for winning a championship, and I am honored to be a part of their plans," Gonzales said. "This will only further motivate me and the passion that I have to compete and win. I do not take their commitment to me lightly, and I will always represent this team and this city with honor and pride."

By signing Gonzales to the deal, Seattle is banking on the left-hander still being among the better pitchers in the AL when the Mariners hope their rebuilding project comes to fruition. This season is likely to be another struggle after Seattle won just 68 games last year.

But the hope is Seattle's young prospects start the turn toward winning in 2021 with Gonzales at the top of the rotation.

Gonzales said recently that his role with a young team doesn't change his approach.

"I'm going to go out and try to win a ballgame every five days and be a good teammate, be a good leader and do things the right way," he said. "The world could be crumbling down around me and I don't think it would effect what I do in my job."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Astros have named James Click their new general manager, the team announced Monday.

Click, 42, served as vice president of baseball operations for the Rays from 2017 to '19.

"I am excited to join the Astros family," Click said in a statement. "The Astros are a progressive and innovative organization with a deeply talented group in the front office. I am grateful to Jim Crane and the Astros for giving me this opportunity to help lead this team to more championships."

A Yale graduate, Click joined the Tampa Bay organization in 2006 and worked his way up to his most recent position.

Click is the latest exec to leave the Rays for a bigger job. Senior vice president Chaim Bloom was hired as chief baseball officer of the Red Sox earlier this offseason, and Click was set to take over some of his responsibilities.

Click takes over for Jeff Luhnow, who was fired by the team in the wake of a league investigation that found the Astros cheated by using a sign-stealing system during the regular season and playoffs of their World Series-winning 2017 season and during part of the 2018 regular season.

Houston manager AJ Hinch also was fired as part of the scandal. Dusty Baker was hired to replace him last week.

"James has had an impressive career," Houston owner Jim Crane said. "He is a respected leader who has progressed in this game across all aspects of Baseball Operations, and he has built great relationships with both front office and clubhouse personnel. I am thrilled to introduce him as our new General Manager. He is a great addition to the Astros."

The Astros will introduce Click to the media on Tuesday.

Former manager Bobby Bragan once described baseball statistics like this: "Say you were standing with one foot in the oven and one foot in an ice bucket. According to the percentage people, you should be perfectly comfortable."

Good one. Nonetheless, baseball is a numbers game. As we peel away from the Astros' cheating scandal and look forward to the start of spring training, let's dig into one key number for each team from the 2019 season and what it means for 2020 or how the team has addressed it so far in the offseason. We'll tackle the American League today.

AL East | Central | West

AL East

Baltimore Orioles

The number: 305. The Orioles set the record for home runs allowed.

Whatever you do, do not look at Dan Straily's 2019 numbers. It's Year 2 of the Long Rebuild and it's going to be pretty ugly once again at the major league level. The Orioles traded away Dylan Bundy, one of their two reliable starters. We'll see if out-of-nowhere All-Star John Means can repeat his surprising rookie season (he had a 4.85 ERA in the second half). The bullpen almost by default has to improve on its ghastly 5.79 ERA. Still, there doesn't appear to be much immediate help in the farm system. Top pitching prospects Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall are a couple of years away.

Maybe the Orioles add a couple of veteran starters before spring training, although given that they didn't want to pay Jonathan Villar, it seems like they're willing to take their lumps in order to save money on payroll and put a little more cash into the pockets of ownership. The non-roster invitees to spring training include a couple of pitchers with major league experience like Ty Blach and Rob Zastryzny, but those aren't difference-makers. The Orioles probably won't allow 305 home runs again -- but they might go 2-17 again versus the Yankees.

Boston Red Sox

The number: 6.4 WAR. That's the difference between the combined pitching and position player WAR on FanGraphs between the 2018 Red Sox and the 2019 Red Sox. The actual difference in wins: 24.

The 2019 Red Sox certainly were not as good as the 2018 club that won 108 games. But 24 wins worse? Well, yes. And no. The numbers at FanGraphs suggests the 2019 Red Sox should have been just six or seven wins worse. So what was the difference? The 2018 Red Sox were clutch. The 2019 Red Sox were not.

As my colleague Brad Doolittle would point out, WAR doesn't always do a very good job of explaining what happened. We can use win probability for more context. WPA doesn't translate directly to wins, but it helps us understand what happened between the two seasons. Red Sox position players were 4.6 wins worse via WAR in 2019, but 7.5 wins worse via WPA. Red Sox pitchers were just 1.8 wins worse via WAR in 2019, but 16.4 wins worse via WPA.

Taking a closer look at the pitching staff, in high-leverage situations (when the game is close) in 2019, Red Sox pitchers allowed a .790 OPS, worse than they fared in medium-leverage (.760) or low-leverage (.746) moments. In 2018, the staff allowed a .649 OPS in high-leverage situations, much better than medium-leverage (.734) or low-leverage (.689). The hitters similarly performed better in high-leverage situations in 2018 (.854 OPS versus .801 in medium and .762 in low). Hmm, maybe that sign stealing did help.

Now, obviously talent can affect the results in those situations. This isn't simply just a case of good luck versus bad luck. The clutch ability of the 2020 Red Sox, however, probably lies between the two extremes. Which means the Red Sox should be a strong playoff contender, at least if they keep Mookie Betts and especially if Chris Sale bounces back.

New York Yankees

The number: 4.51. The Yankees ranked sixth in the American League with a 4.51 rotation ERA.

How much will Gerrit Cole improve things? While the rotation wasn't as bad as the pundits often advertised (the AL average starter ERA was 4.76), the Yankees also ranked just 11th in the AL in innings pitched from their starters -- heck, Orioles starters threw more innings. Yes, that speaks to the depth and quality of the bullpen (and the use of Chad Green as an opener), but this was not a group that pitched deep into games.

CC Sabathia, Jonathan Loaisiga, Luis Severino, Stephen Tarpley, Jonathan Holder, Jordan Montgomery and Nestor Cortes Jr. combined to make 33 starts. That's who Cole is replacing. That group combined to pitch 138⅓ innings in those starts, allowing 85 runs with a 5.07 ERA. Cole pitched 212⅓ innings in 33 starts for the Astros, allowing 66 runs with a 2.50 ERA. If Cole replicates his Houston numbers and everyone else puts up the same results, the rotation ERA drops to 3.91 (while throwing more innings). The rotation will be much better and potentially the best in the league if Severino returns in good health.

Tampa Bay Rays

The number: 3.66. The Rays had the best bullpen ERA in the majors -- while also throwing the most innings.

Normally, you would expect the league's best bullpen to regress -- such is the unpredictable nature of relievers. In the case of the Rays, however, the bullpen (and the entire pitching staff) may be even better, which is why the Rays should once again be a playoff contender despite lacking a high-powered offense. Building a staff in 2020 is all about depth -- rare exceptions like the 2019 Nationals excluded. The Rays currently have 20 pitchers on the 40-man roster. All are good. OK, Brendan McKay hasn't quite proved himself in the majors, but he's a polished lefty regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the game. And Brent Honeywell is trying to return after missing two seasons with Tommy John surgery, but he was an elite prospect prior to the injury.

Anyway, consider:

• Tyler Glasnow made just 12 starts, posting a 1.78 ERA, but looked strong when he returned late in the season.

• 2018 Cy Young winner Blake Snell saw his ERA climb from 1.89 to 4.29 in 23 starts as he suffered a broken toe and elbow ailment. He, too, returned at the end of the season, and given his strong peripherals, should once again be a Cy Young contender if healthy.

• Nick Anderson was a midseason acquisition from the Marlins and had a 41-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 21⅓ innings with the Rays. Buster Olney ranked him the fourth-best reliever in the majors based on his rookie performance.

• Reliever Diego Castillo had a 3.41 ERA, but as one of the hardest throwers in the game, has more upside in him. Just ask the Astros, who saw Castillo dominate them in the ALDS.

• Lefty Jose Alvarado throws in the upper 90s with wicked movement. He began 2019 on fire and then had control and injury issues, but he had a 2.39 ERA and one home run allowed in 64 innings in 2018.

• Colin Poche fanned 72 in 51⅔ innings and allowed just 33 hits. He has a chance to improve on his 4.70 ERA.

The Rays' offense certainly has question marks, even after the trade with St. Louis to acquire Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena. But this may be the best top-to-bottom pitching staff in the league.

Toronto Blue Jays

The number: .236. The Blue Jays had the lowest batting average in the majors -- even lower than every National League team.

We're not supposed to pay attention to batting average these days, but even in the juiced-ball era, you can't survive only on home runs. The Blue Jays hit 247 home runs, fifth in the AL, but they didn't do anything else well on offense -- they were in the bottom third in doubles, walks, strikeouts and stolen bases.

So they spent the offseason addressing the ... starting rotation. OK, that area needed help as well. Their one move to help the offense has been to sign Travis Shaw, who hit .157 in 2019. Maybe he bounces back. The Blue Jays' plan, however, is to hope Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette develop into superstar hitters and ... well, otherwise they're surrounded with a bunch of fourth outfielders.

OK, that's not completely fair. Cavan Biggio looks like he'll be a walk machine, so he'll get on base at a good clip despite low batting averages. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a solid half-season at the plate. The bat looks legit and the Jays will stick him in left field. Otherwise, the Jays will hope for better results from the likes of Randal Grichuk (31 home runs, but a .232 average and .280 OBP), Teoscar Hernandez (26 home runs, but a .230 average and .306 OPB) and Rowdy Tellez (21 home runs, but a .227 average and .293 OBP). Will that work? My guess is Toronto goes into next offseason looking for some offense.

AL Central

Chicago White Sox

The number: .679. White Sox outfielders and designated hitters hit a combined .242/.299/.380 in 2019, which added up to the second-lowest OPS in the majors from those positions.

The White Sox had a terrible offense in 2019. They've had terrible offenses for a long time now. They haven't finished in the top 10 in the American League in runs, home runs or walks since 2014, when they were fourth in home runs and eighth in runs. They haven't finished in the top half of the league in runs scored since 2012. Their long-standing problem has been getting on base, in large degree due to an anti-walk infliction. The last time they were the higher than seventh in the AL in OBP was 2006, when they ranked sixth. They drew the fewest walks in the AL in 2019. No player drew even 50 freebies.

The White Sox addressed their DH issues by signing Edwin Encarnacion. They acquired Nomar Mazara to play right field. Rookie Luis Robert will take over in center field. Rookie Nick Madrigal will take over at second base early in the season. With continued growth from Eloy Jimenez (31 home runs as a rookie) and Yoan Moncada (141 OPS+) and more of the same from Tim Anderson, they could rank in the top half of the league in runs.

That's not a guarantee, however. Getting on base enough could remain a problem. Robert has tantalizing tools, but he walked just 28 times in 551 plate appearances in the minors. Mazara had a .318 OBP last year, right in line with his career mark. He's still just 25, but he hasn't improved in four seasons in the majors. Anderson never walks and is a good bet to regress from his league-leading .335 average. Jimenez had a .315 OBP.

Still, the White Sox did a nice job addressing their holes in signing Encarnacion, Yasmani Grandal (who drew 109 walks last year), Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez. There's no doubt with all this young talent they're going to be one of the must-watch teams of the season. If they get on base and those veteran starters produce, they have a chance to make some noise.

Cleveland Indians

The number: 4.6. The combined WAR of Cleveland outfielders, ranking 18th in the majors.

It was not the worst outfield in the majors, but it's worth noting that none of the teams that ranked below the Indians made the playoffs. Even if we isolate just offense, the Indians weren't the worst, ranking tied for 21st in wOBA.

Still, the Indians went into the 2018-19 offseason knowing the outfield was the team's biggest liability. They added Jordan Luplow (who crushed lefties) and Jake Bauers (who didn't crush anybody), and then were forced to add Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes during the season. Puig is a free agent while Reyes will presumably spend the majority of his time in 2020 at DH.

This offseason has seen a similar lukewarm response. The one addition has been Delino DeShields Jr., a solid defensive center fielder with a weak bat. Right now the only sure thing is that Luplow will be in the lineup against left-handers and Oscar Mercado will play somewhere. Otherwise, it's DeShields, Bauers, Greg Allen, Tyler Naquin and Bradley Zimmer fighting for playing time. Not exactly Belle, Lofton and Ramirez.

One thing that will help: Just avoid being awful. Allen, Bauers, Leonys Martin and Carlos Gonzalez soaked up 765 plate appearances in the outfield and the highest OPS of the four was .651. If the Indians can just get league-average production from their outfielders, the rest of the team may be good enough to win back the AL Central.

Detroit Tigers

The number: 77. That was Detroit's wRC+, worst in the majors.

That's shorthand for weighted runs created -- a park-adjusted catch-all offensive figure where 100 is league average. Not only was Detroit's 77 wRC+ the worst in 2019, it was the second worst of the decade:

2013 Marlins: 74
2019 Tigers: 77
2019 Marlins: 79
2010 Mariners: 79
2010 Astros: 79

Their big moves have been to add Jonathan Schoop (100 wRC+ in 2019) and C.J. Cron (101). Both have some pop, making them league-average offensive performers at the plate. Tigers first basemen hit .248/.308/.402 and their second basemen hit .228/.271/.363, so Cron and Schoop still project as upgrades -- just not big ones. Since they're on one-year deals, they could also turn into trade bait if they do perform well. The Tigers scored 109 fewer runs than the next-worst team in the AL. It's hard to be that awful again, but the Tigers still appear to have the worst offense in the league.

Kansas City Royals

The number: 324. Jorge Soler, Whit Merrifield and Hunter Dozier created an estimated 324 runs, making the Royals one of just eight teams with at least three players to create 95 runs.

These three were the rare bright spots in a 103-loss season. Soler led the AL and set a franchise record with 48 home runs, becoming one of the most unexpected home run leaders of all time (in parts of five seasons, he had hit just 38 career home runs). His 118 runs created were the most by a Royals player since Carlos Beltran had 123 in 2001. Merrifield, like Soler, played in all 162 games and led the AL with 206 hits as he hit .302 with 67 extra-base hits. Dozier had what was hopefully a breakout season, hitting .279/.348/.522.

Now, the problem: the Royals still finished next to last in the league in runs scored. Consider their AL rankings in wOBA:

Catcher: 13th
First base: last
Shortstop: last
Center field: last

They'll get Salvador Perez back at catcher, but he hasn't posted an OBP over .300 since 2013, so he's really only a minor upgrade. They signed Maikel Franco, which moves Dozier to first base or right field, but Franco is coming off a .297 OBP and 80 OPS+ season. Merrifield may take over full time in center field, which opens second base up for Nicky Lopez, who had the worst OPS+ in the majors last year among any player with 400 plate appearances. If Soler and Dozier regress, the offense could end up at the bottom of the AL.

Minnesota Twins

The number: 44. Twins catchers set a record with 44 home runs.

The previous record was 43, shared by four teams -- the 1997 Dodgers and 1999 Mets, when Mike Piazza was the primary catcher; the 1953 Dodgers with Roy Campanella; and the 2003 Braves, the season Javy Lopez hit 43 home runs. Those three catchers, however, were all big-time power hitters. In 2018, Minnesota backstops hit just 13 home runs, ranking 24th in the majors. This was not expected.

Mitch Garver was the driving force. After hitting seven home runs in 302 at-bats in 2018, he had one of the most shocking seasons of the decade, hitting 31 in 311 at-bats, 30 of those as a catcher. Working with personal hitting coach Jason Columbus in the offseason, he tweaked his mechanics, focusing on pulling the ball in the air to left field. His hard-hit rate improved from 38.8% to 50%, his launch angle was higher and his average exit velocity increased.

Of course, everyone on the Twins hit home runs in 2019 -- they set the single-season record with 307, as five players reached 30. All those guys are back in 2020 along with free agent Josh Donaldson, who mashed 37 of his own. The Twins scored 939 runs in 2019, second in the AL, and it's not outrageous to envision even more offense with Donaldson in the lineup.

The question: What happens if the Super Happy Fun Ball doesn't return in 2020? It's worth noting that no team had a higher year-to-year increase in home runs than the Twins -- by a large margin:

Twins: +141
Cubs: +89
Astros: +83
Braves: +74
Mets: +72

The good news is the Twins did hit .270, second in the AL, and ranked third in doubles, so they weren't just a one-dimensional offense. Second-year second baseman Luis Arraez, who hit .334 and walked more than he struck out as a rookie, will give the team a different look as well as the likely full-time second baseman. And maybe Garver hits 40 home runs this year.

AL West

Houston Astros

The number: 500. That's the number of innings the Astros have lost from their 2019 pitching staff with the departures of Gerrit Cole, Wade Miley, Will Harris and Hector Rondon.

Of course, there are other numbers from the Astros we've been heatedly engaged with this offseason, such as the number of bangs on garbage cans. It's impossible to know what effect the fallout from the cheating scandal will have on Astros hitters in 2020 -- the commissioner's report indicated nothing untoward was going on in 2019, although there remains a lot of suspicion that the Astros had simply moved on from garbage cans to a different system.

So let's focus on what's happened this offseason in the transactions department. The Astros have lost those 500 innings of very good pitching (a combined 3.02 ERA). That's over a third of the team's total innings, and the only major leaguer the Astros have brought in is former Rays reliever Austin Pruitt. Yes, they have pitchers in place to soak up some of those innings: a full season of Zack Greinke, Lance McCullers Jr. returning from Tommy John surgery, and Jose Urquidy, who should step into the rotation. Josh James, Brad Peacock and Forrest Whitley are also potential starters.

Lots of options there, but good luck replacing Cole. Does this make the Astros vulnerable? Perhaps. The well-oiled machine of Jeff Luhnow, AJ Hinch and a talented roster has lost two-thirds of that hierarchy along with a 20-game winner. I guess we'll learn a lot about Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, George Springer and friends in 2020.

Los Angeles Angels

The number: 0. The Angels didn't have a single starting pitcher make at least 20 starts in 2019.

How rare is this? Since 1996, it had never happened. In fact, out of 716 team seasons, 709 teams had least two pitchers make at least 20 starts. Guess which team had the worst rotation ERA in the American League in 2019.

This has been an ongoing issue for the Angels. Over the past four seasons they have had just 10 pitchers make at least 20 starts in a season. And get this, it's 10 different pitchers: Hector Santiago, Matt Shoemaker, Jered Weaver, Parker Bridwell, Jesse Chavez, Ricky Nolasco, JC Ramirez, Jaime Barria, Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs. No wonder Mike Trout can't get into the playoffs.

The Angels have addressed this by signing Julio Teheran and trading for Dylan Bundy. On the bright side, Teheran has made 30-plus starts all seven of his major league seasons. He's one of the most durable starters in the game. Bundy has averaged 30 starts over the past three seasons. Are those two enough to help the Angels get over .500?

Oakland Athletics

The number: 21. That's the combined starts in 2019 made by Frankie Montas (16), Sean Manaea (5), Jesus Luzardo (0) and A.J. Puk (0).

Why do the A's, who finished 10 games behind the Astros in 2019, have a chance to win the AL West? It's not just Cole's departure from the Houston rotation. Oakland's rotation should be a lot deeper and potentially better. Consider:

• Montas was in the midst of a breakout season when he was suspended in late June for 80 games after a positive PED test. At the time he was 9-2 with a 2.70 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 90 innings. He has a high-octane power sinker, a wipeout slider and wipeout splitter. Obviously, we don't know how much the PEDs helped, but he's always had big-time stuff, and it appeared he had put it all together. Let's see if he can do it over 30 starts.

• Manaea returned late in the season after shoulder surgery in 2018 and looked great, with a 1.21 ERA over five starts. His strikeout rate spiked compared to his career norms, so he'll try to prove he can maintain that level over a full season.

• Luzardo entered 2019 as a candidate to make the Opening Day rotation but suffered a left rotator cuff strain in spring training and then a lat strain in July. He dominated in 12 innings in relief in September and remains one of the top pitching prospects in the minors. The A's will watch his innings, but he's a strong Rookie of the Year candidate.

• Puk returned from Tommy John surgery to also reach the majors in September, fanning 13 in 11⅓ relief innings. He could end up in the bullpen as a potential Josh Hader-type weapon.

On top of that, the A's still have Mike Fiers (15-4, 3.90 ERA) and Chris Bassitt (10-5, 3.81 ERA). It's one of the best rotations in the league, backed up by one of the better bullpens. Watch out, Houston.

Seattle Mariners

The number: 67. The Mariners set an all-time record for players used in a season.

That total included 40 different pitchers, not including the two position players who pitched. This is no way to run a franchise, even in a rebuilding/transitional/"we're not trying to win" season. Unfortunately, look for the revolving door to continue in 2020. Mariners beat writers have attempted to project the Opening Day roster and have suggested that every job in the bullpen is up for grabs. The closer at the end of the season was 30-year-old journeyman Matt Magill, purchased from the Twins in July.

The starting rotation, meanwhile, includes just three locks -- Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi and Kendall Graveman, and Graveman didn't pitch in the majors last year. Rookies Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn may occupy the other two spots. Sheffield was so bad in Triple-A last year that he had to be sent back down to Double-A (where he fared much better). Dunn hasn't pitched in Triple-A, so starting the year in the majors would be an aggressive promotion.

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Jerry Dipoto is going to have to let the youngsters sink or swim -- including position players like J.P. Crawford, Shed Long and Kyle Lewis -- and hopefully see prospects like Evan White, Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert reach the majors at some point. Still, it's going to be a long season in Seattle, and don't rule out this team playing down to the level of the Orioles and Tigers.

Texas Rangers

The number: 7.22. That was the ERA for Rangers starters not named Mike Minor or Lance Lynn.

The top of the Texas rotation was very good in 2019 -- via Baseball-Reference's calculations, Minor was the second-best starter in the AL and Lynn the third-best starter (both ranking higher than Cole). Even if you disagree with that specific assessment, you can agree that the rest of the Texas rotation was an epic debacle.

So the Rangers went out and did the obvious: They added some starting pitchers, trading for Corey Kluber and signing Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles as free agents. For the first time in a long time, the Rangers have five viable big league starters, and if Kluber bounces back and Minor and Lynn come close to their 2019 performances, they'll have one of the best 1-2-3 trios in the league.

Is that enough to push the Rangers into contention status? I'm not so sure. The only significant move on the position-player side of things has been signing Todd Frazier -- and the position players were worse than the pitchers in 2019. In fact, according to the metrics, the pitching staff wasn't actually so dreadful:

Baseball-Reference
Pitchers: 22.4 WAR (second in AL)
Non-pitchers: 10.9 WAR (tied for second worst in AL)

FanGraphs
Pitchers: 14.2 WAR (eighth in AL)
Non-pitchers: 9.2 WAR (13th in AL)

The two sites disagree on the value of the pitchers (both agree that Minor and Lynn were exceptional), but they agree that the Rangers position players were collectively awful. Let's just say that Nolan Arenado will look like a nice addition.

Triple jumper Zango leaps 17.77m while hurdler Pozzi clocks world lead, while records fall at the Marugame Half

There were many impressive performances on a busy weekend of athletics action around the world, with Jemma Reekie breaking the British indoor 800m record in Glasgow and Keely Hodgkinson setting a European indoor under-20 800m record in Vienna (report here), Anna Emilie Møller and Mahamed Mahamed dominating at the BUCS Champs in Edinburgh (report here) and Charlotte Arter ‏improving the world parkrun record in Cardiff (report here).

Here are some of the other highlights.

Meeting de Paris, France, February 2

Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango recorded an outright African triple jump record of 17.77m which puts him equal fourth on the world indoor all-time list behind only Teddy Tamgho, Aliecer Urrutia and Christian Olsson.

The world bronze medallist’s mark is just 15 centimetres off the world indoor record set in 2011 by Tamgho, who is Zango’s coach.

Britain’s Andrew Pozzi also enjoyed a strong start to his season as he first clocked 7.56 in the 60m hurdles heats and then ran a world-leading 7.52 to win the final for his fastest ever opener. France’s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde was second in 7.66.

USA’s Christina Clemons won the women’s 60m hurdles in 7.91.

British record-holder Holly Bradshaw won the pole vault with a clearance of 4.61m.

? 461 ?
?? Thanks Paris for putting on such an awesome comp!

Felt a bit alien & lacked discipline but was SUPER FUN to be back on 16 steps & 460s in competition! Best jump of the day was a ✖️ so here's one of my 471 attempt ?

ALSO thanks to Mizuno my onesie felt so special! pic.twitter.com/r31HuU2pwI

— Holly Bradshaw (@HollyBradshawPV) February 2, 2020

Marugame Half Marathon, Japan, February 2

Brett Robinson and Helalia Johannes both ran national records to claim victory, with Robinson breaking the Australian record with 59:57 and Johannes improving her own Namibian record with a time of 68:10.

In an exciting sprint finish to the men’s race, Yusuke Ogura ran a Japanese record of 60:00 in second as Britain’s Callum Hawkins was third in 60:01, just one second off his PB set when winning the same race three years ago.

After storming down the track on the way to the finish line, Hawkins stopped his watch and threw his hands to his head in disappointment at just missing his PB, which is also the Scottish record, and a sub-one-hour time.

Brett Robinson wins Marugame Half 59:56 unoff. pic.twitter.com/RmJJwi79qe

— Japan Running News (@JRNHeadlines) February 2, 2020

Britain’s Charlotte Purdue ran 68:23 for second in the women’s race, while Choi Kyund-Sun set a Korean record of 68:35 in third place. Australia’s Sinead Diver finished fourth in 68:50.

Indoor Classic, Vienna, Austria, February 1

Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson clocked 2:01.16 to break the European under-20 800m indoor record when winning the race.

Tom Keen clocked 3:41.44 for 1500m to improve on the UK under-20 indoor record which had been held by former AW employee Matt McLaughlin since 2013.

Alex Botterill won the men’s 800m in 1:47.93.

Andrew Robertson clocked 6.62 and Eugene Amo-Dadzie a 6.72 PB to finish first and second respectively in the 60m.

Loughborough, February 1

Lewis Byng threw 19.18m to break the British indoor under-20 shot put record, adding 49cm to the previous record set by Jamie Williamson in 2006.

T12 sprinter Zac Shaw clocked a 7.07 60m PB.

Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe, Germany, January 31

Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh improved her world under-20 indoor high jump record with a winning clearance of 2.02m.

Germany’s Malaika Mihambo competed in both the 60m and long jump, first clocking 7.37 in the sprint heats and then jumping a best of 6.83m. Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk won the long jump with a world-leading PB of 6.92m as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru was sixth with 6.56m.

Renaud Lavillenie and his younger brother Valentin claimed a one-two in the pole vault, with both clearing 5.70m and Renaud winning on countback.

Bethwell Birgen won the men’s 3000m in a PB of 7:38.50, while Axumawit Embaye won the women’s 1500m in 4:07.94.

Tobi Amusan clocked a PB of 7.84 to win the 60m hurdles, while Shania Collins took the 60m in 7.20.

The controversial format for the men’s long jump prompted much discussion, as Eusebio Cáceres won with 7.99m but Julian Howard placed third despite having a better earlier jump (7.88m) than second-placed Vladyslav Mazur (7.84m) as Howard fouled in the last round, which was the ‘final’ to decide the top three placings.

I’m so pleased I got out. This format is utterly ridiculous.
The athletes should skip the first 5 rounds and then just jump the last. The sports gone mad. #LongJump https://t.co/VUIAMxvJGY

— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) January 31, 2020

Power 5 Invitational, Michigan, USA, February 1

Britain’s Cindy Ofili and her sister Tiffany Porter both clocked 8.19 to achieve a one-two in the 60m hurdles.

USA’s Allyson Felix won the 60m in 7.35.

Mondeville, France, February 1

Harry Coppell cleared 5.70m, just 1cm off his overall PB, while Adam Hague cleared 5.60m for a GB pole vault one-two.

Rochlitz, Germany, February 2

Britain’s Sophie McKinna started her season by throwing 17.56m in the shot put and Amelia Strickler an indoor PB of 17.51m.

Trinec, Czech Republic, February 2

Tom Gale cleared 2.30m to equal his overall high jump PB and add 2cm to his previous indoor best.

He also attempted the Olympic standard height of 2.33m.

Tom Gale wins the 2020 Beskydska lat'ka men's high jump 2.30m a joint ? #2 @JRmajorhopsss @ShelbySm5 @kaystreete @Carl_Lewis @wayajol @JEREMAINBROWN @RICKFASTTRACK @kayraynor @extol_official @BigBroDorian @Christoff_Bryan @realpaulreid @wayajol @AngryHalfMiler pic.twitter.com/hcGMWTZXPx

— THE GOLDEN RULE!! (@miplayrough) February 2, 2020

Reykjavík International Games, Iceland, February 2

Dominic Ogbechie cleared 2.17m in the high jump as he made a winning return after injury.

His fellow Briton James Williams won the 60m in 6.78.

Moscow, Russia, February 1

Mariya Lasitskene improved the women’s high jump world lead to 2.04m.

Granollers Half Marathon, Spain, February 2

South Africa’s Stephen Mokoka and Ukraine’s Daria Mykhailova won in 61: 28 and 72:37 respectively.

Running for England, Lucy Reid was second in the women’s race in 73:59 while Mohamud Aadan was the top-placed British male, clocking 63:31 in eighth.

Alsager 5, February 2

The event incorporated the England Athletics 5-mile Championships with triathlete Beth Potter winning the women’s race in 25:34 ahead of Elsey Whyman-Davis in 26:44, while Omar Ahmed won the men’s race in 23:25 ahead of Emile Cairess in 23:46.

Chichester 10km, February 2

The top eight men all went sub-30 minutes, led by Nick Goolab in 29:01. Ben Bradley and Owen Hind both ran 29:11 for second and third as Charlie Hulson finished fourth in 29:14.

Dani Nimmock won the women’s race in 33:58 as Sarah Astin was second in 34:12.

Hannah Cockroft, Jonnie Peacock and David Weir among those on the 46-strong list

A total of 46 athletes have been offered membership to British Athletics’ Paralympic World Class Programme (WCP) in 2020, including 20 medallists from last year’s World Para Athletics Championships.

Global gold medallists Hannah Cockroft, Libby Clegg, Jonnie Peacock, Richard Whitehead, Sophie Hahn and David Weir are among those to feature.

Meanwhile Harri Jenkins, Derek Rae, Vanessa Wallace and Thomas Young have moved to the Podium level of funding from Podium Potential after their performances in 2019.

Rae won world T46 silver at the London Marathon last April, while Young secured T38 100m silver in Dubai later in the year.

Like Young, Wallace and Jenkins followed European gold in 2018 with a world medal in 2019, claiming F34 shot put bronze and T33 100m bronze respectively.

Para athletics head coach at British Athletics, Paula Dunn, said: “As we are well into Paralympic year, it is great to announce the 2020 World Class Programme cohort following the late world championships last year. Several athletes stepped up last season and have moved up to Podium level, which has been thoroughly deserved, while I’m delighted to welcome five athletes to the WCP at Podium Potential level.

“My thanks as ever go to the coaches, families and friends who are all part of the crucial support network for the athletes. Without them, it would not be possible. I would also like to extend my thanks to UK Sport and the National Lottery for funding and supporting our world-class programme; their support is incredibly important.”

The WCP is UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded initiative designed “to support the delivery of success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games”. Membership on to the WCP for 2020 is based upon an athletes’ potential to win a medal at Tokyo 2020 or Paris 2024.

There are two levels of membership on the Paralympic World Class Programme; ‘Podium’ and ‘Podium Potential’. The announcement of the Olympic World Class Programme took place in December last year.

Athletes can use their discretion should they not wish to accept membership to the WCP.

Paralympic Podium (28)

Kare Adenegan
Hollie Arnold
Olivia Breen
Jonathan Broom-Edwards
Jo Butterfield
Richard Chiassaro
Libby Clegg
Hannah Cockroft
Kadeena Cox
Aled Davies
David Devine
Kyron Duke
Sabrina Fortune
Dan Greaves
Sophie Hahn
Harri Jenkins
Sophie Kamlish
Sammi Kinghorn
Maria Lyle
Stephen Miller
Jonnie Peacock
Gemma Prescott
Derek Rae
Stef Reid
Andrew Small
Vanessa Wallace
Richard Whitehead
Thomas Young

Paralympic Podium Potential (16)

Ola Abidogun
Martina Barber
Lydia Church
Dillon Labrooy
Nathan Maguire
Polly Maton
Owen Miller
Anna Nicholson
Zac Shaw
Luke Sinnott
Zak Skinner
Ali Smith
JohnBoy Smith
Hannah Taunton
Isaac Towers
David Weir

Guide runners (2)

Chris Clarke
Thomas Somers

Shoe guru Paul Freary discusses the development of track spikes, examining how far they have come and where they are going

AW‘s shoe guru Paul Freary considers the current controversy around footwear and discusses the development of track spikes.

In light of the new World Athletics ruling on shoes, he examines how far track spikes have come and where they are going.

Check out his video on the Nike Vaporfly and carbon fibre plated shoes here.

Wayne Pivac might be forgiven for thinking this international rugby business is easy.

A 43-33 victory in his first game in charge in the uncapped match against Barbarians has now been followed by a 42-0 hammering of Italy in the Six Nations opener.

Any complacent sentiments will be quickly dispelled this week as Pivac travels away from the Principality Stadium for the first time.

Next Saturday, the new Wales coach faces the first major test of his tenure since taking over from Warren Gatland, against Ireland in Dublin.

Ireland have a new coach in Andy Farrell, and a new captain in Johnny Sexton, who scored all their points in a 19-12 victory over Scotland last Saturday.

Dublin duel

Dan Biggar, Sexton's expected opposite number next weekend, says if Wales can win in Ireland, it "is all on" for the defence of their Six Nations title. Pivac senses the importance of the fixture.

"It feels like it really starts now," said Pivac.

"A lot of hard work needs to be done because the Italy performance wasn't perfect even though we had a good looking scoreline.

"It's been a nice start in terms of the Barbarians and getting a lot of firsts out of the way and then having this home match and getting five points.

"That's been pleasing but we're under no illusions it's going to be a massive step up from where we've been."

Wales have not won a Six Nations game in Dublin since 2012, although they managed a draw in 2016.

This is not, though, the Ireland side of 2018 that swept all before them, including the All Blacks. Wales should also be encouraged by how Scotland troubled Ireland, while key centre Garry Ringrose has been ruled out with a finger injury.

For their part, Ireland will be looking to avenge their 25-7 defeat last March when Gatland's side clinched the Grand Slam by outplaying Joe Schmidt's side in the Cardiff rain.

"All players will remember the last time they played against a certain opposition," said Pivac.

"If you don't have your best day at the office, you always want to improve on it next time round and I'm sure they'll be no different.

"It's a new competition with new coaches on both teams. We're in the same boat."

Aviva Stadium will present mixed memories for Pivac. Scarlets clinching the Pro12 title there in May 2017, but were also well beaten there by Leinster in both the Pro14 final and Champions Cup semi-final in 2018.

"I've been lucky enough to be there on a few occasions and I've got special memories," Pivac said.

"This will be another level. We've got a lot of respect for the Irish because they are a very tough team to beat at home."

Centre conundrum

Gatland was a master of selection during his Wales stint and Pivac will be presented with one of his first major conundrums on whether to change a winning team.

Scrum-half Gareth Davies, centre Owen Watkin and hooker Elliot Dee are available again after returning from injury, although British and Irish Lions full-back Liam Williams is struggling to be fit for the Dublin date.

The midfield will be an intriguing debate after Saracens centre Nick Tompkins made a telling try-scoring contribution as a replacement on his Test debut.

Tompkins was one of two Wales players making their Test debuts on Saturday, along with Scarlets wing Johnny McNicholl.

The Saracens player initially came on at outside centre as a temporary replacement while McNicholl had a head injury assessment in the first half, with George North switching to the wing.

Tompkins then replaced inside centre Hadleigh Parkes permanently in the second-half to join North in the Welsh midfield.

He announced his arrival with a superbly taken try and the clamour now will be for Tompkins to start in Dublin with North switching to the wing, either instead of McNicholl or being left out of the starting side.

"He [Tompkins] was given an opportunity and he took it with both hands," said Pivac.

"You love to see that on debut. The try he got, we were seeing that at training with his footwork and acceleration. It was pleasing that 68,500 got to see it."

Set-piece posers

The one area of concern on Saturday was the set-piece with a couple of line-outs going awry and scrum penalties being conceded.

Wales have to cope without injured tight-head Tomas Francis for the tournament, with the Exeter prop having anchored the scrum in the past few years.

Dillon Lewis has been handed the starting spot, with Leon Brown as his deputy against Italy. Uncapped Sale front-rower WillGriff John, who has been managing a shoulder injury, is the other option in the squad.

With Cian Healy and co awaiting next week, a marked improvement is required.

Assistant coach Byron Hayward's defence, which conceded no points against Italy, will be tested by Ireland, a fact acknowledged by captain Alun Wyn Jones as Wales cope with life without Shaun Edwards.

"I know Byron has rightfully had a few plaudits and he has had the hardest shoes to fill," said Jones.

"It just puts the pressure on for the next one."

That "next one" is Ireland in the Aviva Stadium cauldron and Jones, with 144 Tests under his belt, knows all about the magnitude of these occasions.

Pivac and his coaching team are about to find out and we will know a lot more about Wayne's Wales on Saturday evening.

For the latest Welsh rugby union news follow @BBCScrumV on Twitter.

Former England captain Chris Robshaw is to leave Harlequins at the end of the season after 16 years at the club.

The 33-year-old helped Quins win their first ever Premiership title in 2011-12 and was also in the side that lifted the Challenge Cup a year earlier.

Robshaw said that he "looks forward to the next chapter" but has yet to decide whether he will continue playing.

"I could never have imagined I would be fortunate enough to play for the team I admired the most," he said.

"Though there is so much I will miss about playing for this team, I will always be eternally grateful and proud for having had the chance to stand alongside such extraordinary players."

Robshaw won the most recent of his 66 England caps in June 2018 - leading his country in 43 Tests over a five-and-a-half-year period - but was left out of last year's World Cup squad.

He has made 203 Premiership appearances for Harlequins, 14 of them this season, with former England scrum coach Neal Hatley last year saying the flanker was in "as good a shape as we've seen him".

"In terms of what I'm going to do next, I'm still not sure," Robshaw told Talksport.

"I still don't know what the next chapter is, whether in a rugby capacity or a post-rugby capacity."

Back-rower Robshaw was a late omission from the Harlequins side that reached the Premiership Rugby final on Sunday through illness.

He was named Premiership player of the year in the London side's title-winning season - scoring a try in their Twickenham victory over Leicester - and also won the individual award in 2008-09.

"Despite all the intense training hours, and the emotional and physical demands of the job, it never felt like work," Robshaw added in a statement on Twitter.

"Putting on the Harlequins shirt will always remain the greatest privilege of my professional career."

'I'm going to look abroad'

Speaking on Talksport shortly after the announcement Robshaw said "everything's up in the air" regarding his next steps, but wanted to address his Harlequins future "before rumours happen".

"I am going to look abroad. I'll look at that opportunity if there's anything there that work," he continued.

"France have double the salary cap that England have so generally you can go there and earn more money, but obviously you have the language barrier and all this kind of stuff.

"Japan can be quite lucrative as well."

Robshaw's former England team-mates James Haskell and Geoff Parling are among the big names who have played in the Japanese Top League over the past decade.

"It does allow me that bit of freedom to actually be like, 'we can go and look here and there' and we don't have to be sneaky about it because we've addressed the issue," he added.

Ireland centre Garry Ringrose will miss the Six Nations matches against Wales and England with a finger injury.

He suffered a suspected broken finger in Saturday's 19-12 win over Scotland, and was replaced at half-time by Leinster team-mate Robbie Henshaw.

The IRFU said he will "stay connected with the squad" and should be available to face Italy in Dublin on 7 March.

After hosting Wales on Saturday, Ireland will take on England at Twickenham on 23 February.

They will complete their Six Nations campaign against France in Paris on 14 March.

Pictures taken following Saturday's unconvincing win showed Ringrose's left thumb to be heavily strapped, and he subsequently had a scan.

Other centre options for Ireland include Munster's Chris Farrell and Ulster duo Stuart McCloskey and Will Addison. Bundee Aki started at centre alongside Ringrose on Saturday.

Forwards Caelan Doris and Dave Kilcoyne will go through return-to-play protocols after sustaining blows to the head which led to them being replaced in Saturday's game.

Doris was forced off after only five minutes of his international debut while Munster's Kilcoyne had to go off in the closing stages, having replaced Cian Healy after 50 minutes.

Prop Tadhg Furlong was also replaced late in the game because he was struggling with "tight calves", head coach Andy Farrell said.