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Reports: Mariners, C. Gonzalez have minors deal
The Seattle Mariners are adding depth to their outfield, agreeing Tuesday to a minor league contract with former All-Star Carlos Gonzalez, according to multiple reports.
Gonzalez's deal is pending a successful physical, a source told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the agreement. USA Today first reported the deal.
Gonzalez is several years removed from being at his best when he was in Colorado, where he was an All-Star in 2012-13 and 2016. The 34-year-old played with the Rockies through 2018, when he hit .276 with 16 home runs and 64 RBI in 132 games.
Last season, Gonzalez signed a minor league deal with Cleveland and was called up by the Indians in mid-April. He appeared in 30 games then was cut.
Gonzalez latched on with the Chicago Cubs, lasted just 15 games and was released in late June. He batted .200 in 145 plate appearances and did not play during the final three months of the season.
He would appear to be a long shot to make Seattle's roster with the Mariners focus on their young players and a glut of corner outfielders. But the unknown status of Mitch Haniger following core muscle surgery has opened up an opportunity in right field, at least early in the season. Gonzalez is likely to be lumped in with the likes of Jake Fraley, Braden Bishop and Kyle Lewis in competition for the corner outfield spots until Haniger returns.
Andretti Adds Frost For Indy Lights Championship
INDIANAPOLIS – Andretti Autosport has expanded its roster with the addition of Danial Nielsen Frost for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season.
The 18-year-old from Singapore is slated to drive the No. 68 machine for the championship team.
“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Danial to our Indy Lights program,” said J-F Thormann, president, Andretti Autosport. “Danial has shown impressive speed and talent across his racing career and we are excited to see what 2020 has in store for him and our Indy Lights team.”
In 2018, Frost made his first start in USF2000 at Road America and finished his first season with five top-10 finishes. Now entering his third year in the Road to Indy ladder system, Frost competed in the 2019 Indy Pro 2000 Championship where he finished fifth in the point standings and captured two wins and six podiums. Starting from pole position, Frost earned his first Indy Pro 2000 victory for the Freedom 90 on Carb Night, the Friday before the Indianapolis 500.
“To be a member of Andretti Autosport is truly an honor. I’m very excited to be driving for a renowned team and I’m looking forward to the 2020 season,” said Frost. “I am very thankful for this opportunity and especially to my sponsor Denjet. Also, I would like to thank my family, friends and fans that are supporting me.”
Frost began his racing career in 2015 with go karts and won the Singapore Karting Championship a year later. Since 2016, Frost has competed in four different Formula 4 Championships and finished third in the Formula Masters Asian Series in 2017.
Frost joins Kyle Kirkwood as the second driver announced to Andretti’s Indy Lights effort. The duo will strap into their Andretti Autosport machines as the Indy Lights season kicks off on the streets St. Petersburg, Fla., for the first doubleheader of the season March 14-15.
Blue Jackets' Jones out 8-10 weeks after surgery
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks after undergoing surgery Tuesday to repair a fractured ankle, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced.
Jones was injured in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche after scoring Columbus' lone goal. A sprain and hairline fracture of the ankle was discovered, leading to the surgery.
The 25-year-old Jones, who was chosen to his fourth straight All-Star Game this season, has six goals and 24 assists in 2019-20.
Columbus lost stars Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene from last season and were not expected to match the success of that team, which upset the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs. But the Blue Jackets are currently tied for third in the tough Metropolitan Division with 70 points.
Tiger Woods noncommittal on another Presidents Cup captaincy, next week's WGC
LOS ANGELES – Tiger Woods on Tuesday at least left open the possibility that he could be a one-and-done Presidents Cup captain.
In his pre-tournament news conference at the Genesis Invitational, Woods was asked if he’d made a decision on another captaincy for the 2021 competition at Quail Hollow. Last week, 2019 International captain Ernie Els decided that he won’t seek another captaincy in the wake of his team’s narrow loss in December at Royal Melbourne.
Woods said that he saw a “devastated” Els before the team charter left Melbourne, knowing that he “put everything he had” into the process, and that it was “tough to see” that he won’t lead the International squad again in fall 2021.
“I’m struggling with the same issues,” Woods said Tuesday. “As an American, we have two Cups that we’re involved in, not just every other year, where the Internationals are the European team. So the responsibilities on an American are a little bit more.”
Woods was masterful at Royal Melbourne, going 3-0 as a playing captain and sparking the Americans to a come-from-behind victory. Woods has hinted on more than one occasion the toll of the dual responsibilities, saying last month at Torrey Pines that during the holidays he was “a little bit fried physically, mentally, emotionally.”
Woods also was noncommittal when asked about his upcoming schedule, namely next week’s WGC-Mexico Championship.
“Don’t know yet,” when asked whether he would tee it up next week in the first World Golf Championships event of 2020.
Last year, Woods waited until the week of the Genesis to announce his Mexico commitment. (He went on to tie for 10th.) Woods has until Friday to sign up for the limited-field, no-cut event.
Tiger Woods confirms he's been 'personally approached' about Premier Golf League
As speculation continues to mount about the startup Premier Golf League, Tiger Woods confirmed Tuesday that he has been "personally approached" about potential involvement in what could become a rival circuit to the PGA Tour.
Details remain scant about the PGL, which reportedly could begin as soon as 2022 and would include 10 to 18 limited-field events for eight-figure purses across the world. But there are enough specifics to spark reactive messages to players from both PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and his European Tour counterpart, Keith Pelley.
There is also reportedly a team-owner aspect that could be used to incentivize some of the game's biggest names, including Phil Mickelson who played with key PGL figures during the Saudi International pro-am and has told reporters that he's "intrigued" by the concept.
The most influential target for potential involvement is Woods. Speaking to reporters Tuesday ahead of the Genesis Invitational, he shared that he has been briefed on some of the details surrounding the PGL but remained noncommittal about its prospects.
"Have I been personally approached? Yes, and my team's been aware of it and we've delved into the details of it and trying to figure it out, just like everyone else," Woods told reporters. "There's a lot of information that we're still looking at, and whether it's reality or not, but just like everybody else, we're looking into it."
While it remains to be seen whether the PGL can transform from concept to reality, Woods believes that the core concept propelling the idea - one of a lucrative splinter group challenging the PGA Tour for the loyalty and involvement of the game's biggest stars - likely won't go away anytime soon.
"I think that just like all events, you're trying to get the top players to play more collectively," Woods said. "And so this is a natural evolution, whether or not things like this are going to happen. But ideas like this are going to happen going forward, whether it's now or any other time in the future."
Former Arsenal and Real Madrid striker Emmanuel Adebayor has completed a move to Paraguayan side Club Olimpia, the club announced on Tuesday.
Adebayor, who was without a club since leaving Turkish side Kayserispor in December, will reunite with former Manchester City teammate Roque Santa Cruz.
The pair previously spent 18 months together after signing for City in 2009 under then manager Mark Hughes.
The 35-year-old Togolese striker scored 97 goals in 242 Premier League appearance during spells at Arsenal, City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Crystal Palace.
Asuncion-based Olimpia -- the reigning Paraguayan league champions -- tweeted to announce they had secured the services of a player with "power and quality", revealing Adebayor had agreed to represent them for the 2020 season, which starts on Saturday.
"He was attracted by the challenge of playing in Copa Libertadores, where he has never competed," Olimpia club president Marco Trovato said. "He told us he is coming to make the team competitive."
Adebayor moved to Turkey in 2017 to join for Istanbul Basaksehir before signing for Kayserispor. He scored 30 goals in 76 appearances.
Adebayor has 66 international caps and won the African Footballer of the Year award in 2008.
Ex-Astro Gonzalez regrets team's actions in '17
Marwin Gonzalez on Tuesday became the first position player from the 2017 Houston Astros team that was implicated in a sign-stealing scandal that has rocked baseball to express remorse for the scheme.
Gonzalez, who is now with the Minnesota Twins, addressed reporters at the team's spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida.
"I'm here to tell how I feel and just that I'm remorseful for everything that happened in 2017," he said.
The Astros won the World Series that season, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. Major League Baseball announced last month that the team used video replay to steal opposing teams' signs during the 2017 and 2018 seasons -- tipping off their batters by banging on a garbage can -- and severely punished the club, suspending manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for a season, stripping the team of first- and second-round draft picks the next two seasons, and fining the franchise $5 million. Hinch and Luhnow were later fired by owner Jim Crane.
Gonzalez, who signed as a free agent with the Twins last year, said he wanted to especially express his regret to "the players that were affected directly by doing this and similar things."
He was asked about former major league pitcher Mike Bolsinger, who had a disastrous outing against Houston in 2017 while with the Toronto Blue Jays and was demoted the next day. Bolsinger filed a lawsuit against the Astros, seeking damages for himself and wanting the Astros to forfeit the nearly $31 million in bonuses from the 2017 World Series championship, with the funds instead going to charities in Los Angeles focused on bettering kids' lives.
"I wish we could take it back and do it a different way, but there's nothing we can do," Gonzalez said.
Asked how the scandal affects the legacy of the 2017 team, Gonzalez said that was "hard to say."
"It's hard to speculate. I still think we had one of the best teams in the last decade ... great talent," he said.
He also said it's "hard to measure" whether the Astros would have won the World Series without stealing signs.
"You just have to play ball. That's hard to know; you're never going to know," he said. "That was a great team, great guys too. It's hard to answer that question."
Gonzalez said he is still in contact with several of his former Astros teammates, whom he called his "second family." He said he expects his former team to receive a rough reception on the road this season.
"That's how it is, unfortunately. It's how it is. They're going to get booed," he said.
Now Gonzalez is turning his focus toward the 2020 Twins team, which he noted has a chance to be "great." That 2020 team includes right-hander Kenta Maeda, a starting pitcher on the 2017 Dodgers who was acquired by Minnesota in a trade with Los Angeles this week.
Gonzalez said he will address the issue with his Twins teammates who were on the 2017 Dodgers and noted that he has eight months to bond with them.
"I'm sure that we're going to have a great relationship," he said.
Report: No decision by MLB this week on Red Sox
Major League Baseball will not have a decision in the Boston Red Sox sign-stealing investigation this week, a person with knowledge of the probe told The Associated Press, meaning the team will open spring training without knowing whether it will be punished.
No formal announcement has been made by MLB, and commissioner Rob Manfred said last week that he hoped to have the investigation wrapped before the start of Red Sox spring training in Fort Myers, Florida.
Red Sox pitchers and catchers reported Tuesday and have their first workout Wednesday.
The Red Sox will name bench coach Ron Roenicke their interim manager, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Alex Cora was let go for directing the sign-stealing scheme with the Houston Astros in 2017, the year before he took over in Boston.
MLB is looking into allegations that the Red Sox used the video replay room to decode opponent sign sequences and passed the information to their players during their 2018 World Series run.
After former Houston pitcher Mike Fiers told The Athletic in November that the Astros used a video camera to steal the signs of opposing catchers in 2017 and 2018, Manfred suspended Houston manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for one season, fined the Astros $5 million and stripped them of their first- and second-round drafts picks in 2020 and 2021.
Hinch, Luhnow, Cora and former New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran, who played for the Astros in 2017 and was implicated in the scandal, have been let go by their teams.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sources: Roenicke to be Boston interim manager
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Boston Red Sox will name Ron Roenicke interim manager Tuesday -- a day before the first scheduled workout for pitchers and catchers -- sources confirmed to ESPN.
Boston entered spring training without a skipper. Alex Cora departed in January after MLB's investigation into sign stealing by the Houston Astros -- Cora's previous employer -- leaving new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to conduct an abbreviated job search.
Boston is expected to hold a news conference Tuesday night. The Roenicke move was first reported by The Boston Globe.
Roenicke, who managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 2011 to 2015, takes over during a tumultuous period in Red Sox history. Besides Cora's departure, he faces a public backlash over the trade of Mookie Betts and David Price.
Roenicke, 63, arrived in Boston with Cora before the 2018 season, serving as bench coach.
Meanwhile, Boston waits to hear the results of MLB's sign-stealing investigation into the 2018 Red Sox, which will coincide with the announcement of Cora's punishment. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that no decision on the investigation will be made this week.
The interim hiring of Roenicke is the latest chapter in what's been a guarded, low-key manager search, with little information coming from the offices at Fenway Park. Boston interviewed Oakland Athletics quality control coach Mark Kotsay (who played in Boston in 2008 and 2009), Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach Luis Urueta and Red Sox third-base coach Carlos Febles.
Even before the official announcement, Red Sox players expressed excitement to see Roenicke promoted, looking for continuity in the face of the recent trouble.
"Ron is a great candidate, and he knows our team," J.D. Martinez said in January.
Added infielder Michael Chavis: "I love him. He's a good dude. Really knowledgeable about baseball. He's been around the game a long time, so it's cool to see his analysis. He's got a nice combination of the old school from his experience but he's also good at understanding how the new game is developing and how it's changing. Having those sides in one is very interesting."
During his tenure leading the Brewers, Roenicke compiled a 342-331 record, with his best season coming in 2011, when Milwaukee won the National League Central with a 96-66 record, making it to the NLCS before being losing to the St. Louis Cardinals. After his time with the Brewers, Roenicke served as the third-base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels from 2015 through 2017.