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Fred VanVleet on ways Raptors can improve defensively
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet discusses the variety of ways his squad needs to improve on defense. He also touches on Chris Boucher's breakout game and what he's seen from the 27-year-old.
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet discusses the variety of ways his squad needs to improve on defense. He also touches on Chris Boucher's breakout game and what he's seen from the 27-year-old.
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NEW YORK — The New York Mets agreed to one-year contracts with eight players Friday to avoid salary arbitration, including shortstop Francisco Lindor, outfielder Michael Conforto and first baseman-outfielder Dominic Smith. Lindor will earn $22.3 million and Conforto gets $12.25 million in their final years before potentially becoming free agents, while Smith agreed to a $2.55 million deal in his first year eligible for arbitration. Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo ($4.7 million) and right-handers Edwin Díaz ($7 million), Seth Lugo ($2,925,00), Miguel Castro ($1,687,500) and Robert Gsellman ($1.3 million) also agreed to one-year deals. New York had nine players eligible for arbitration — tied with Pittsburgh for the most among major league teams. The only one who did not reach an agreement by Friday's deadline to exchange proposed salaries was third baseman-outfielder J.D. Davis. Eligible for arbitration for the first time, Davis asked for $2,475,000 and the Mets offered him $2.1 million. After a 2019 breakout at the plate, Davis hit .247 with six homers, 19 RBIs and a .761 OPS in 56 games last season. He began the year in left field, then moved to a more comfortable spot at third base -- though defence is not his calling card. Barring another significant addition to the infield, the hot corner is where he figures to fit for the Mets again this year. Davis, who turns 28 in April, earned $219,431 in prorated pay from his $592,463 salary last year. Lindor was acquired from Cleveland last week along with starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco in a blockbuster trade that excited Mets fans. New York parted with young infielders Andrés Giménez and Amed Rosario plus two minor leaguers in a deal that signalled the club is serious about paying for star players and contending immediately under new owner Steve Cohen. The next step will be trying to keep Lindor beyond this year. The four-time All-Star shortstop said he’s not opposed to signing a long-term contract with the Mets. He said he wouldn’t want to negotiate after the start of spring training, though. Lindor, 27, had a down year at the plate during the pandemic-shortened season. He batted .258 with eight homers, 27 RBIs and a .750 OPS while starting all 60 games and earning just more than $6.48 million prorated from his $17.5 million salary. Conforto, who turns 28 in March, has become a steady and productive staple in the middle of New York’s dangerous lineup. He batted a career-best .322 in 54 games last season with nine homers, 31 RBIs and a .927 OPS. The slugging right fielder also scored 40 runs, played solid defence and was selected second team All-MLB. He made $2,962,963 prorated from an $8 million salary. Conforto was drafted 10th overall by the Mets in 2014 out of Oregon State and helped them reach the World Series as a rookie the following season. The 2017 All-Star can become a free agent after the upcoming season and is represented by Scott Boras. With Cohen in place, the Mets have said they’re interested in talking to Conforto about a long-term contract — and he sounded open to the idea. But this late in the game, reaching an agreement before he hits the open market could prove challenging. The 25-year-old Smith enjoyed a huge breakout during the pandemic-shortened season, forcing his way into the everyday lineup and hitting .316 with 10 home runs, 21 doubles, 42 RBIs and a .993 OPS in 50 games. He earned $214,380 prorated from his $578,826 salary. Smith’s natural position is first base, creating a bit of a potential logjam with Mets slugger Pete Alonso. If the National League adopts the designated hitter again, problem solved. If not, Smith could see plenty of playing time in left field, where his shortcomings and inexperience are evident. Even team president Sandy Alderson acknowledged that wouldn’t be ideal. Nimmo batted .280 with a .404 on-base percentage and .888 OPS in 55 games last season. He had eight home runs and 18 RBIs. He has a sharp eye at the plate, often hitting in the leadoff spot, and is pegged as New York’s regular centre fielder unless the team acquires a new one and shifts Nimmo to left. The hustling and smiling Nimmo, who turns 28 in March, made $805,556 in prorated pay last year from a $2,175,000 salary. The hard-throwing Díaz was so awful in 2019 during his first season with the Mets that he lost his job as closer and got booed repeatedly at Citi Field. He got off to a rough start again last year but rediscovered the nasty fastball-slider combination that helped him lead the majors with 57 saves as a 2018 All-Star for Seattle. The right-hander finished 2-1 with a 1.75 ERA and six saves in 26 appearances. He struck out a whopping 50 batters against 14 walks in 25 2/3 innings, reclaiming his ninth-inning role. Perhaps most important, he gave up only two home runs after serving up 15 in 58 innings the year before. Díaz, who turns 27 in March, made $1,888,889 in prorated pay last season from his $5.1 million salary. Lugo wound up back in an injury-depleted rotation last season because the Mets needed help there. The versatile right-hander prefers to start but has been more effective as a reliever the last few years. He went 3-4 with a 5.15 ERA and three saves in 16 games, including seven starts. The 31-year-old Lugo, a 34th-round draft pick out of Centenary College in Louisiana, earned a prorated $740,741 from his $2 million salary last season. Until the Mets finish assembling their pitching staff, it’s uncertain whether Lugo will be in the bullpen or rotation to begin the season. Castro was acquired from Baltimore in a trade on Aug. 31 last year and went 1-2 with a 4.00 ERA in 10 relief appearances for the Mets. He was 2-2 with a 4.01 ERA and one save in 26 outings overall, striking out 38 with 13 walks in 24 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old right-hander, with a live arm at 6-foot-7 but shaky control, projects as part of New York’s middle relief and setup corps this season. He is 8-18 with a 4.29 ERA and seven saves in six major league seasons and earned $388,889 in prorated pay from a $1.05 million salary last year. Last year was a wreck for Gsellman, sidelined by a triceps injury and then a broken rib. The 27-year-old right-hander had a 9.64 ERA in just 14 innings, making four starts and two relief appearances. Gsellman earned $453,704 prorated from his $1,225,000 salary. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
Boebert was publicly supporting QAnon months before Charles Johnson reportedly made his first campaign contribution.
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros agreed to one-year contracts with right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. and infielder Aledmys Díaz on Friday to avoid salary arbitration, but couldn't come to terms with star shortstop Carlos Correa. Houston also finalized a $12.5 million, two-year deal with reliever Pedro Báez that includes a club option and could be worth $19.5 million for three seasons. Last season he was 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA and two saves in 18 appearances for the World Series champion Dodgers. The Astros and Correa exchanged arbitration figures Friday, with Correa asking for $12.5 million in 2021 and Houston offering $9.75 million. The sides could still strike an agreement until an arbitrator hears the case remotely next month and issues a verdict. The arbitrator will go with one number or the other — no settling in the middle. The 26-year-old Correa batted .264 with five home runs in 58 games last season, a disappointment he erased with a splendid October. He hit .362 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 13 post-season games, pushing the sub-.500 Astros to Game 7 of the AL Championship Series before they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays. Correa was set to make $8 million in 2020 but ended up with $2,962,963 in prorated pay during the pandemic-shortened season. McCullers will make $6.5 million next season after a solid year in 2020 in his return after missing a season following Tommy John surgery. McCullers was 3-3 with a 3.93 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 11 starts last season, earning $1,518,519 prorated from a $4.1 million salary. He'll be one of the leaders of Houston's rotation in 2021 with ace Justin Verlander out all year after having Tommy John surgery. The 30-year-old Díaz will make $3 million next season. He played just 17 games in an injury-plagued 2020 season. He hit .241 with three homers and six RBIs in his second season in Houston and earned $962,963 prorated from a $2.6 million salary. In seven seasons with the Dodgers, Báez is 21-15 with a 3.03 ERA in 355 appearances. The right-hander has 369 strikeouts in 356 career innings and has limited opponents to a .206 batting average. He's been particularly tough on left-handers, holding them to a .181 mark. His best season came in 2019 when he went 7-2 and led the team with 71 appearances and set career bests in wins, opponents' batting average (.174) and WHIP (0.95). He gets a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $4.5 million this year and $5.5 million in 2022. Houston has a $7.5 million option for 2023 with a $2 million buyout. Báez's 2022 salary can escalate by $1 million based on innings this year: $250,000 each for 30, 40, 50 and 60. His option would escalate to $8 million if he has 100 innings in 2021 and 2022 combined. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels avoided arbitration with right-hander Dylan Bundy and four other players Friday. The Angels agreed to 2021 contracts with Bundy ($8,325,000), left-hander Andrew Heaney ($6.75 million), right-hander Mike Mayers ($1.2 million), right-hander Felix Peña ($1.1 million) and catcher Max Stassi ($1.6 million). Two-way standout Shohei Ohtani is the team's last remaining player still eligible for arbitration. Bundy had a standout debut season with the Angels after they acquired him from Baltimore, going 6-3 with a 3.29 ERA, a career-best 1.036 WHIP and 72 strikeouts against just 17 walks. He earned a prorated $1,851,852 portion of his $5 million salary. He gets a solid raise in his final year before free agency. Heaney went 4-3 with a 4.46 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 12 mostly solid appearances while receiving a prorated $1,592,593 portion of his $4.3 million salary. Mayers was outstanding in his first season with the Angels after they claimed him off waivers from St. Louis in November 2019. He went 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA in a team-leading 29 appearances while earning the prorated $212,222 portion of his $573,000 salary. New general manager Perry Minasian got rid of most of last season’s underachieving bullpen, but Mayers remains a key piece in Anaheim. Peña, a veteran reliever and occasional starter, went 3-0 with a 4.05 ERA and 29 strikeouts over 26 2/3 innings. He made the prorated $217,593 portion of his $587,500 contract. Stassi broke through as the Angels’ starting catcher in his first full season in Orange County, batting .278 with seven homers and 20 RBIs in just 31 games while making the prorated $296,296 portion of his $800,000 contract. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees made a pair of big moves on the free agent market, reaching a deal with right-hander Corey Kluber worth $11 million for one year and agreeing to a $90 million, six-year contract to keep AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because each agreement is subject to a successful physical. Kluber, the 2014 and 2017 AL Cy Young Award winner, won 56 games for Cleveland over the 2016-18 seasons, then missed the rest of the 2019 season after he was hit on the right forearm that May 1 by a comebacker off the bat of Miami’s Brian Anderson. He finished 2-3 with a 5.80 ERA in seven starts. Traded after the season to Texas, Kluber tore a muscle in his right shoulder in his Rangers debut on July 26, finishing his season after one inning. The injury did not require surgery, and he held a workout for scouts on Wednesday. Kluber, who turns 35 on April 10, is a three-time All-Star who is 98-58 with a 3.16 ERA in 10 seasons, the first nine with the Indians. He joins a rotation headed by Gerrit Cole that also includes Deivi García, left-hander Jordan Montgomery and, at some point, Luis Severino when he returns from Tommy John surgery last Feb. 27. It is not clear whether the Yankees will re-sign Masahiro Tanaka, who became a free agent. In addition, Domingo Germán is expected back from a domestic violence suspension that caused him to miss last season. LeMahieu, who turns 33 in July, became the first player to win undisputed batting titles in both leagues. He won his first AL batting title last year at .364, the highest average for an AL batting champion since Minnesota’s Joe Mauer hit .365 in 2009, after winning the NL championship with Colorado in 2016. A three-time All-Star, LeMahieu signed a $24 million, two-year contract with the Yankees in January 2019. He had 10 homers and 27 RBIs in the shortened 2020 season after hitting .327 with 26 homers and 102 RBIs in his first season in New York. LeMahieu started his big league career with the Chicago Cubs in 2011, then was traded to Colorado. He has a .305 average with 85 homers and 478 RBIs in 10 big league seasons, and he has won three Gold Gloves at second base. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Yogi Berra will soon be all over — your mail, that is. The New York Yankees great known for his funny malaprops will be featured on a new stamp this year, the U.S. Postal Service announced Friday, truly making him a man of letters. A 10-time World Series champion as a player and three-time AL MVP, Berra filled baseball’s record book along with “Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations.” Among his more notable Yogi-isms: “It ain’t over till it’s over” and “when you come to a fork in the road, take it” and “the future ain’t what it used to be.” Born as Lawrence Peter Berra, the Hall of Fame catcher died in 2015 at 90. The preliminary design of Berra’s stamp shows him smiling in catcher's gear while wearing Yankees pinstripes. Author Ursula K. Le Guin and artist Emilio Sanchez also will be portrayed on stamps this year, along with ones depicting a mallard duck, sun science and tap dancing. The issue date for the new stamps will be announced later, and maybe fans will flock to the post office to get Berra’s stamp. Or maybe not. As Yogi famously said about a popular spot: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks sent a special gift to Pope Francis: an MLK jersey that was blessed by the pontiff on Martin Luther King Jr's 92nd birthday Friday. The Vatican delivery followed Francis' meeting in November with a delegation of NBA players to discuss social justice and economic inequality. The Hawks sent the pontiff their alternate jersey honouring the Atlanta native son and civil rights icon who was assassinated in 1968. It will be worn for the first time Monday when the team hosts its annual game on the King national holiday. The team released a video that showed Francis opening a package that contained the No. 1 jersey, which has “MLK” across the front — instead of “Hawks” or the city name — and Francis' name across the back. The pontiff said “Thank you very much” before blessing the jersey and signing it. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press