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Blake Snell and San Francisco Giants agree to $62 million, 2-year contract, AP source says

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $62 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Monday night.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical. Snell has the right to opt out after this season and become a free agent.

Snell gets a $17 million signing bonus payable in January 2026 and a $15 million salary. He would get $30 million if he keeps the contract for 2025.

A 30-year-old left-hander, Snell is 71-55 with a 3.20 ERA in 191 starts over eight major league seasons, winning Cy Youngs in 2018 with Tampa Bay and last year with San Diego.

Snell joins a team that gave South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee a $113 million, six-year contract, sjgned right-hander Jordan Hicks to a $44 million, four-year deal and outfielder Jorge Soler to a $42 million, three-year contract, then gave third baseman Matt Chapman a $54 million, three-year deal.

He was taken by Tampa Bay with the 52nd pick in the 2011 amateur draft and reached the major leagues in 2016. He won his first Cy Young in 2018, edging Justin Verlander after going 21-5 and 1.89 ERA.

He signed a $50 million, five-year deal, the largest at the time for a pitcher not yet arbitration-eligible. He was 6-8 with a 4.29 ERA in 2019, a season in which he was hampered by injuries.

Snell received some unwanted attention before the 2020 pandemic-shortened season when he stated “I’m not playing unless I get mine,” referring to his salary. Snell later admitted that the statement could be seen as selfish.

Snell helped the Rays reach the 2020 World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. He was removed from Game 6 after 5 1/3 innings despite giving up just two hits and the Rays lost 3-1.

Tampa Bay traded Snell to San Diego for prospects. He went 15-16 in his first two seasons with the Padres, then went 14-9 record and an NL-leading 2.25 ERA and won his second Cy Young. He was 8-2 with 1.54 ERA in the second half.

San Diego will receive an extra draft pick after the fourth round as compensation after making Snell a $20,325,000 qualifying offer that he turned down. The Giants will give up their third-round pick and $500,000 in international signing bonus allocation after losing their second-round selection and $500,000 in allocation for signing Chapman.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB


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Tennis-Raducanu withdraws from Miami Open – media reports say

(Reuters) – Britain’s Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Miami Open on the eve of her first-round match due to a lower back injury, multiple news outlets reported on Monday.

The former U.S. Open champion missed most of last season after having surgeries on her ankle and both wrists.

The 21-year-old was looking to build on her performance at Indian Wells, where she played well but lost in the third round to world number two Aryna Sabalenka last week.

Raducanu received a wildcard into the main draw at the Miami Open and was scheduled to face China’s Wang Xiyu in their first round match on Tuesday.

Raducanu, who in 2021 became the first qualifier to win the U.S. Open, is scheduled to play in Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup tie against France next month.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)


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Soccer-Messi sidelined for Argentina friendlies with injury

(Reuters) – Argentina captain Lionel Messi is out of this month’s friendlies in the United States due to a hamstring injury, the country’s FA (AFA) said on Monday.

The 36-year-old forward missed Inter Miami’s Major League Soccer game at DC United on Saturday after coming off injured in their midweek CONCACAF Champions League win against Nashville.

“Lionel Messi will not be in the squad for the friendlies in the U.S. due to a minor right hamstring injury sustained in the Inter Miami game against Nashville,” the AFA said on its official X account.

Messi is the latest absence for Lionel Scaloni’s side following injuries to AS Roma forward Paulo Dybala, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Exequiel Palacios and Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi.

Argentina will face El Salvador on Friday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia before playing Costa Rica four days later at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Ken Ferris)


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Spring training roundup: Dane Myers hits walk-off HR for Marlins

Dane Myers hit a walk-off home run with two outs and two strikes to lift the Miami Marlins to a 6-5 win over the Houston Astros in spring training action on Monday in Jupiter, Fla.

Myers’ third homer of the spring came off Cole McDonald (0-2), who had struck out the first two batters of the ninth inning. The shot to right center completed a Marlins rally from down 3-0 and 5-2, ignited when Jake Burger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back homers in the sixth.

Elvis Alvarado (1-0) got the win after working around a hit and a walk in the top of the ninth while tossing two strikeouts.

Trey Cabbage hit a two-run homer for the Astros and Yordan Alvarez, Mauricio Dubon and Jake Meyers had RBIs. After starter Hunter Brown limited the Marlins to two runs in five innings, Josh Hader gave up Burger’s and Chisholm’s home runs.

Pirates 11, Phillies 2

Oneil Cruz belted two home runs and racked up six RBIs as visiting Pittsburgh trounced Philadelphia in Clearwater, Fla.

Cruz hit an RBI single in the second inning before Rowdy Tellez and Cruz hit matching three-run homers in the third to help establish a 9-0 Pirates lead. In his next at-bat, Cruz added a two-run shot in the fifth. Martin Perez (1-0) struck out eight and allowed two unearned runs in five innings.

Phillies starter Tyler Phillips (0-1) was shelled for eight runs on 11 hits in 2 2/3 innings. Jake Cave hit an RBI double and Nick Castellanos had an RBI single.

Yankees 4, Phillies 3

Carlos Rodon pitched 5 2/3 no-hit innings as host New York held off Philadelphia’s split squad in Tampa, Fla.

Rodon (2-1) yielded just one walk while striking out five batters. Oswaldo Cabrera went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two runs and Alex Verdugo added two hits and an RBI.

Kody Clemens homered for the Phillies after they had fallen behind 4-0. Reliever Seranthony Dominguez (0-1) allowed Cabrera’s homer.

Rays 7, Braves 3

Nick Meyer’s three-run home run served as the exclamation point on a seven-run uprising as Tampa Bay beat visiting Atlanta in Port Charlotte, Fla.

The Rays trailed 3-0 entering the sixth when Brandon Lowe, Harold Ramirez and Curtis Mead had RBIs, with another run scoring on an error. Reliever Manuel Rodriguez (1-0) struck out three batters and walked one over two scoreless, hitless innings.

Max Fried (0-1) started for the Braves and gave up four runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk, striking out four over six innings. Andrew Velazquez homered for Atlanta.

Twins 5, Red Sox 2

Carlos Correa and Ryan Jeffers went deep as host Minnesota defeated Boston in Fort Myers, Fla.

Max Kepler added a two-run single to the pile as the Twins rallied with four runs in the fifth inning. Starter Joe Ryan (2-1) fanned five and allowed two runs on three hits and a walk over five frames.

Connor Wong hit a two-run home run for the Red Sox. Brendan Cellucci (1-1) yielded three runs on three hits and a walk in his one inning of relief.

–Field Level Media


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Brimming popularity, star power has everyone watching women’s sports

“Everyone watches women’s sports.”

So reads the phrase on TOGETHXR’s $45 t-shirts and hoodies popularized by some of the giants in the game, a statement garment worn under South Carolina coach Dawn Staley’s blazer last week and by UCLA head coach Cori Close to the press conference to break down the highest tournament seed in program history on Sunday night.

“I think there’s such an amazing, you can feel there’s like a moment in women in sport happening right now,” Close said. “I feel like there’s this moment in this NCAA Tournament run, this moment in Southern California right now. I don’t want people to miss it. This is really special. Lots of people are wearing these shirts, Everybody watches women’s sports. Some people are predicting that the ratings are going to be better, for the first time in history, in the women’s side of the NCAA Tournament than the men’s.

“We don’t want to take anything away from the men’s. This is not about taking something away. I love the men’s basketball March Madness tournament. This is about lifting up a new level of women’s basketball. There’s a lot of eyeballs on it.”

Former Lakers guard Matt Barnes, who went to UCLA, said on his podcast he knows more women’s basketball players than men’s basketball players for the first time he can recall.

“I just think we’re at a different time and place. I hope people really get behind this,” Close said, pointing out the men’s team is not playing this week. “This really is a special moment. We need to get behind these women.

“This is bigger than just our individual program. This is about growing the game.”

TOGETHXR merch is one example that the game and its popularity are exploding. A media and apparel company founded by former WNBA and UConn guard Sue Bird, soccer legend Alex Morgan, snowboarder Chloe Kim and swimmer Simone Manuel.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma noted in January the women’s game seemingly shifted gears in the past year. Auriemma is 132-23 in NCAA Tournament games and the winningest head coach in postseason play.

“It seem like this past year especially, there’s been kind of a breakthrough,” Auriemma said. “People are so much more aware and engaged. ‘Hey, let me go see what the hoopla is.’ Part of it is and the product has been great, great performances by a lot of terrific players.”

There are other figures that point to the rapid rise in the game. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese are two of the highest-grossing athletes in college sports with NIL values comparable or higher than the top men’s athletes.

Auriemma was once alone on the top tier of coaching salary in women’s basketball. He’s now one of 18 coaches making at least $1 million, according to USA Today’s coaching salary database, and even with South Carolina’s Dawn Staley at $3.1 million. LSU coach Kim Mulkey is the highest paid with a $3.26 million salary in 2023-24. She makes more than men’s basketball coach Matt McMahon ($2.7 million).

Credit in part Clark’s popularity, an undeniable phenomenon even opponents and coaches acknowledge. Iowa games aired on NBC, FOX and ESPN in the regular season. A record regular-season TV audience tuned in for Iowa-Ohio State and more than 800,000 clicked into the FOX-launched TikTok Caitlin Clark cam for Iowa-Maryland.

Clark and Iowa helped set attendance records in 30 of 32 games not played on a neutral court this season and the Hawkeyes set an attendance record for the second consecutive season in Iowa City. At away games, including February dates at Rutgers, Maryland and Purdue, Clark brought secondary ticket market prices to record levels and then returned to the court postgame to sign autographs for adoring fans.

“I was that same kid a few years ago,” Clark said. “I remember going to games like this. I remember wanting to high-five, wanting an autograph, wanting to catch a T-shirt. It does make (their) whole week, and it really takes a second out of your day. That’s how I was raised, to go out of your way to show kindness to somebody else.”

UCLA plays at Pauley Pavilion, its homecourt, in the first two rounds, then would advance to Albany, N.Y., for the regional semifinal and final. Their two possible opponents in those games are No. 3 seed LSU and No. 1 seed Iowa.

Those teams were the starring attractions last March, when ratings records were set with more than 12.6 million viewers at the peak of the LSU’s 102-85 win over Iowa in the championship game. A year prior, UConn and South Carolina drew an audience of 4.85 million viewers.

“It establishes us as one of the very best teams in America,” Iowa’s Lisa Bluder said of the Hawkeyes’ first No. 1 seed since 1992. “It’s just a credit to our recognition, which I’m very happy about. But it’s just a number, right? We got to the championship game last year as a No. 2 seed. We know No. 1 seeds don’t guarantee anything.

The Gamecocks (32-0) are the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, but Staley said her team doesn’t yet know the gravity of the moment they’re stepping into. Fans lined up three hours before the women’s selection show on Sunday.

“I could not write this script of what it looks like — they made it what it looks like,” Staley said Sunday night. “It’s built on organic, genuine love.”

–Field Level Media


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Trevor Bauer says he will pitch against Yankees for Mexican team in exhibition game

Trevor Bauer says he will pitch for the Mexican team Diablos Rojos in their Sunday exhibition game with the New York Yankees.

The 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner is attempting to return to Major League Baseball for the first time in three years following his lengthy suspension by MLB and release from the Los Angeles Dodgers after a woman accused him of sexual assault.

Bauer, 33, said Monday in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he has also agreed to pitch five games for Diablos Rojos from April 11 to May 8 “in lieu of a traditional spring training period as it’s the best way for me to stay ready to pitch.”

“This will help me stay in game shape and I’ll be able to join a rotation immediately if or when an MLB offer comes,” Bauer said. “Hope to see you on Sunday and can’t wait to show y’all what Mexican baseball is all about!”

The Yankees are playing a pair of split-squad exhibition games with Diablos Rojos on Saturday and Sunday at Mexico City’s Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium.

Bauer hasn’t pitched in the majors since being placed on administrative leave by MLB in July of 2021 after a woman alleged that he assaulted her on two different occasions at his home in Pasadena during what she said began as consensual sexual encounters between them.

Bauer denied the allegations and said the encounters were consensual. Prosecutors decided in February 2022 not to file charges. The woman sued him and Bauer countersued, though the two parties settled their legal dispute last fall.

Bauer was suspended an unprecedented 324 games by Major League Baseball, though an independent arbitrator reduced it to 194 games in December 2022. After Bauer’s suspension ended, the Dodgers cut him and no team picked him up.

Bauer pitched in Japan last season and also made at least one appearance for a barnstorming independent team this spring against a team of Dodgers minor leaguers.

Bauer owns an 83-69 record and 3.79 ERA in 222 career appearances with Arizona (2012), Cleveland (2013-19), Cincinnati (2019-20) and the Dodgers (2021). The right-hander joined the Dodgers after winning the Cy Young Award with the Reds with a 5-4 record and 1.73 ERA in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb


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Injury concerns linger as NCAA Tournament tip-off approaches

Hurt or injured? It’s a fine line that could prove the difference between advancing and elimination for multiple NCAA Tournament teams this week.

Status reports for star players are pausing some scouting reports for the opening rounds of the tournament.

Midwest No. 1 seed Purdue doesn’t play until Friday but the Boilermakers are crossing their fingers a full-strength Braden Smith can be in the lineup in Indianapolis. Smith, a first-team all-conference guard, played in the Big Ten conference tournament semifinal loss to Wisconsin on Saturday with a calf injury he suffered the day before.

“If something’s not falling off me or I’m not throwing up or something all the way, I feel like I should be out there playing,” Smith said postgame.

Purdue isn’t in position to take chances; the Boilermakers lost in the first round as a No. 1 seed last March.

South Region No. 2 seed Marquette played the Big East tournament without All-American point guard Tyler Kolek. Kolek is dealing with an oblique injury but said during the Golden Eagles’ live shot during the NCAA selection show on Sunday, “I’m back.”

“We’re planning on him playing on Friday,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “He does have to go through a progression starting in practice on Tuesday. As long as everything goes well, he will be in uniform on Friday.”

Kansas went one-and-done at the Big 12 tournament and is the Midwest’s No. 4 seed headed to Salt Lake City — with expected reinforcements.

All-Big 12 First Team selections Hunter Dickinson (dislocated shoulder) and Kevin McCullar Jr. (bruised knee) left the 30-point loss to Houston (76-46) on March 9 and haven’t been fully healthy since. But Self said they’ve made improvement and expect to be back in the lineup against Samford.

“I’ve never had two All-Americans both be out at the same time, but I know that we should be much better this week than what we have been,” Self said.

Dickinson averaged 18.0 points and 10.8 rebounds in his first season with the Jayhawks. McCullar is averaging 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Florida crashed the SEC championship game on Sunday with an unexpected run through the conference tournament but the No. 7 seed in the South goes to Brooklyn for a first-round game missing a key piece of the rotation.

Center Micah Handlogten is done for the year after breaking his leg in Sunday’s loss to Auburn.

–Field Level Media


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MLB 2024: Can anybody contend with the Dodgers?

Everything that makes Shohei Ohtani the star he has become was on display in his Los Angeles Dodgers spring training debut when he struck out, grounded into a double play and then rebounded to hit a towering opposite-field home run to left field.

It was just a tune-up game that did not even attract a capacity crowd, and getting credit for digging out from a self-made hole is a dubious distinction. But the result was more evidence of what has become clear: Ohtani is as talented as they come and able to change his fortunes at a moment’s notice.

The Dodgers were so convinced that type of resolve could alter their own fortunes that they signed Ohtani to a massively deferred $700 million contract even though he was coming off elbow surgery and would not be able to provide the pitching side this season of his unprecedented two-way talents.

Ohtani has made the Dodgers the prohibitive favorite to win the National League West, while the club has the edge on the rest of the NL field to make it to the World Series and ultimately win it all.

“When you sign Shohei, (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto, trade for (Tyler Glasnow), just all the people we brought in, (the attention) is because something really, really special happened in the offseason,” Dodgers veteran Freddie Freeman said. “This is exciting. It’s fun for us. It’s fun to be playing in front of a lot more new fans this year.”

Yet Ohtani alone is not a reason to plan a championship parade. He partnered with Mike Trout on the Los Angeles Angels for the previous six seasons and those teams never made the playoffs.

What he gets with the Dodgers are fellow stars Freeman and Mookie Betts with him at the top of the lineup. Glasnow will start the season opener this week and Yamamoto will take the most expensive free-agent pitching contract ever into the second game. Both games are in South Korea against the San Diego Padres.

So where does that leave the rest of the National League in an effort to compete, or the rest of baseball for that matter?

As a Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks World Series showed last season, there is no foregone conclusion when it comes to a marathon baseball schedule and the sprint of a 12-team playoff. Arizona lost 110 games in 2021 and the Rangers had six consecutive losing seasons before 2023.

The Diamondbacks are poised to give the Dodgers an immediate challenge to their NL West dominance. And the San Diego Padres, who knocked the Dodgers out of the 2022 NL Division Series, have a retooled roster while retaining plenty of talent, with a rotation that just added right-hander Dylan Cease.

The San Francisco Giants, the only other team to win an NL West title since 2013, have made additions to address all areas of their game, especially power and defense.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo took his team through the Dodgers last season and into the World Series, and even he wasn’t shy to admit this spring that getting a close-up look at the new Los Angeles lineup offered plenty of intrigue.

“I’m a baseball fan, I get to watch Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit back of one another, but I want to play good baseball, too,” Lovullo said before a recent spring training game. .”.. It’s the Dodgers, and they’re ready to compete, and we will be, too.”

Those division teams will take the brunt of what the Dodgers have to offer in 2024, with L.A.’s mighty offense getting the most attention. Glasnow and Yamamoto are on board to help the Dodgers improve on an uncharacteristic 4.06 staff ERA last season.

A major concern is on defense, with Max Muncy at third base along with a plan at shortstop that will include Betts and Miguel Rojas, at least for the time being, after Gavin Lux showed fielding and throwing struggles upon his return this spring from knee surgery.

The Dodgers have averaged 103.2 wins over the last six full seasons, but they have been eliminated in the division series in three of the past five years. Taken another way, the Dodgers have a .641 regular-season win percentage since 2017 and a .548 postseason percentage in that time, which includes three World Series appearances.

The long regular season? The Dodgers seem to have that part figured out. The rush of the postseason? Those questions still linger.

–Field Level Media


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Report: Bills to re-sign DB Taron Johnson to 3-year deal

The Buffalo Bills are re-signing defensive back Taron Johnson to a three-year deal worth $31 million, his agent told ESPN on Monday.

The deal makes Johnson the highest-paid nickel back in the NFL, per the report.

Johnson, 27, had 98 tackles, eight passes defensed and three forced fumbles in 17 starts last season.

He has four interceptions, seven sacks, seven forced fumbles and 39 passes defensed in 88 career games (67 starts) in six seasons with the Bills, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 draft out of Weber State.

Johnson was named second-team All-Pro in 2023.

–Field Level Media


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Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch (neck) retiring

Former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch announced Monday that he is medically retiring from the NFL after six seasons.

The team released the 28-year-old veteran on Friday with a failed physical designation due to a lingering neck injury.

“I love the game of football so much, and my body won’t cooperate any longer,” Vander Esch said in a statement released by the Cowboys. “I cherished every moment of my NFL career, and it has been such a blessing to play the game for as long as I have played.”

In 71 career NFL games (65 starts) with the Cowboys, the 2018 first-round draft pick had 469 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and three interceptions. He was a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie in 2018.

“Seldom do you come across a player like Leighton, who grew up playing eight-man football only to first play the 11-man game at the major collegiate level and excel,” said Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. “His passion and love for the game was contagious, and from the moment he arrived, he has been a difference maker. His grit, toughness, motivation, determination and football IQ will be sorely missed. Leighton also embodied the strong character and personal qualities that make him much more than an accomplished player.

“He was a leader and the kind of teammate that impacted those around him in the best ways. Leighton’s playing career may have come to an end, but his future is very bright. On behalf of the entire Dallas Cowboys organization, we’re proud that he wore the star on his helmet.”

He missed the final 12 games last season with his latest neck injury, sustained in a Week 5 loss at San Francisco when 49ers left tackle Trent Williams blocked Vander Esch into the side of Dallas linebacker Micah Parsons on a fourth-quarter play. Vander Esch had his head down as he made contact with Parsons and fell to the turf.

Vander Esch also sustained a neck injury in 2016 while at Boise State and a more serious one with Dallas in 2019. He had a neck operation in 2020 to fix nerve issues.

–Field Level Media


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