Tulowitzki to hold shortstop for Didi
NEW YORK — The Yankees view Troy Tulowitzki as their starting shortstop until Didi Gregorius returns from Tommy John surgery this summer.
Still, general manager Brian Cashman won’t rule out trying to sign Manny Machado, one of the top free agents on the market.
And, in his first question-and-answer session of the year, Cashman revealed he has dragged talks to trade Sonny Gray until the Yankees know CC Sabathia will be ready to pitch following surgery to implant a stent in an artery from his heart.
Tulowitzki, a five-time All-Star absent from the major leagues since July 2017, finalized his one-year contract for the major league minimum $555,000 on Friday after passing a physical.
“It doesn’t mean we’re going to get vintage Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockie years when he was there,” Cashman said, “but it’s exciting to dream on what he might be capable of when his health is there on a consistent basis because he was quite the player for quite a long time.”
Tulowitzki missed last season because of bone spurs in his right and left heels. Gregorius had right elbow surgery on Oct. 17 and Cashman expects him back in June, July or August. New York will evaluate then what role Tulowitzki could play after Gregorius reclaims the position.
NLL commissioner eyes expansion
Nick Sakiewicz has overseen the addition of four teams to the National Lacrosse League since becoming its commissioner three years ago. That might seem like a lot for an 11-team league, but as far as he’s concerned, he’s just getting started.
The NLL added teams in San Diego and Philadelphia this season, and franchises in Halifax and New York will begin play in 2019. Sakiewicz plans to add teams on both sides of the border in the coming years, but recognizes that the sport’s base will always be in Canada.
“I’m really bullish that we could be a seven- or eight-team league in Canada,” said Sakiewicz on Friday. “I love the country. I think the fans are some of the best fans that we have in our league. Box lacrosse is a 150-year-old sport and has a great heritage and history in the country.”
Halifax brings the total Canadian teams up to five, joining the Toronto Rock, Sasktchewan Rush (Saskatoon), Calgary Roughnecks and Vancouver Warriors. Ottawa, Montreal, and Edmonton have had short-lived NLL teams in the past and Sakiewicz is willing to return to those markets if the right owners come along.
“Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, are fantastic cities we’d love to be in, I’ll put Winnipeg and Quebec City in there too,” said Sakiewicz.
Bautista’s bat-flip ball up for online auction
TORONTO — A piece of Toronto Blue Jays history is up for auction.
The ball from Jose Bautista’s threerun homer in Toronto’s wild 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers in Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series was put up for auction on Friday, with bidding open until Feb. 1.
Jeff Byma, a Cambridge, Ont., native, caught Bautista’s ball and, after offering it to the Blue Jays slugger, decided to keep it. After two years of negotiation Byma sold it to a private collector, who owned it for a year before putting it up for sale through Lelands, an online auction house that specializes in sports collectibles. The reserve bid is US$3,500.
Bautista is currently a free agent after leaving Toronto in 2017. His 288 home runs are second all-time in Blue Jays franchise history behind Carlos Delgado’s 336.
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The Canadian Press