Pujols out 4 months
Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols has undergone surgery on his right foot, possibly sidelining him past opening day. The three-time NL MVP was bothered by plantar fasciitis repeatedly during the regular season. The Angels say his estimated return to play is four months.
Pujols, who turns 37 next month, enjoyed a return to form last season, batting .268 with 31 homers and 119 RBI. He has 591 career homers, ninth most in major league history. . . .
The Washington Nationals did not tender a contract to outfielder Ben Revere before yesterday’s deadline, making him a free agent. Revere would’ve cost Washington $6 million after hitting .217 last season. . . .
Along with Revere, Tyson Ross, an All-Star pitcher for San Diego two years ago, was among 35 players who became free agents when their teams declined to offer 2017 contracts.
Philadelphia outfielder Cody Asche was cut loose along with Arizona catcher Welington Castillo and pitcher Rubby De La Rosa; Baltimore pitcher Vance Worley; Dodgers reliever Louis Coleman. Milwaukee first baseman Chris Carter and Pittsburgh pitcher Jeff Locke. ...
The Chicago Cubs agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal with lefthander Brian Duensing, according to a source. . . .
The Oakland Athletics agreed to a $4 million, one-year contract with first baseman Yonder Alonso. ... The St. Louis Cardinals are not tendering a contract to right-hander Seth Maness, who had elbow surgery in August. . . .
Catcher Rene Rivera and the New York Mets agreed to a $1.75 million, one-year contract. . . .
The Atlanta Braves and reserve catcher Anthony Recker agreed to an $800,000, one-year contract.
MLB boosts drug penalties
Major League Baseball is increasing penalties for using banned stimulants and is adding more random drug tests.
The suspension for a second stimulant violation goes up from 25 to 50 games under a change to the sport’s drug agreement announced yesterday. A third violation would result in a 100-game penalty, up from 80. The penalty for a first violation remains follow-up testing and for a fourth stays up to a permanent suspension.
Baseball conducted 8,281 drug tests last year, up from 8,158 in 2015.
Also, players and owners had a deal to expand active rosters from 25 to 26 players for most of the season, but the union backed out in the final stages of collective bargaining. Also, the roster limit from Sept. 1 onward would have been lowered from 40 to 28.
No-name Cup for NASCAR
NASCAR’s top circuit has been called the Winston Cup, Nextel Cup and Sprint Cup. In 2017, the sport could have a Cup-less name, one of many changes expected as Monster Energy takes over as title sponsor.
Sprint announced in December 2014 it wouldn’t renew. It took nearly two years to find a replacement. NASCAR Chairman Brian France declined to say what the name of the circuit will be in 2017. ...
Formula One champion Nico Rosberg is retiring at 31 after 11 years in a stunning announcement. The German driver claimed his first title on Sunday. Rosberg won 23 races and 30 pole positions in his career.
Misc.: L.A. Olympics $$$ bid
The Los Angeles bid committee for the 2024 Olympics is projecting a $5.3 billion budget, less than half the cost of the recently completed Rio Games. Los Angeles is in the running for 2024, along with Paris and Budapest, Hungary. The games will be awarded in September. . . .
American Tucker West won his second World Cup luge gold medal by 0.006 seconds in Lake Placid, N.Y.