Royals move on without Hosmer
The Kansas City Royals came to camp yesterday and finally knew for sure: Eric Hosmer was gone.
The move was not unexpected, but they had been dreading this day.
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Hosmer agreed to an eightyear, $144 million contract with the San Diego Padres this weekend, leaving the Royals with a big void at first base and in the clubhouse.
“I had a pretty good sense about four days ago that it probably wasn’t going to work out here,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “You still hold out hope. We began to develop a mindset that he is probably going in a different direction.”
The 28-year-old Hosmer hit a career-best .318 last year with 25 home runs. He is a four-time Gold Glove winner and was the MVP of the 2016 All-Star Game, which was played in San Diego. Hosmer helped the Royals to back-toback World Series appearances, and they won it all in 2015.
• New York Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury said the team has not approached him about waiving his notrade clause. There has been speculation that the Yankees would like to move some of the money due Ellsbury, who has three years remaining on a seven-year, $153 million contract.
Ellsbury enters spring training as the odd man out in the outfield after losing his center field job last year to Aaron Hicks. Brett Gardner is locked in as the left fielder. Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge will rotate between right field and designated hitter, and could also get time in left.
• The Los Angeles Angels signed outfielder Chris Young and first baseman/designated hitter Chris Carter. Young, who played for the Red Sox the past two seasons, agreed to a one-year contract (terms were not disclosed) and Carter, who played for the Yankees in 2017, got a minor league deal.
• Tim Tebow arrived at the New York Mets spring training camp, and the attention immediately turned to whether the former NFL quarterback who became an outfielder could make it all the way to Citi Field in the future. Guess what? Mets general manager Sandy Alderson votes yes.
“Somebody asked me if thought he’d be a major league player at some point. I think he will play in the major leagues. That’s my guess,” Alderson said. “This experiment is not going to last forever, but he’s made meaningful progress.”
Tebow, 30, played at two levels in Single A last year, his first full season as a ballplayer.
• Giants pitcher Julian Fernandez cut the index finger on his throwing hand on his locker, causing him to miss a scheduled bullpen session and possibly a couple of days.