Puig reaches deal with Braves
Opening-day rosters gained clarity on Tuesday when the Atlanta Braves reached an agreement with Yasiel Puig, while Tampa Bay pitcher Tyler Glasnow provided hope for teams awaiting players to be cleared following positive tests for the coronavirus.
Puig agreed to a one-year deal pending a physical, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement is not official until Puig passes the physical.
The 29-year-old Puig, who began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, hit a combined .267 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs for Cincinnati and Cleveland in 2019. He also stole 19 bases.
Puig was the last big-name free agent from the offseason who had not signed with a team. He helps the Braves fill a void left when Nick
Markakis opted out for the season.
Glasnow rejoined the Rays after missing the first 11 days of summer camp following his positive test. The righthander immediately jumped into a simulated game at Tropicana Field and threw 49 pitches over 31⁄3 innings.
Glasnow said he felt fine and expects to be ready to begin the 60-game season on time.
Outside of briefly losing his sense of taste and smell, the 26-year-old Glasnow said he didn’t experience any noticeable symptoms of COVID-19.
“I had maybe really mild cold symptoms for maybe a day,” Glasnow said, wearing a mask during a Zoom call. “If this wasn’t going on, I probably wouldn’t have known I was sick.”
The pitcher said he quarantined for 14 days inside his apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida. After that, he was able to work out alone, throwing into a net when he
was able to find an empty park in the area.
“It would always be at a weird time of the day, and it had to be nobody there,” Glasnow said. “If there was anybody there, I would just leave.”
Glasnow, Charlie Morton and 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell lead a rotation that has the potential to be among the best in baseball. Glasnow was 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA in 12 starts last season.
Mets second baseman Robinson Cano also returned to camp after missing five straight workouts for undisclosed reasons. The 37-year-old Cano was scheduled to participate in practice, but not the intrasquad game at night.
“We’ll go day by day. I mean, he looks great. He’s in great shape,” manager Luis Rojas said.
Mets relief pitchers Brad Brach and Jared Hughes remained absent.
Also returning was Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander, a former Norfolk Tide whose late arrival might have been attributed to COVID-19 testing. The team has not provided an explanation.
Santander, who hit 20 home runs last year, is a projected starter. The shorthanded outfield is without slugger Trey Mancini, who had
colon cancer surgery in March. Dwight Smith Jr. has not yet reported, for reasons not disclosed by the Orioles.
Still recovering
New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is unsure whether he will be able to take his first turn through the rotation as he recovers from a line drive off his head.
Tanaka was hit on the right side near the temple by Giancarlo Stanton’s shot during batting practice on July 4. While the 31-year-old righthander says he has no concussion symptoms, he has not thrown off a mound since.
New York opens the season July 23 at Washington, and Tanaka is projected as part of a rotation behind new ace Gerrit Cole, joined by James Paxton, J.A. Happ and perhaps Jordan Montgomery.
A little scared
Marlins catcher Francisco Cervelli said “everybody is concerned” about the virus outbreak in South Florida.
“I don’t want to have this virus, or anyone on my team,” Cervelli said. “Every day here, Miami is getting crazy. I’m a little scared, yes, but we’re here to play baseball.”
More than a little scared
White Sox catcher Yasmani
Grandal is concerned about being unable to maintain proper social distancing behind the plate.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t worried about it,” Grandal said. “In my case, this is not only for my health and the health of my teammates, but it’s also for the health of my family. My wife is pregnant, so I don’t want (anything) to happen to her. I don’t want (anything) to happen to my kids. So, we’re going to take all the precautions we need in order to stay safe and keep ourselves safe.”
DeShields baffled by positive test
Indians outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. says he was taking every necessary precaution and still contracted the coronavirus while in Arizona.
“I was doing everything I was supposed to do,” he said Tuesday. “We were doing a good job in Goodyear of keeping our distance and making sure we were cleaning up after ourselves. So, honestly, I have no idea.”
DeShields missed the restart of Cleveland’s camp after he experienced COVID-19 symptoms, including a loss of taste and smell. He said he didn’t have an appetite and said “It wasn’t fun at all . ... It was pretty brutal.”
Feeling the blues
About 10 Major League Baseball umpires have opted out this season, choosing not to work games in the shortened schedule because of concerns over the coronavirus.
Two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press about the decisions on Tuesday.
There are 76 full-time MLB umpires and more than 20 of them are age 55 or over.