Cubs’ Rizzo fights back tears at Florida shooting vigil

PARKLAND, FLA. » Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo fought back tears as he spoke at a Florida vigil for the 17 victims killed in a shooting at his former high school, saying we’re going to be “a bit broken for a while.”

Rizzo left spring training Thursday for his hometown of Parkland. He is a 2007 graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a site now swarmed by law enforcement, grieving students and makeshift memorials following one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

“I went to Stoneman Douglas. I grew up at Stoneman Douglas, I played on those fields, I went to those classes, I studied in those classrooms, “he said Thursday, his voice breaking as many in the audience of more than 1,000 were heard crying.

He noted that he is “a Parklander for life,” and promised “whatever comfort I can give.”

His parents still live in the area. In November, Rizzo donated $150,000 to his alma mater to help toward lights for the baseball and softball fields.

The slugger read his remarks from a paper, noting he felt like the cycle of school violence happens all too often.

“We get horrified that this violence is inflicted on our kids, we get angry that there’s nothing we can do and nothing is done about it and then we ultimately get immune and move on to something else,” Rizzo said. “But then it happens in our own town ... and we realize it could happen to us at our safe and tight knit community Parkland.

Source: Mets, Vargas agree to deal

Turns out, the New York Mets were ready and willing to spend this winter. More than just a few bucks, too.

All-Star pitcher Jason Vargas and the Mets agreed to a $16 million, two-year contract Friday, adding depth to a New York rotation that’s been riddled by injuries the past two seasons.

The deal is pending a physical, a person familiar with the agreement said, speaking on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced.

Another person familiar with the contract said it includes an $8 million club option for 2020 with a $2 million buyout, and Vargas can earn up to $1.5 million each year in performance bonuses.

Vargas went 18-11 with a 4.16 ERA for Kansas City last season, making his first AllStar team and tying for the major league lead in wins. He faded in the second half, however, and the 35-year-old lefty had been among more than 85 free agents seeking a job as spring training opened this week.

County sues seeking money from Marlins sale

MIAMI » Miami-Dade County is suing former Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and the new ownership group led by Derek Jeter, seeking money from the $1.2 billion sale of the team.

The suit contends a 2009 agreement calls for the county and city of Miami to receive a share of profits from any sale of the team. The deal was related to an agreement to finance the team’s ballpark that opened in 2012 and was built mostly with taxpayer money.

Loria bought the Marlins for $158.5 million in 2002 and sold the team to Jeter’s group last fall. He claimed a loss on the deal, which the county describes as “fuzzy math.”

The county on Friday released the suit, which lists the former and current owners of the team as de-