White Sox reunite with Eaton, finalize trade for Texas’ Lynn
The Chicago White Sox reunited with outfielder Adam Eaton and finalized a trade with the Texas Rangers for workhorse starter Lance Lynn on Tuesday.
Eaton agreed to a oneyear deal that guarantees him $8 million and fills Chicago’s hole in right field, according to The Associated Press.
Eaton’s salary for next season is $7 million. The White Sox hold an $8.5 million option for 2022, with a $1 million buyout.
The signing of Eaton comes one day after the White Sox agreed to acquire Lynn from Texas for pitchers Dane Dunning and Avery Weems. That trade was announced on Tuesday.
Eaton played for Chicago from 2014-16. He was dealt to the Washington Nationals at the 2017 winter meetings for current ace Lucas Giolito, Dunning and pitcher Reynaldo López.
Eaton spent four years w ith Washing ton and helped the Nationals win the World Series in 2019. They declined their option on him after he hit .226 in 41 games last season.
Lynn is reuniting in Chicago with new manager Tony La Russa. Lynn spent his rookie season with the 2011 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, who beat the Rangers in seven games. That was La Russa’s last season as a manager before the White Sox hired him this offseason.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Lynn was 22-14 in 46 starts the past two seasons for the Rangers, with 335 strikeouts over 292 1/3 innings. The right-hander has an $8 million salary in 2021, the final season of a $30 million, three-year contract he signed with Texas two winters ago.
SANTANA GETS 2-YEAR DEAL FROM ROYALS >> The Kansas City Royals and free agent first baseman Carlos Santana have agreed to a two-year, $17.5 million deal. Santana, 34, batted a career-low .199 with eight homers, 30 RBIs and a league-leading 47 walks in 60 games with the Cleveland Indians in 2020.
He made the American League All- Star team in 2019, finishing with a .281 average, 34 home runs and 93 RBIs.
Golf
SEI YOUNG KIM FAVORED AT U. S. WOMEN’S OPEN >> Sei Young Kim is favored to keep her career-best year rolling at this week’s U. S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston. The South Korean claimed her first major title at the Women’s PGA Championship in October and has risen to No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings. Kim and Danielle Kang are the only multiple-time winners on the LPGA’s truncated 2020 schedule.
The U.S. Women’s Open is the final major of the year, and Kim is the +900 favorite by sportsbooks including BetMGM and PointsBet. She is also +190 to finish in the top five and -110 to finish in the top 10 by BetMGM.
Seven-time major champion Inbee Park is the second betting favorite as she is being offered at +1200 by BetMGM and +1100 by PointsBet.
Kang and Brooke Henderson are listed as +1400 by BetMGM, while PointsBet is offering Kang at +1200 and Henderson at +1600.
Motorsports
FIRST 3 RACES OF NASCAR SEASON TO BE HELD IN FLORIDA >> NASCAR already has started adjusting the 2021 calendar. The first three races of the season, which begins Feb. 14 with the Daytona 500, all will be held in Florida now.
NASCAR shifted the February race scheduled for Fontana to the road course at Daytona International Speedway. It swapped the Fontana date to make it the second race of the season and follow the Daytona
500 at the same track. The race at Homestead-Miami Speedway originally scheduled as the second event of the year was moved into Fontana’s original slot and will be run Feb. 28.
NASCAR said the schedule after Homestead will continue as previously announced with the fourth race of the season.
NBA
HARDEN OPEN TO TRADE, REPORT SAYS >> The belief around the league was it was always a matter of if, not when, James Harden would express his desire to play for the 76ers.
On Tuesday, ESPN reported that the perennial All-NBA guard told the Houston Rockets that he would be open to a trade to the Sixers or possibly other contenders. This comes after he had requested to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets, for whom Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have formed a superstar nucleus. Harden is back in Houston after missing the start of Rockets training camp and was going through the NBA’s COVID-19 testing protocols.
There has been talk that Ben Simmons would have to be included in any package with the Rockets. Philly says its wants to keep the tandem of Simmons and Embiid together.
Soccer
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCH SUSPENDEDAFTERALLEGED RACIAL SLUR >> The Champions League game between Paris Saint- Germain and Basaksehir was interrupted when players walked off the field Tuesday after alleging fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of
Romania used a racial slur against an assistant coach.
Players from the Turkish team were furious after assistant coach Pierre Webo was shown a red card by referee Ovidiu Hategan of Romania at Parc des Princes, saying Coltescu had used a racial term against Webo, who is from Cameroon, before he was sent off.
The scored was 0- 0 when the incident took place about 15 minutes into the match. The game will be completed today with a new crew of officials. SOUNDERS SCORE TWICE LATE, ADVANCE TO MLS CUP >> Gustav Svensson scored off a corner kick in the final moments of second-half stoppage time, and the Seattle Sounders beat Minnesota United 3-2 late Monday night to advance to the MLS Cup final.
Seattle scored three times in the final 15 minutes of regulation and stoppage time to stun Minnesota and claim the Western Conference championship for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
Seattle will travel to Columbus (Ohio) to face the Crew in the MLS Cup final on Saturday.
RONALDO TOPS MESSI WITH 2 GOALS IN WIN AT BARCA >>
Cristiano Ronaldo got the better of Lionel Messi by scoring two penalties to lead Juventus to a 3- 0 win at Barcelona, dealing the Spanish side its first home defeat in the Champions League in seven years.
With both teams already through, Ronaldo converted spot kicks for Juventus’ 13th-minute opener and a third goal early in the second half after U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie had doubled the advantage in the 20th.
Tennis
SOFIA KENIN NAMED WTA PLAYER OF YEAR >> American Sofia Kenin has been named the WTA Player of the Year, an award collected after she went 16-2 over three major tournaments in 2020. The Florida native won the Australian Open in February for her first Grand Slam title, and in October she was the runner-up at the French Open.
She wrapped up the 2020 season with a careerbest world ranking of No. 4.
Victoria Azarenka took home the Comeback Player of the Year award.