Red Sox’s Price may just need rest, not surgery, for left arm
After David Price consulted two renowned orthopedic doctors, the Red Sox said Friday the lefthander will not need surgery or an injection in his ailing left arm.
Price traveled to Indianapolis on Thursday for consultation with Drs. James Andrews and Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who were at the NFL combine. Price is expected to return Saturday to Boston’s spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida.
Manager John Farrell said the findings represented a best-case scenario for Price, who will rest and receive treatment for the next seven to 10 days. It is uncertain when Price will resume throwing.
Price went 17-9 with a 3.99 ERA in a major league-leading 35 starts last season, his first after signing a $210 million, seven-year contract with the Red Sox.
Beltre makes spring debut
Adrian Beltre was in the Rangers’ lineup Friday for the first time this spring training and could play for the defending champion Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.
Beltre had not played in the Rangers’ first seven games because of a strained left calf, an injury sustained Feb. 14 during a workout at his California home.
Beltre, who is 58 hits shy of 3,000, fielded two ground balls flawlessly and went hitless in two at-bats. He left after three innings in the Rangers’ 8-2 victory.
It’s a stretch for Strasburg
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg may emulate closers and pitch only from the stretch this season.
Strasburg avoided a windup for all 23 of his pitches in a 2-1, 10-ininng loss by a Washington split squad to St. Louis on Friday, his first appearance of spring training.
He didn’t rule out a return to the windup.
Odds and ends
Unable to reach an agreement, the Mets renewed the contract of pitcher Noah Syndergaard for a major league salary of $605,500. With 1 year, 149 days of major league service, Syndergaard almost certainly will be eligible for salary arbitration next winter. The hard-throwing 24-year-old righthander was 14-9 with a 2.60 ERA last season, striking out 218 in 183 2/3 innings. He earned $503,375. …
Orioles lefthander Wade Miley left Friday’s Grapefruit League start in Bradenton, Fla., after being hit by a line drive back up the middle. … The Pirates and Jung Ho Kang’s representatives are still trying to acquire the visa that would allow him to enter the United States and report to spring training, team president Frank Coonelly said in a statement.
A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced Kang to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, for Kang’s drunken-driving arrest in December. …
Brett Lawrie has been put on waivers by the White Sox, who plan to release the infielder. The 27-year-old was acquired in a December 2015 trade with Oakland. He hit .248 with 12 homers and 36 RBIs in 94 games in his only season with the White Sox.