MLB REPORT

YANKEES ACQUIRE COLE FROM NATIONALS

The Yankees acquired pitcher A.J. Cole from the Nationals, hoping the once-promising righty can find his rhythm in a new place.

The Yankees got Cole for $75,000, a move they announced Monday night following a 14-1 win over Minnesota. Righthander David Hale was designated for assignment after pitching two scoreless innings.

The 26-year-old Cole was cut by the Nationals on Friday. He was 1-1 with a 13.06 ERA in four games.

The 6-5 Cole, who won a spot in the rotation out of spring training, is 5-8 with a 5.32 ERA in parts of four seasons with Washington. MANFRED ENCOURAGED BY GAME CHANGES

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is encouraged by pace-of-play changes that have limited mound visits and reduced the time between innings at games this season.

Speaking in Toronto on Tuesday, Manfred said the new rules have sped up games without disruption. Mound visits without pitching changes averaged 3.79 per game through Sunday, down from 7.41 for the 2017 season.

“Whenever you change a rule in baseball, people predict all sorts of dire outcomes, and we have avoided even the smallest of incidents related either to the mound visit rule or the shorter inning breaks,” Manfred said Tuesday. “Secondly, I’m positive about them because they’ve been effective. We are way down in terms of mound visits, I think down about 50 percent, and our inning breaks are significantly shorter.”

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

The team put righthanded reliever Shawn Kelley on the 10-day disabled list because of ulnar nerve irritation in his pitching elbow.

Kelley, who turns 34 on Thursday, has a history of elbow trouble and has twice come back from Tommy John surgery. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI test on his elbow when the Nationals return to Washington later this week.