Several free agents end up with MLB homes
Philadelphia second baseman Neil Walker, Texas pitcher Edinson Vólquez and Pittsburgh pitcher Derek Holland have made opening-day rosters.
So have Cincinnati pitcher Nate Jones, Tampa Bay pitcher Aaron Loup and New York Yankees pitcher Luis Avilán.
The six were among the former free agents clubs had to make decisions on by Sunday, five days ahead of opening day.
Two players were given $100,000 retention bonuses this weekend, allowing teams to keep them with minor league contracts: New York Mets catcher René Rivera and Colorado catcher Drew Butera.
Among those released ahead of the deadline were Philadelphia pitcher Francisco Liriano and infielder Logan Forsythe, Mets first baseman Matt Adams and Washington reliever Fernando Abad.
Former umpire dies: Rick Reed, whose career as a big league umpire spanned three decades and included the classic 1991 World Series and two All-Star Games, has died. He was 70.
Reed, who kept working in the majors despite two strokes, died Thursday night.
Born in Detroit, he was the plate umpire when the Tigers opened Comerica Park in 2000.
Yankees pitcher apologizes: Suspended New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán said he is not retiring from baseball and apologized for suggesting as much in an Instagram post a night earlier.
Germán, serving an 81-game ban for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy last summer, posted Friday night words in Spanish that translated to, “I've left baseball. Thanks everyone.”
He wrote in Spanish and English that he was “very sorry for the unsettling post.”
“Baseball is my life and I promise I am not walking away,” he said.
Germán has 63 games left to serve and won't play in 2020. The regular season is limited to 60 games this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Reds sign Army outfielder: Former Army outfielder and captain Jacob Hurtubise has agreed to a minorleague contract with the Cincinnati Reds for the $20,000 maximum signing bonus allowed to players bypassed in last month's amateur draft.
The Zionsville, Indiana, native becomes the first baseball player to receive a professional offer since the U.S. Department of Defense endorsed a policy last November to allow service academy athletes to pursue professional sports after graduation.
Once approved, Hurtubise will be allowed to delay his commissioning and subsequent service obligation.