Marte shut down in winter ball Cubs
The Pirates ended outfielder Starling Marte’s time in winter ball a few days early because of a cut on his left hand, according to his winter team’s Twitter account.
Marte cut his hand Friday and was scheduled to play through this Thursday.
In 30 games with Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League, he had a .333 on-base percentage and .438 slugging percentage while batting .277.
Marte started slow and then improved, hitting .444 with a .512 OBP and 1.207 OPS in his final 10 games.
Marte played winter ball to recoup lost time after missing 80 games because of a suspension for steroids.
Yu Darvish said he had a “very good meeting” Monday with Cubs officials. Darvish tweeted a statement confirming the get-together amid reports that Chicago executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer were in Dallas to speak with him. Darvish is one of the top starting pitchers available this offseason, and the Cubs have been busy filling holes on their staff. The NL Central Division champions already have signed free-agent starter Tyler Chatwood and relievers Brandon Morrow and Steve Cishek.
Giants
Catcher Nick Hundley, 34, agreed to a $2.5 million, oneyear contract to remain with in San Francisco. He hit .249 with nine homers and 35 RBIs in 303 plate appearances with the Giants in 2017 and threw out 13 of 49 runners attempting to steal. He has a .249 career average with 81 homers and 340 RBIs.
Rangers
Left-hander Martin Perez broke his non-pitching elbow in a mishap with a bull and is likely to miss the start of the season. Perez had surgery in Dallas and is expected to start throwing in about a month. The injury occurred on Perez’s ranch in Venezuela when he fell on his elbow after being surprised by a bull.
Braves
Adrian Gonzalez was released and is a free agent. Atlanta acquired the 35-yearold as part of Saturday’s fiveplayer trade that sent outfielder Matt Kemp to the Dodgers and immediately designated him for assignment and placed him on waivers.
Elsewhere
Los Angeles will pay baseball’s highest luxury tax for the fourth consecutive year and the Yankees owe a penalty for a 15th consecutive season. The streaks could end as the sport’s biggest spenders slash payroll for 2018. The Dodgers owe $36.2 million according to figures compiled by the commissioner’s office and New York was second at $15.7 million. ... Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, one of three women to play baseball in the Negro Leagues, died. She was 82. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick said Johnson died Tuesday. Johnson was rejected at age 17 from trying out for the all-white All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was recruited in 1953 by the Indianapolis Clowns, the team which featured Hank Aaron before he went on to the majors. In three seasons as a pitcher with the Clowns, Johnson posted a 33-8 record as well as a .270 batting average.