AL CY YOUNG WINNER RAY ON WAY TO M’S
The Seattle Mariners are finalizing a contract with American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Monday on the condition of anonymity because Ray still must undergo a physical and the deal has not been signed. ESPN.com first reported the sides were finalizing an agreement, expected to be for $115 million over five years.
Ray is coming off the best season of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays, going 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA and 248 strikeouts in 193 1/3 innings. A left-handed power pitcher, Ray led the American League in ERA, games started, innings pitched and led all of baseball in strikeouts.
He immediately becomes the ace of the Seattle staff. Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen and Logan Gilbert are also under contract for the 2022 season for an ascending Mariners team that went 90-72 last season and barely missed snapping the club’s 20-year playoff drought.
It’s the second major move of the offseason by the Mariners and probably not the last one. Seattle acquired second baseman Adam Frazier in a trade with the Padres on Saturday, the first in a series of moves the Mariners believe will make them a contender in the American League.
Matz, Cardinals agree
Steven Matz and the Cardinals finalized a $44 million, four-year contract, giving St. Louis the shutdown left-hander it desperately sought for a rotation that otherwise returns intact next season.
The 30-year-old Matz, who is originally from Long Island, spurned the Mets to sign with a National League rival. He pitched for New York from 2015-20 before he was traded last January to
Toronto, where his careerbest 14-7 record and 3.82 ERA in 29 starts for the Blue Jays made him a coveted starting pitcher in free agency.
MLB, PA halted HGH testing
Major League Baseball and the players’ association stopped blood testing for Human Growth Hormone because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Blood testing for HGH began in 2012, and 412 samples
with no positive results were collected in the year ending with the 2020 World Series.
MLB and the union never publicly announced the stoppage in blood testing but its absence was revealed Monday when Thomas M. Martin, the independent administrator of the joint drug program, released his annual report.
The decision to interrupt blood testing during the pandemic was made because drawing blood is more invasive than urine testing and requires additional collectors who would have increased the number of people coming into contact with players and decreased social distancing.
MLB and the union plan to resume blood testing next season.
Notable
Right-hander Alex Cobb is close to finalizing an agreement with the San Francisco Giants, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Cobb still must pass a physical to complete the deal. A 34-year-old free agent, Cobb would give the reigning NL West champions a key veteran near the front of the rotation after the departure of All-Star righty Kevin Gausman to the Toronto Blue Jays on a $110 million, fiveyear contract.
• The Braves bolstered their World Series-winning bullpen by signing righthander Kirby Yates to a twoyear, $8.25 million deal.
Yates led the majors with 41 saves for the Padres in 2019. He didn’t pitch this past season for the Toronto Blue Jays because of undergoing his second Tommy John surgery of his career on March 24.
• Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Fergie Jenkins, Mike Schmidt and Ozzie Smith are among the 16 voters on the Hall of Fame’s Golden Days Era Committee, which is scheduled to meet Sunday in Orlando, Fla., to consider candidates whose primary contributions were from 1950-69.
• Atlanta outfielder Marcell Ozuna received a retroactive 20-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.
Ozuna was arrested May 29 on charges of aggravated assault by strangulation and battery after police officers said they witnessed him attacking his wife. He was placed on administrative leave under the domestic violence policy.
• Max Muncy revealed on MLB Network that he sustained a torn ulnar collateral ligament late in the regular season, and that playing in the postseason was never a realistic possibility. The Dodgers believe he will be ready for the start of the 2022 season.
• The Pirates signed veteran left-hander Jose Quintana to a one-year contract, hoping he can steady a pitching staff that ranked as one of the worst in the majors in 2021.
• Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings was traded from the Pirates to the Marlins in exchange for pitcher
Zach Thompson and prospects Kyle Nicolas and
Connor Scott.
• Utilityman Chad Pinder has reached agreement on a $2,725,000, one-year contract and infielder Tony Kemp is receiving a $2.25 million, one-year deal as both players avoided salary arbitration with the Oakland Athletics.