Rockies add Davis as bullpen anchor
The Colorado Rockies added a significant pitcher to their bullpen by agreeing to a threeyear, $52 million contract with All-Star reliever Wade Davis.
Last season, Davis had a 2.30 ERA and 32 saves for the Chicago Cubs.
“There’s a lot to like,” Rockies general manager Mike Bridich said. “His track record, especially as a reliever, speaks for itself. His experience pitching in important games, playoff games, just the way he does it . ... He’s earned a lot of trust over the course of his career as a reliever, to be able to come into games at the end and help the team win a game. That’s a big thing for teams with playoff aspirations.”
Bridich is sticking to his blueprint of fortifying the bullpen in the offseason. A few weeks ago, the Rockies finalized $27 million, three-year contracts with right-hander Bryan Shaw and left-hander Jake McGee, who has been with Colorado the past two seasons. The team also returns right-hander Adam Ottavino and left-hander Mike Dunn.
Right-handers Chris Young and Tyson Ross reportedly have agreed to minor-league deals with the San Diego Padres.
Young, a 2007 All-Star who pitched with San Diego from 2006 through’10, appeared in 14 games with Kansas City last season. Ross is a Cal alum who spent three seasons (2010-12) with the A’s. A 2014 All-Star who pitched with San Diego in 2013 through ’16, he appeared in 12 games with Texas last season.
Italy’s Brignone wins giant slalom
Federica Brignone gave Italy its first women’s World Cup win of the season, edging Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg by 0.04 of a second in a giant slalom race in Lienz, Austria.
“I am so happy with first place,” said Brignone, who has been dealing with adductor problems. “I couldn’t ski or train for a while. I came back (on Nov. 25) and from then on, I am feeling better every day.”
U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin was 0.08 of a second behind in third.
In Bormio, Italy, France’s Alexis Pinturault won an Alpine combined event, his seventh World Cup victory in the discipline.
Pinturault won the race, which features one downhill run and one slalom leg, by 0.42 of a second over Italy’s Peter Fill. Tennis: Novak Djokovic’s comeback from an elbow injury stalled when he had to withdraw from an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, because of elbow pain.
Djokovic is entered in the Qatar Open, which starts Monday. That’s his lead-in tournament for the Australian Open, which starts in just more than two weeks.
“This might affect the start of the season and the tournament plan,” Djokovic wrote of the injury on his website. “The decision will be made in the following days. Soccer: Midfielder Marek Hamsik scored in the 17th minute as Napoli beat host Crotone 1-0, guaranteeing that the winners will be in first place at the halfway point of Italy’s Serie A 38-game season — known symbolically as securing the “winter title.”
Napoli leads defending champion Juventus by four points.