Pence, Rangers agree to deal

Former Giants outfielder Hunter Pence agreed to a minor-league contract with his hometown Texas Rangers and will attend major-league spring training.

If added to the 40-man roster, Pence, 35, would get a one-year contract that pays a $2 million salary while in the major leagues.

“Thankful for this opportunity and appreciative of where I’ve been,” Pence tweeted.

The three-time All-Star played at Texas-Arlington, only a few miles from the Rangers’ home stadium. Houston took him in the second round of the 2004 amateur draft.

Pence dealt with a thumb injury early last season, when he played 97 games for the Giants. He hit .226 with four homers and 24 RBIs, all career lows. Pence is a .280 career hitter in 12 seasons with Houston, Philadelphia and San Francisco, where he was part of World Series champions in 2012 and ’14.

Texas also announced a minor-league contract with infielder Matt Davidson, who would get a one-year contract that pays a $1.5 million salary while in the major leagues. Davidson batted .228 with 20 home runs and 62 RBIs last year for the Chicago White Sox. Realmuto to Phillies: The Marlins traded All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to the Phillies for catcher Jorge Alfaro, two pitching prospects and $250,000 in international signing bonus pool allocation.

“This is about us acquiring the best catcher in baseball,” Philadelphia general manager Matt Klentak said, “and we’re really excited about that.”

Along with Alfaro, the Phillies gave up 20-year-old righthander Sixto Sanchez, their top prospect, and left-hander Will Stewart. Don’t call it the DL: Major League Baseball is changing the name of its disabled lists to injured lists. Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem said the change is being made at the suggestion of advocacy groups for the disabled.

MLB has had disabled lists of 10 and 60 days, plus a seven-day list only for players with concussions. MLB has proposed to the players’ association that the 10-day list go back to a 15-day minimum, its level before 2017. Briefly: The Royals signed reliever Brad Boxberger to a one-year $2.2 million contract. He was 3-7 with 32 saves in 40 chances and a 4.89 ERA for the Diamondbacks last season . ... Catcher Devin Mesoraco is staying with the Mets, agreeing to a minor-league deal . ... The Orioles agreed to a $800,000, one-year deal with right-hander Nate Karns, who hasn’t pitched since 2017 . ... Infielder Ryan Flaherty agreed to a minorleague contract with the Indians. He hit .217 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 182 plate appearances last year for the Braves.