The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tebow in Mets camp today
Collins hopes to play ex-Heisman winner in games.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow is expected to report to New York Mets camp today in Port St. Lucie, Fla., Newsday reported Sunday.
Tebow will give an introductory news conference and report to the Mets’ STEP camp, an extended spring training for select minor league prospects.
Mets manager Terry Collins said he wants Tebow to appear in some Grapefruit League games.
“When they tell me that Tim’s had some at-bats, when he’s comfortable at the plate and comfortable with what he’s doing, I’ll get him over here,” Collins said. “He’s a tremendous athlete. He’s got a huge name in the sports world and he’s in our organization trying to be a baseball player, and I’m certainly not going to take anything away from that. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be very difficult. But he’s a tremendous competitor.”
Tebow, 29, hit .194 in the Arizona Fall League as an outfielder.
■ Mets outfielder Michael Conforto is 5 for 7 with two homers this spring. Collins said he likes what he sees so far from Conforto, a rookie sensation in 2015 who was demoted in the middle of a terrible slump last year. “He’s too good a player and has too high a ceiling to continue to struggle. I just think he’s going to bounce back and have the kind of year we expect him to have,” Collins said.
Athletics: Pitcher Sonny Gray won’t pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic after the righthander was denied insurance coverage for the tournament, general manager David Forst said Sunday. A strained right forearm landed Gray on the disabled list in August. He pitched only one inning after returning. Since he didn’t pitch in more than 10 innings after August, Gray was an issue for the company that insures players for the event. Major League Baseball pushed for an exception to be made for Gray. “It’s not up to us or MLB, it’s up to the insurance company,” Forst said.
Yankees: Tony Clark, head of the baseball players’ union, said “that page has been turned” in the spat regarding Yankees President Randy Levine and what he said about reliever Dellin Betances’ agents. Levine had called Betances a victim of “over-the-top demands based on very little sense of reality” by his representatives at an arbitration hearing on Feb. 18. The Yankees beat Betances in the case, and he will be paid $3 million rather than his $5 million request. “Dellin is focused in on the season, we’re focused in on the season and look forward to have him continue to do what he’s always done, which has been a tremendous contributor to his club and winning on the field,” Clark said Sunday. Clark said he has not talked with Levine about the matter.
Indians: Second baseman Jason Kipnis has a rotator cuff strain and will stop throwing for a couple of days. Kipnis got a cortisone shot Saturday, and manager Terry Francona didn’t sound very worried about the situation. “If it was during the season we wouldn’t do anything,” Francona said. “There’s so much time to get ready that to kind of put a Band-Aid on it now didn’t seem to make sense.” Kipnis, 29, hit .275 with 23 homers and 82 RBIs last season. The Indians also said left-hander Tim Cooney will be sidelined for 10 to 12 weeks because of a muscle strain in his arm. Cooney went 1-0 with a 3.16 ERA in six starts with St. Louis last season and was claimed off waivers in November.
Rangers: Slugger Josh Hamilton went to Houston on Sunday, facing the possibility of another knee surgery in his bid to return to the majors. Hamilton will be examined today by Dr. Walt Lowe, who performed reconstructive surgery on the former AL MVP’s left knee in June. If Hamilton needs arthroscopic knee surgery, he would likely be out four to six weeks and then need a minor league rehab assignment. Hamilton, 35, has not played in more than 90 big league games in a season since 2013. “It is disappointing for Josh,” manager Jeff Banister said. “I feel for him. He came into camp feeling good.”
Orioles: Zach Britton said his oblique soreness is gone, but manager Buck Showalter said he hasn’t decided when the left-hander will pitch in a Grapefruit League game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, and Tony Snell made a clinching 3-pointer in the final seconds for Milwaukee. TJ Warren scored 23 for Phoenix.
Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points as San Antonio completed a 6-2 trip. Rookie Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 22 for the Lakers.
Mike Conley scored 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter for Memphis. Marc Gasol added 23 points. Danilo Gallinari had 24 points for Denver.
Gordon Hayward scored 30 points, and Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 20 rebounds for Utah. John Wall had 23 points and 11 assists and Bradley Beal scored 22 for Washington.
Jaylen Brown sank a 3-pointer while being fouled with 37.6 seconds remaining, part of a five-point possession that clinched it for Boston. Brown missed the free throw but a loose-ball foul on the rebound gave two free throws to Marcus Smart for a 10096 lead. Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 33 points. Andre Drummond had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons, but he went 1 of 11 on free throws. The Pistons retired Richard Hamilton’s No. 32 jersey at halftime.
DeMar DeRozan scored 33 as Toronto won its third straight, the last two without injured guard Kyle Lowry (right wrist). Damian Lillard scored 28 points for Portland.
Russell Westbrook had 41 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his 29th triple-double of the season for Oklahoma City. He scored 21 of the Thunder’s 31 points in the fourth quarter. Anthony Davis scored 38 points, 24 in the first quarter, and DeMarcus Cousins had 31 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans. Cousins played just 22 minutes before fouling out. The Pelicans are 0-3 since acquiring him from Sacramento.
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