Indians put Brantley on DL

All-Star outfielder still recovering from ankle surgery.

The Cleveland Indians will start the season missing Michael Brantley. Still recovering from offseason surgery on his right ankle, Brantley is being placed on the disabled list as the team continues to take a cautious and deliberate approach with the two-time All-Star outfielder.

Brantley, who has been limited to 101 games over the past two seasons because of injuries, only began playing in exhibition games a few days ago. While he has made steady improvement, Brantley, who homered in his first at-bat of the spring, is not quite ready to play in a major league game.

Brantley bounced back last season after playing in just 11 games in 2016, made the All-Star team and was having a strong year before injuring his ankle on Aug. 8. He finished the regular season batting .299 in 90 games.

Phillies: Prospect Scott Kingery reached a six-year deal, a major endorsement for a player who has yet to reach the big leagues. The deal goes through 2023. Media reports said Kingery was guaranteed more than $23 million.

Kingery, 23, is batting .392 in 20 spring training games, tied for the Grapefruit League lead with 20 hits. He hit .304 with 26 homers and 29 steals in Triple-A and Double-A last year and is regarded as the best secondbase prospect in baseball.

Yankees: Manager Aaron Boone says it’s too early to know if first baseman Greg Bird will be sidelined opening day Thursday at Toronto because of inflammation in his right foot. Boone said the team should learn Bird’s status after he’s evaluated today by a specialist in New York.

Mets: The team announced that starting pitcher Seth Lugo, reliever Jacob Rhame and utilityman Phillip Evans will make their first appearances on opening day, each part of the 25-man roster.

Royals: A day after exiting his final spring training game with a stiff left shoulder, Danny Duffy said he was ready to pitch Thursday at home against the White Sox.

Marlins: Lewis Brinson and Garrett Cooper made their first opening-day rosters. A South Florida native, Brinson, 23, was the key piece in the deal that sent Christian Yelich to Milwaukee. He’ll start in center field and hit leadoff when Miami opens its season Thursday. Cooper came to Miami in the deal that sent Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees. He’s expected to serve as a utility player.

Cardinals: Pitcher Adam Wainwright will start the season on the disabled list because of a strained left hamstring.

Mariners: Ace Felix Hernandez is set to start on opening day for the 10th straight year, manager Scott Servais said. Hernandez is coming off an injury-plagued 2017 season.

Rangers: Minor league coach Howard Johnson was released from a hospital with fractures in his cheekbone after being hit by a line drive Saturday. The Rangers said Johnson’s eye function was good and that it didn’t appear he would need surgery.

Cutdown day: Washington pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, Cincinnati outfielder Ben Revere and St. Louis reliever Jason Motte were among the latest cuts as teams reached a deadline for roster decisions. Kansas City pitcher Ricky Nolasco, Minnesota infielder Erick Aybar and Cubs outfielder Peter Bourjos also were released Sunday, four days before all 30 clubs play their openers. Sunday’s Games

■ (At) Penguins 5, Philadelphia 4 (OT): Bryan Rust redirected a pass from Sidney Crosby 2:25 into overtime and the Penguins finished off a season sweep of the Flyers (4-0-0). The Flyers tied it on Sean Couturier’s goal with 43 seconds left in regulation. The erratic Flyers fell to 4-6-3 in March after going 10-1-2 in February.

■ Canucks 4, (at) Stars 1: Reid Boucher and Nic Dowd scored power-play goals for Vancouver as reeling Dallas saw its winless streak reach eight games (0-6-2). Vancouver won for only the second time in 10 games.

■ Predators at Jets: Late

■ Bruins at Wild: Late

■ Ducks at Oilers: Late

NHL notes

■ Flames: Forward Johnny Gaudreau, who leads the team with 82 points, flew home to deal with a family matter and will not play tonight in Los Angeles against the Kings.

■ Capitals: Saturday night’s win was Barry Trotz’s 200th as Washington’s coach. Evgeny Kuznetsov, back after a threegame absence with an upper-body injury, scored twice, as did Tom Wilson, in the 6-4 triumph over Montreal.

■ Devils: With five wins in their last seven games, the Devils have elevated their chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

Today’s Games