PETIT IN AGREEMENT WITH A’S ON $2.55M, ONE-YEAR DEAL

Veteran reliever Yusmeiro Petit has agreed to a $2.55 million, one-year contract to stay with the Oakland Athletics, pending a physical, his agent said.

The deal could pay the right-handed Petit up to $3 million based on incentives for games pitched, agent Rafael Godoy said Sunday night.

“He’s excited to return. It was his first choice all along,” Godoy said via text message. “The team had been in contact all winter.”

Also Sunday, Oakland was closing in on a $2.25 million, one-year deal with veteran righty reliever Sergio Romo, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract wasn’t finalized. He also still must pass a physical. If finalized, Romo’s contract would include an additional $750,000 in possible incentives.

The two additions for the reigning AL West champions would provide significant experience to manager Bob Melvin’s bullpen that lost closer Liam Hendriks in free agency to the Chicago White Sox. Petit and Romo have 13 years of major league experience apiece, and both pitchers are plenty familiar with the Bay Area having also played for the San Francisco Giants.

The 36-year-old Petit will return for a fourth season in Oakland, having gone 2-1 with a 1.66 ERA over 26 outings and 21 2/3 innings during the shortened 60-game 2020 season. He is versatile given his ability to pitch multiple innings.

Romo, who turns 37 on March 4, was 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA and five saves and 23 strikeouts in 24 appearances and 20 innings last year for Minnesota.

Mets sign veteran pitchers Montgomery, Hunter.

NEW YORK» The New York Mets have signed lefthander Mike Montgomery and righty Tommy Hunter to minor league contracts, adding a couple of veterans to the staff at the start of spring training.

The Mets made the announcement Sunday and said both pitchers have been invited to big league camp.

The 34-year-old Hunter went 0-1 with one save and a 4.01 ERA in 24 games for Philadelphia last season. Hunter is 56-45 with 22 saves and 4.08 ERA in 472 games during a 13-year career.

Van der Poel sets speedskating 10,000 world record.

HEERENVEEN, NETHERL A NDS» Nils van der Poel of Sweden set a world record in the 10,000 meters on Sunday to win his second title at the world single distances speedskating championships at the Thialf Oval.

Van der Poel’s winning time of 12:32.95 shaved nearly a second off the record set a year ago by Graeme Fish of Canada at the Utah Olympic Oval.

“Eat fish for dinner!” a beaming Van der Poel yelled into a camera after his victory.

Van der Poel’s victory came after he won the 5,000 on Thursday, beating pre-race favorite Patrick Roest into second place.

Double gold: Humphries finishes off historic bobsled sweep.

Kaillie Humphries ended her international season Sunday by winning the inaugural women’s monobob world championship in Altenberg, Germany, adding that gold medal to the one she and Lolo Jones claimed on the same track last weekend.

Humphries becomes the obvious gold-medal favorite going into the Olympic season, with two medal events — now with monobob included — awaiting women’s bobsledders at next winter’s Beijing Games for the first time.

It was her fifth world championship, her third in as many tries since getting her release from the Canadian program and beginning to slide for the United States in 2019. If Humphries — who is married to an American and now calls San Diego home — is going to race for the U.S. in next winter’s Beijing Games, she needs to obtain citizenship in the coming months.