Francona set for 11th season with Cleveland

Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona is feeling much better these days. He has a rod in his left foot that bothers him when he wears his beloved flip-flops, but that’s a breeze compared with what he experienced in the past.

The former big league infielder dealt with gastrointestinal problems and blood-clotting issues in 2020. Following surgeries on his hip and toe, he also had to step away from the team in 2021. But his outlook has stayed the same throughout.

“Everybody says, ‘Do you have perspective?’” Francona said Sunday as he prepares for his 11th season with Cleveland. “I hate when we lose. I really enjoy when we win. But I love doing what we do, but I always have. I’ve always enjoyed it.

“If I wasn’t in baseball, all I’d be doing was wishing I was in baseball.”

Francona, 63, is thankful that he isn’t limping as much as before, making it easier for him to do his job. And it doesn’t look as if he has lost anything on that front.

The two-time World Series winner with Boston directed a young group of Guardians to the AL Central title in 2022. He has led Cleveland to four division titles, six postseasons and one World Series since 2013.

“We’re coming off a year where we kind of maximized our input and our output, and a lot of that has to do with Tito,” Guardians ace Shane Bieber said. “To see him smiling and happy and healthy, he was always smiling and happy regardless of what he was going through. So he’s a consistent driving factor in here, and his energy’s always infectious and contagious.”

Andrus agrees to return to White Sox

Elvis Andrus has agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox, likely filling the team’s hole at second base.

The 34-year-old Andrus finished last season with Chicago, hitting .271 with nine homers and 28 RBIS in 43 games after he was cut by Oakland.

He was signed by the White Sox after Tim Anderson had surgery for a torn ligament in his left middle finger, but the Allstar shortstop is healthy again and the team has an opening at second.

Andrus is a .270 hitter with 96 homers, 731 RBIS and 335 steals in 14 years in the majors. The twotime All-star broke into the big leagues with Texas in 2009 and played for the Rangers for 12 seasons before he was traded to Oakland in February 2021.

Padres' Martinez added to WBC roster

Major League Baseball announced that San Diego Padres pitcher Nick Martinez will replace Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw on the 30-man roster for the United States for the World Baseball Classic.

Martinez went 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA in 47 games for San Diego last season, making 10 starts and collecting eight saves.

Kershaw said Friday that he wouldn’t be able to participate in the WBC. He didn’t specify the reasons that would prevent him from participating.