Quick Hitters

Tyler Clippard agrees to 1-year deal with D-backs

The arizona diamondbacks have agreed to a $2.25 million, one-year contract with reliever Tyler Clippard, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The associated Press.

The agreement was reached on Monday and confirmed to the aP on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending a physical. The deal includes a $1.75 million salary this year and a $3.5 million mutual option for 2022 with a $500,000 buyout.

The 36-year-old right-hander is a two-time all-star and has 777 appearances over 14 seasons with a career 3.13 era. He had a 2.77 era in 26 appearances with the Minnesota Twins last season, when he made $1,018,519 in prorated pay from a $2.75 million base salary plus $190,021 in earned bonuses for total income of $1,208,540.

This will be Clippard’s second stint with the diamondbacks. He appeared in 40 games with the team in 2016 before being sent to the New york yankees in a trade.

Louisville’s Mack: ‘Not a good look’ going maskless

Louisville coach Chris Mack admitted it was “not a good look” to be shown maskless in a video while celebrating the Cardinals’ dec. 26 victory over rival Kentucky.

The 33-second clip, tweeted saturday night by Kentucky sports radio, shows the third-year Louisville coach with former Cardinals football player eric Wood, celebrating Christmas with family and neighbors who stopped by his house. In the video, Wood yells that former Kentucky associate head coach Kenny Payne, now an assistant with the Nba’s New york Knicks, was responsible for the Wildcats’ previous victories over the Cardinals before noting he’s gone, and that Hall of Fame coach John Calipari “will never beat u of L again.”

Mack tried to offer context for the video during a virtual news conference Monday. He said some of his neighbors were golfing buddies of Payne, a Louisville standout, and wanted to “give him grief” for the game. The coach also recognized the potential fallout for going maskless during the pandemic, even at home.