Wood returns to Dodgers with ‘incentive-laden’ new contract
Cora remorseful
LOS ANGELES, Jan 16, (AP): Lefthander Alex Wood has agreed to a $4 million, one-year contract to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The seven-time defending NL West champions announced the deal Wednesday night with Wood, who spent last season with Cincinnati after the Dodgers traded him away in December 2018.
The contract is laden with performance incentives for the 29-year-old veteran. Wood gets a $4 million base salary, but he can earn up to $3.5 million more on a points system.
The Boston Red Sox need to find a new manager, and it sounds like they haven’t gotten over their old one.
Heaping praise on Alex Cora a day after showing him the door, Red Sox owner John Henry said on Wednesday the team was going to miss “just about everything” about the man who led Boston to the 2018 World Series title only to be torpedoed in a cheating scandal.
“It was a sad day because we all have such respect for Alex,” said chairman Tom Werner, who was one of several Red Sox officials keeping in touch with the deposed manager since his departure. “He admitted that what he did was wrong, but that doesn’t mitigate, in our opinion, the extraordinary talent that he has. And we continue to be very fond of Alex.”
The Texas Rangers acquired first baseman/outfielder Sam Travis from Boston on Wednesday in a trade that sent left-hander Jeffrey Springs to the Red Sox.
The addition of Travis came on the same day the Rangers announced the signing of Todd Frazier, another right-handed hitter who can play first base. Texas plans to use Frazier primarily at third.
The 26-year-old Travis has spent all six years of his professional career with the Boston organization. He was a second-round pick in the 2014 amateur draft.
Left-hander Stephen Tarpley was traded from the New York Yankees to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday for third baseman James Nelson and $50,000 payable on Feb 15.
Tarpley was designated for assignment by the Yankees on Saturday to clear a roster spot when outfielder Brett Gardner’s contract was finalized. The 26-year-old Tarpley was 1-0 with two saves and a 5.88 ERA last year in one start and 30 relief appearances. He was acquired by the Yankees in the 2016 trade that
sent right-hander Iván Nova to Pittsburgh.
The Texas Rangers have formally reunited with catcher Robinson Chirinos and added third baseman Todd Frazier after completing oneyear deals with the free agents.
Chirinos and Frazier both got contracts that included club options for 2021. The deals were announced by the team Wednesday.
While the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox took decisive action in jettisoning their managers after Major League Baseball concluded they were involved in nefarious sign stealing, the New York Mets have stayed silent on Carlos Beltrán’s future.
Houston fired AJ Hinch one hour after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred released his findings Monday. Boston’s management took 29 1/2 hours to announce Alex Cora’s departure on Tuesday.