Red Sox unsure on White House visit
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox say they haven’t decided whether they will visit the White House if invited by President Donald Trump.
Manager Alex Cora said Thursday he wants to use the platform he has as a World Series champion in the right way. A native Puerto Rican, Cora has been outspoken about the need for help on the island since it was devastated by Hurricane Maria.
The traditional White House visit has become increasingly partisan, with some players declining to make the trip because of their political views.
DODGERS: Negotiations are ongoing with ace Clayton Kershaw, and they still need to resolve the future of manager Dave Roberts, too.
According to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, the talks with Kershaw’s camp are “ongoingly pleasant.”
The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and the team agreed to extend the deadline on Kershaw’s opt-out decision by 40 hours until 2 p.m. MT today.
Kershaw can opt out of the last two years and $65 million of his contract to become a free agent for the first time in an 11-year big league career spent entirely with the Dodgers.
The Dodgers and Roberts discussed a contract extension going back to spring training without reaching a deal. Roberts has said he expects to be back next year.
“It wasn’t an issue at all to kind of table it and pick it up when we were done playing,” Friedman said.
CUBS: Chicago exercised its $6.25 million option for Pedro Strop on Thursday, and fellow reliever Brandon Kintzler picked up his $5 million player option.
The Cubs have to make another decision on one of their key pitchers by today when they face a deadline on whether to exercise Cole Hamels’ option for 2019. Hamels, who turns 35 in December, went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts after he was acquired in a July 27 trade with Texas.
Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward let the deadline pass for exercising an optout provision in his contract. Heyward keeps the $184 million, eight-year deal that pays him $106 million in the next five seasons.
RAYS: Tampa Bay has finalized a minor league contract with 16-yearold Cuban pitcher Sandy Gaston that includes a $2.61 million signing bonus.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-hander ranked among the top international prospects eligible to sign with major league teams this year.