Tulowitzki is Yankees SS to start season
Veteran will hold down spot until Gregorius returns
From local and wire dispatches
The New York Yankees view Troy Tulowitzki as their starting shortstop until Didi Gregorius returns from Tommy John surgery this summer.
Still, general manager Brian Cashman won’t rule out trying to sign Manny Machado, one of the top free agents on the market.
And, in his first questionand-answer session of the year, Cashman revealed he has dragged talks to trade Sonny Gray until the Yankees know CC Sabathia will be ready to pitch after surgery to implant a stent in an artery from his heart.
Tulowitzki, a five-time All-Star absent from the major leagues since July 2017, finalized his one-year contract for the major league minimum $555,000 Friday after passing a physical.
“It doesn’t mean we’re going to get vintage Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockie years when he was there,” Cashman said.
“But it’s exciting to dream on what he might be capable of when his health is there on a consistent basis because he was quite the player for quite a long time,” Cashman added.
Tulowitzki missed last season because of bone spurs in his right and left heels.
Gregorius had right elbow surgery Oct. 17 and Cashman expects him back in July or August.
More Yankees
Zach Britton is staying in New York, agreeing to a $39 million, three-year contract, a deal that could be worth $53 million over four seasons. Britton gets $13 million in each of the next three seasons. The Yankees have a $14 million option for 2022 and must decide on it after the 2020 season.
Pirates
The Pirates announced spring-training invitations to Will Craig, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds, among others. Craig, a firstround pick in 2016, was Class AA Altoona’s MVP this year. He also made the Arizona Fall League’s all-AFL team after hitting .304 with six homers. Hayes, a 2015 supplemental first-rounder, played in the Futures Game this year. He hit .293/.375/.444 in Altoona last season. Reynolds joined the Pirates in the Andrew McCutchen trade. After recovering from hamate surgery, he hit .302/.381/.438 at Altoona with seven home runs. Also invited was Blake Weiman, who had quite the 2018 season. He struck out 77 in 67 innings and moved from low-A to Altoona. The former eighth-rounder also played in the fall league. Tyler Eppler, Elvis Escobar, Geoff Hartlieb, Alex McRae, Eduardo Vera, Brandon Waddell, Jason Delay, Christian Kelley and Arden Pabst also received invites.
Mets
New York acquired outfielder Keon Broxton from Milwaukee giving them a center field option in addition to Juan Lagares. The Mets sent reliever Bobby Wahl to the Brewers along with two minor leaguers, right-handed reliever Adam Hill and infielder Felix Valerio. Broxton had four home runs, 11 RBIs and a .179 batting average in 51 games for Milwaukee last season. Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen called Broxton, 28, a “dynamic athlete with the ability to impact the game in the outfield, on the bases and with his bat.”
Brewers
Infielder Cory Spangenberg and Milwaukee finalized a one-year contract that pays $1.2 million in the major leagues and $250,000 in the minors. Spangenberg was released by San Diego in November after refusing a minor league assignment.
Giants
San Francisco acquired switch-hitting infielder and outfielder Breyvic Valera from the Baltimore Orioles for cash, adding another former Dodgers player. Valera batted .234 with eight RBIs while playing in 32 games between the Dodgers and Orioles in 2018 while also playing for both clubs’ Class AAA affiliates.
Rays
Tampa Bay is trimming capacity of Tropicana Field by more than 5,000 seats as part of renovations and capital improvements to the domed stadium for the upcoming season. The team announced Friday that the entire upper deck will be closed, trimming seating to an estimated 25,000-26,000. That’s down from 31,042, which already was the smallest capacity in the major leagues.