Parra retiring as player, becoming Nationals assistant
WASHINGTON » Gerardo Parra says he is retiring from baseball after 12 seasons in the major leagues and will become a special assistant to Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo.
“It’s time for me to step aside to take on new professional and personal challenges,” the 35-year-old outfielder wrote Monday on Instagram. “It’s not an easy decision to make for any athlete, but I am happy with what I have achieved in these 12 years in the major leagues.”
Parra said his new role with the Nationals “is undoubtedly a dream job to start a new chapter.”
The former Colorado Rockie became a fan favorite as he helped Washington win the 2019 World Series, making “Baby Shark” his walkup song. The Nationals released a video tribute to Parra, who signed a minor league contract with the team before this season but did not appear in any games.
He hit .237 with 90 homers and 532 RBIS for Arizona (2009-14), Milwaukee (2014-15), Baltimore (2015), Colorado (2016-18), San Francisco (2019) and Washington (2019, 2021).
Ray doesn’t travel with M’s to Toronto.
TORONTO » Mariners left-hander Robbie Ray isn’t joining Seattle for a series in Toronto this week, missing a chance to celebrate the Cy Young Award he won with the Blue Jays last season amid border restrictions related to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Ray pitched against the Mets in New York on Sunday, then remained in the U.S. while teammates traveled to Canada for Monday’s series opener.
There was no locker for Ray in the Mariners’ clubhouse in Toronto. Manager Scott Servais said Ray will rejoin the team in Boston on Thursday for a four-game series against the Red Sox. He did not elaborate on his absence.
To enter the country, the Canadian government requires a person to have received a second COVID-19 vaccine dose — or one dose of Johnson & Johnson — at least 14 days before entry.
Royals fire hitting coach. KANSAS CITY, MO. » The Kansas City Royals fired hitting coach Terry Bradshaw and promoted Alex Zumwalt to fill his role Monday in a shakeup of the coaching staff that they hope will wake up one of the worst offenses in the majors this season.
The Royals have scored 118 runs through their first 32 games, better only than the Tigers, Orioles and White Sox, and their 21 home runs trail only the Tigers and Red Sox for the worst total in the big leagues.
Yankees’ Cortes deactivates account after old tweets surface.
BALTIMORE » New York Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes said he deactivated his Twitter account after screenshots surfaced Sunday of tweets from a decade ago that included racial slurs.
Cortes appeared to be quoting rap lyrics in at least some of the tweets, and he did not seem to be using the words to demean anyone.
“I felt like it wasn’t the right message that I wanted to send out, when I was 17 years old,” Cortes said Monday. “Those happened 10 years ago. I deactivated my Twitter to clean stuff up.”
Guardians acquire RHP Ramirez in trade from M’s.
CLEVELAND » The Cleveland Guardians acquired right-hander Yohan Ramirez on Monday from the Seattle Mariners on Monday for cash or a player to be named.