Francona back after dad’s death
On his first day back at spring training after his dad's funeral, Terry Francona seemed to exhale when the questions eventually turned to baseball.
He spent the first six minutes of his media session Sunday reflecting on his father, former Indians player Tito Francona.
While Francona remained composed, it was clear what his dad meant to him and how good it was to be back with his baseball crew.
"It's so nice to be back. I went back for two days to be with my family and then I came back here to kind of be with my family," he said. "That's about as close as you could feel with the people that aren't your family . ... It's not just baseball. It's Cleveland, it's the people here."
Francona left the Arizona camp on Thursday afternoon to go to Pennsylvania to attend the private services for his father.
John "Tito" Francona, who proudly watched his son follow his footsteps to the major leagues, died unexpectedly at his home on Tuesday night in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. He was 84.
The Indians manager is also known as "Tito," a nickname his grandfather had given his father.
Describing himself as the luckiest kid ever with the best parents, Francona said he knew how fortunate he was growing up like that. His love for baseball definitely came from his dad.
"The majority of whatever I do know, or what I care about, came from him," Francona said. "I care about the game, I respect the game, I love the game because of my dad, I guarantee you that."
Mets GM believes Tebow will play in majors
Tim Tebow arrived at the New York Mets spring training camp Sunday in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and the attention immediately turned to whether the quarterback who became an outfielder could make it all the way to Citi Field in the future.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson votes yes.
"Somebody asked me if thought he'd be a major league player at some point. I think he will play in the major leagues. That's my guess," Alderson said.
"This experiment is not going to last forever, but he's made meaningful progress. We thought he would best benefit from being in major league camp — that that would accelerate his development," Alderson said.
Last season, Tebow earned a midseason promotion from Low-A Columbia to High-A St. Lucie in late June despite hitting just .220 in 64 games in the South Atlantic League.
With St. Lucie, he started out strong. He was hitting .303 in his first 30 games with the St. Lucie Mets before slumping and ending his Florida State League campaign with a .231 average, five homers and 29 RBIs in 62 games.
New Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Tebow will have every opportunity to succeed.
"He's going to play. We want to see what he can do. The person he is, the worker he is, those are the kind of people you want around," Callaway said.
"Tim Tebow's here because he can potentially help us at the major league level. He wouldn't be here otherwise," he said.
Angels sign veterans Carter, Young
The Los Angeles Angels have signed veteran slugger Chris Carter and longtime outfielder Chris Young.
Carter got a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training on Sunday, while Young agreed to a one-year contract.
Carter played for the New York Yankees last season, batting .201 with eight homers. The first baseman is only one season removed from leading the NL with 41 homers for Milwaukee in 2016.
Young spent last season with Boston, batting .235 with 25 RBIs in 90 games.
The Angels also traded first baseman C.J. Cron to Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Red Sox re-sign Nunez to one-year deal
The Boston Red Sox have re-signed infielder Eduardo Nunez to a oneyear contract with a player option for 2019, giving them another proven second baseman to fill in while Dustin Pedroia recovers from knee surgery.
Nunez's deal was done on Sunday, the day before the Red Sox hold their first full-squad workout of spring training. He gets a guaranteed $6 million, according to multiple reports, including $4 million this season and a $2 million buyout. Nunez can reportedly exercise a $4 million option for 2019.
The 30-year-old batted a career-high .313 with 33 doubles and 12 home runs during 114 games last season in San Francisco and Boston. After being acquired by the Red Sox in a trade on July 25, Nunez made 25 of 38 starts at second base.
FROM WIRE REPORTS