MLB notebook: Rangers ink RHP Lynn

[December 19, 2018]  Right-handed pitcher Lance Lynn signed a three-year contract with the Texas Rangers, the club announced Tuesday.

The overall value of the deal is $30 million, including a $4 million signing bonus, The Athletic reported. Lynn will get paid $8 million in 2019.

Lynn, who has spent most of his seven-year career as a starter for the St. Louis Cardinals, pitched last season for the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees, combining for a 10-10 record with a 4.77 ERA and 161 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings.

Lynn went 3-2 with a 4.14 ERA in nine starts for the Yankees, also making two relief appearances. He was dealt by the Twins in a trade deadline deal. Lynn's career record is 82-57, with a 3.57 ERA.

--The Chicago Cubs and free agent infielder Daniel Descalso have reached a two-year deal, the club announced.

The deal is worth $5 million with a club option for 2021 which could bring the overall value to $8.25 million for the veteran utility player, according to reports.

Descalso, 32, played the past two seasons in Arizona. He began his career in St. Louis, playing five seasons with the Cardinals, the club that drafted him in 2007. He's a career .240/.324/.370 hitter.

--The Washington Nationals announced the signing of Matt Adams to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2020.

The burly first baseman will make $4 million in 2019, according to multiple reports. Adams hit .257 with 18 home runs and 48 RBIs in 94 games with the Nationals last season before the St. Louis Cardinals claimed him off waivers on Aug. 21.

The 30-year-old Adams is a .266 career hitter with 96 home runs and 332 RBIs in 707 games. He has hit 15-plus home runs five times in seven seasons.

--Former nine-time All-Star Carlos Beltran is poised to join the New York Yankees as a special assistant to general manager Brian Cashman, according to multiple reports.

Beltran, who played with the Yankees from 2014-16, is expected to play a role in the recruitment of superstar free agent Manny Machado, according to the reports.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Lance Lynn (36) pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Machado and his representatives are meeting with the Yankees on Wednesday in New York. Though it's not clear if Beltran will be a part of those meetings, he does share the same agent as Machado -- Dan Lozano of MVP Sports Group.

--The Minnesota Twins announced they will retire Joe Mauer's number sometime during the 2019 season.

Mauer's No. 7 will be the eighth in club history to be retired, joining Harmon Killebrew (No. 3), Rod Carew (No. 29), Tony Oliva (No. 6), Kent Hrbek (No. 14), Kirby Puckett (No. 34), Bert Blyleven (No. 28) and Tom Kelly (No. 10).

Mauer, 35, was selected No. 1 overall by the Twins in 2001. The St. Paul native would go on to play all 15 major league seasons with the Twins, retiring after the 2018 season.

--Actress and director Penny Marshall, whose love of sports made her a regular in the Los Angeles celebrity fan crowd and helped inspire her to direct "A League of Their Own," died Monday night because of complications from diabetes.

She was 75.

Marshall directed 1992's "A League of Their Own," a fictional telling of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that was established during World War II.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.