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MLB notebook: Martinez agrees to terms with Red Sox

[February 20, 2018] Outfielder J.D. Martinez and the Red Sox reportedly agreed to a five-year, $110 million contract that will bring Boston the big bat it coveted the entire offseason.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported the length of the contract and financial terms late Monday afternoon. FanRag Sports reported there are two opt-out clauses in Martinez's deal, and the outlet said he will receive $50 million over the first two seasons.

Martinez, 30, rode a career year in 2017 into free agency. He posted a slugging percentage of .690 with 45 home runs in 119 games. That included a destructive 62-game tour with the Arizona Diamondbacks after a mid-July trade from the Detroit Tigers. Martinez belted 29 homers in 62 games with Arizona.

--Washington Nationals star outfielder Bryce Harper wants to lock in on 2018 without regard for what's on deck: his first foray into free agency.

Harper, who can become a free agent in November with the potential for a historic contract offer, addressed reporters for the first time this spring training on Monday and refused to discuss anything beyond the upcoming season.

"I will not be discussing anything relative to 2019 at all," Harper said while reading his prepared opening remarks from his phone. "I'm focused on this year. I'm focused on winning and playing hard like every single year. So if you guys have any questions after 2018, you can call (agent) Scott (Boras), and he can answer you guys. If you guys do talk anything about that, then I'll be walking right out the door."

--Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo rejoined his team on Monday for the first full-squad workout of spring training. Rizzo left the team last week to support victims of the mass shooting at his former high school in Parkland, Fla.

"They'll be in my heart every day. They'll be in my thoughts and prayers. I think about them every night I go to sleep," Rizzo told reporters Monday on how he will honor the victims.

Rizzo had been an early arrival at camp in Mesa, Ariz., before leaving Thursday for Parkland, one day after 17 people were shot to death by a former student. Rizzo remains closely attached with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School since graduating in 2007. He makes his home in the area and recently donated $150,000 to pay for lights at the school's baseball field.

--The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms with outfielder Jarrod Dyson, shortly after losing out in the Martinez sweepstakes.

Dyson reportedly will receive a two-year, $7.5 million deal, much smaller than the reported five-year, $110-million deal Martinez received from the Boston Red Sox. Martinez finished the 2017 season with the Diamondbacks.

Dyson, 33, is known for his speed and defense. He recorded 28 steals while batting .251 for the Seattle Mariners last season. Last season was Dyson's only season in Seattle. He spent his first seven years with the Kansas City Royals and was part of that franchise's World Series teams in 2014 and 2015.

--Free agent right-hander Chris Tillman agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal to remain with the Baltimore Orioles, according to multiple reports.

The 29-year-old Tillman can reportedly earn an additional $7 million in the incentive-laden contract. He has spent his entire nine-year major league career with the Orioles.

Tillman struggled with shoulder injuries last season and went 1-7 with a 7.84 ERA in 93 innings over 19 starts and five relief appearances. Overall, he holds a 73-55 record with a 4.43 ERA in 203 games (198 starts) since breaking into the major leagues in 2009.

--The Washington Nationals and right-handed reliever Joaquin Benoit agreed to a one-year deal, according to multiple reports.

The club has not confirmed the deal, which will be worth a reported $1 million. The 40-year-old Benoit holds a 58-49 career record with a 3.83 ERA over 15 major league seasons.

Benoit split last season between the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates, going a combined 1-6 with two saves and 4.65 ERA over 50 1/3 innings in 52 appearances.

--Right-handed relief pitcher Peter Moylan agreed to return to the Atlanta Braves for the 2018 season.

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Moylan, 39, spent the past two seasons with the Kansas City Royals and tied for the American League lead with 79 appearances in 2017. Moylan spent eight of his 11 seasons with the Braves.

Moylan has 460 career relief appearances and a 3.00 ERA in 390 1/3 innings.

--On the day the majority of MLB clubs conducted their first full-squad workouts of spring training, commissioner Rob Manfred announced the pace-of-play rule changes to be implemented for the 2018 season.

While the rules focus on three main areas of play, perhaps most notable is the omission of any timers, either between pitches or between batters. On that note, the league stated through a release, "The Commissioner has decided to defer the implementation of a pitch timer and a between-batter timer in 2018 in order to provide players with an opportunity to speed up the game without the use of those timers."

Instead, the new rules will attempt to shorten game times with changes to mound visits, inning breaks and pitching changes and video review. Each team is limited to six mound visits without a pitching change per nine innings; the time allotted between innings and pitching changes will be 2 minutes, 5 seconds for games only on local TV, 2:25 for games on national TV, and 2:55 for playoff games; and all MLB team video rooms will receive direct slow-motion camera angles, will have direct phone lines to the video-review room, and those phone lines will be monitored to prevent sign stealing.

--Rebuilding shifted into overdrive with the Tampa Bay Rays parting with face-of-the-franchise third baseman Evan Longoria in the offseason and then weekend moves that saw right-handed starter Jake Odorizzi traded to the Minnesota Twins, and 2017 All-Star outfielder Corey Dickerson designated for assignment.

Ace right-handed pitcher Chris Archer said the decision to designate Dickerson for assignment was "perplexing." Two-time Gold Glove center fielder Kevin Kiermaier voiced his displeasure by saying, "we lost two great players. It's terrible."

Longoria reported to the San Francisco Giants and expressed shock over the Dickerson decision: "I kind of just feel bad for the Rays' fan, and I feel bad for the guys this year who were probably counting on Corey to put up numbers to help the team win. I'm not going to take too many shots. But I think it's pretty obvious that the guy is a valuable player and didn't deserve to be DFA'd."

--Miami Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman said CEO and part owner Derek Jeter "made all the right moves" and supports the team's trading of four star players in Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich and Dee Gordon.

The moves to cut payroll and put the franchise on more solid financial footing made Jeter unpopular with baseball fans in South Florida.

"From my perspective, I think the management of the team has made all the right moves," Sherman said, per the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. "I've been involved in every decision. I support every decision, our partners support every decision. We're building something for the long haul here."

--After years of court filings and one side's issuance of nearly 50 subpoenas, a trial date has been set for the family of Tony Gwynn's lawsuit against the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company: Sept. 20, 2019.

The family of the San Diego Padres legend filed the lawsuit more than three years ago. The Hall of Fame member died at age 54 in 2014 after battling cancer of the salivary gland. His family claims he began using the product in 1977, a decade before warnings began appearing on smokeless tobacco products.

By the time the warnings did appear, the lawsuit claims, Gwynn was "hopelessly addicted" to smokeless tobacco. According to USA Today, the company's response to the lawsuit claims Gwynn was "warned or otherwise made aware of the alleged risks of using smokeless tobacco products."

--Field Level Media

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