MLB notebook: Brewers make offer to RHP Darvish

[January 23, 2018]  Yu Darvish received a contract offer from the Milwaukee Brewers, according to multiple reports. He retweeted in Japanese a report by Yahoo Japan on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Darvish, who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers reach the World Series last season, is still unsigned with spring training about a month away.

The four-time All-Star also has received interest from the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros this offseason.

Darvish was 10-12 with a 3.86 ERA in 31 combined starts between the Rangers and Dodgers last season. He signed with Texas before the 2012 season and missed all of 2015 after elbow surgery.

--The San Francisco Giants agreed to a two-year contract with center fielder Austin Jackson, according to multiple reports. The deal is reportedly worth $6 million, with another $2.5 million in incentives and escalators possible.

Jackson, who turns 31 on Feb. 1, batted .318 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 85 games for the Cleveland Indians last season.

Jackson has a career average of .275 with 62 homers, 349 RBIs and 111 steals in 999 games over seven seasons with the Detroit Tigers (2010-14), Seattle Mariners (2014-15), Chicago Cubs (2015), Chicago White Sox (2016) and Indians.

 

--With a pair of terrifying incidents involving fans and flying projectiles in AL East ballparks still fresh in people's minds, the Boston Red Sox announced "a dramatic expansion" of protective netting in time for the start of next season.

Speaking at the Red Sox Winter Weekend at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut on Friday, team president and CEO Sam Kennedy announced the plan, the Boston Herald's Jordan Graham reported.

While MLB recommends netting stretch from dugout to dugout around home plate, the new Fenway plan will stretch the nets to Section 79 on the left field side and Section 9 along right field. Both sections are well beyond the edge of the dugouts.

--Field Level Media

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