The Milwaukee Brewers are close to signing star outfielder Christian Yelich to a contract extension worth more than $200 million, according to a report by The Athletic on Tuesday.
The extension is likely to be for seven years, per to the report, with an announcement expected to be made on Friday in Maryvale, Ariz., at the Brewers' spring training facility.
ESPN, citing sources, later reported the deal would be worth approximately $215 million. The contract is expected to run nine years through the 2028 season, with a mutual option for the 2029 season.
With his current contract, Yelich was scheduled to make $12.5 million in 2020 and $14 million in 2021, with a 2022 club option that would pay him $15 million. Yelich, the 2018 National League Most Valuable Player, finished runner-up for the award to Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019.
--Yankees outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are likely to miss Opening Day as they continue to battle back from injuries, New York general manager Brian Cashman said.
Speaking to reporters at Yankees' spring training in Tampa, Fla., Cashman said Judge was undergoing tests on his pectoral area after originally being sidelined by a sore right shoulder. Stanton is recuperating from a Grade 1 right calf strain that he sustained last week.
The Yankees open the season on March 26 in Baltimore against the Orioles.
--Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale underwent an MRI exam on his sore left elbow, and the results were sent to Dr. James Andrews for review, interim manager Ron Roenicke said.
Roenicke said Tuesday afternoon that the Red Sox anticipated knowing the extent of Sale's injury on Wednesday.
"Obviously, there is some concern," said Chaim Bloom, Red Sox chief baseball officer. "Knowing how his 2019 ended and how important he is to us, there is some concern. But until we have all the information, we don't want to start speculating."
--Tampa Bay Rays minor league outfielder Garrett Whitley is out indefinitely due to multiple facial fractures, manager Kevin Cash said.
Whitley was released from the hospital on Monday night after being injured during a spring training game in Sarasota, Fla.
Whitley will see a battery of specialists for advice on a rehabilitation schedule in his recovery from multiple injuries, but Cash said no eye damage occurred when Whitley was struck by a foul ball Monday.
--A grand jury has convened in Texas to hear evidence in the death of Tyler Skaggs, a proceeding that could lead to the filing of criminal charges, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Skaggs was 27 and a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels when he died on July 1 in his hotel room in Southlake, Texas. The Angels were in town to play the Texas Rangers, and an autopsy later showed he died of aspiration and had a combination of oxycodone, fentanyl and alcohol in his system.
The Times reported last fall that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had interviewed at least six of Skaggs' teammates. Additionally, a former Angels employee told authorities he gave Skaggs half of the six oxycodone pills he had obtained illegally, ESPN reported in October.
--Field Level Media