FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox have yet to finalize their contract with prized free agent J.D. Martinez.
Manager Alex Cora said after Boston’s Grapefruit League exhibition opener against Minnesota on Friday that he’s not bothered by the delay and is simply focused on preparing the players he already has in camp.
“We’re still working and getting ready, you know? That’s all we can do,” Cora said after the Red Sox beat the Twins 4-3 at JetBlue Park.
Martinez agreed to terms on Monday to a deal that’s as long as five years and worth as much as $110 million, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract is subject to a successful physical exam and has not been announced by the club.
Nine-figure deals like this one need due diligence, and teams usually take out insurance policies on fully guaranteed big-money contracts in case a player is injured and unable to play out the balance of the deal. Once spring training starts and a club’s operations have relocated to Florida, there can be logistical complications that wouldn’t be the case at home during the regular season.
SPRING TRAINING got off to a solemn start as teams wore hats to honor Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were fatally shot nine days ago.
Stoneman Douglas baseball coach Todd Fitz-Gerald and his two sons were guests of the Houston Astros for their spring opener against the Washington Nationals. Members of the school’s baseball and softball teams were guests of the Marlins and mingled on the field with players, coaches and CEO Derek Jeter.
Teams had the option of wearing the caps, which are black with “SD” in block letters, during the games or only during warmups. Both the Astros and Nationals wore them during the game.
MLB ordered more than 2,500 of the caps from New Era, league spokesman Steven Arrocho said. Many teams will have players sign them, and they will be auctioned to benefit the victims and families affected by the shooting.
TIGERS: Detroit agreed to a $4 million, one-year contract with left-hander Francisco Liriano.
The 34-year-old was 6-7 with a 4.62 ERA in 18 starts last season with Toronto and 20 relief appearances with World Series champion Houston, which acquired him at the July 31 trade deadline. He is 102-99 in a 12-year Career.
Tigers General Manager Al Avila said it has not been decided whether Liriano will start or pitch in relief.
“He told us he would like to start but if we needed him to work out of the bullpen, he would do that also,” Avila said. “We do have some question marks. It’s good to know you have a versatile guy that’s very experienced.”
PADRES: Fernando Tatis Jr. wasted no time in showing how much talent he has.
One of baseball’s top prospects and the son of a former major leaguer, Tatis hit a monster opposite-field home run in his second at-bat in the Padres’ spring opener against the Seattle Mariners.
“It feels awesome, man,” said Tatis, who turned 19 last month. “I’ve been working hard for this, being here now and trying to show off what I’ve got, and just working.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.