SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres agreed to terms with second baseman Ian Kinsler on a two-year contract.
Kinsler, 36, is the second defection from the Red Sox this week, joining righty Joe Kelly, who agreed to a three-year deal with the Dodgers. The Sox did not make an effort to retain Kinsler, as they are counting on a healthy Dustin Pedroia to play second base next season.
Kinsler, who was acquired from the Angels at the trade deadline, hit .242 with one homer in 37 games with the Red Sox. He started eight postseason games, hitting .206 with three RBI and winning his first World Series ring after losing the championship series twice while with the Rangers earlier in his career.
The Red Sox have retained two of their four free agents who have agreed to deals this winter, re-signing Steve Pearce and Nathan Eovaldi while seeing Kinsler and Kelly leave.
YANKEES-RED SOX: The World Series champion Red Sox and the Yankees will open Major League Baseball’s first series in Britain with a night game and conclude the next day in the afternoon.
MLB said the June 29 game at London’s Olympic Stadium will start at 1:10 p.m. EDT and be broadcast in the United States by Fox as part of its Saturday “Game of the Week” coverage.
The following day’s game is set for 10:10 a.m. EDT and will be a “Sunday Morning Baseball” special event for ESPN.
Boston is the home team in both games.
ORIOLES: The Orioles hired Brandon Hyde to be their new manager, hoping his experience as Cubs bench coach will help the team move forward while in rebuilding mode.
WHITE SOX: Chicago answered one of its offseason questions, agreeing to a $2.5 million, one-year contract with catcher James McCann.
The White Sox had an opening at the position after trading Omar Narvaez to Seattle on Nov. 30 for reliever Alex Colome. They also lost Kevan Smith when he was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels in October.
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.