DENVER — Nolan Arenado likes where he’s at and the direction the Colorado Rockies are headed.
So he’s staying put. For possibly a long, long time. And for a chance to finish what this team has been brewing.
The All-Star third baseman agreed to a $260 million, eight-year contract on Tuesday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
Arenado’s agreement includes a provision that allows him to opt out after three years and become a free agent.
If the deal is finalized, Arenado’s $32.5 million average annual value would be the second-highest in baseball history behind the $34.42 million for pitcher Zack Greinke in a $206.5 million contract with Arizona that began in 2016. Arenado’s deal would replace a $26 million, one-year contract he agreed to Jan. 31.
DODGERS: Clayton Kershaw is not expected to play catch again until Thursday as the Dodgers address his throwing discomfort. The three-time NL Cy Young winner will not undergo an MRI, Manager Dave Roberts said.
“Nothing new, nothing new, we’re going to wait and see how it feels,” Roberts said Tuesday, affirming that at this point Kershaw remains the Opening Day starter, a status he’s held the past eight seasons.
The ace left-hander was shut down late last week with discomfort in the shoulder. When asked his level of concern, Roberts said, “I am not trying to get too much into overthinking it. Once he picks up the ball on Thursday, then we’ll reassess.”
METS: Third baseman Todd Frazier injured his left oblique muscle and will return to New York for a cortisone injection, the second Mets infielder to get hurt at spring training after fellow infielder Jed Lowrie.
The 33-year-old Frazier had an MRI that revealed the injury.
CARDINALS: St. Louis and Opening Day starter Miles Mikolas are finalizing a four-year extension, according to multiple sources, one saying the $68 million deal starts in 2020 and goes through 2023.
• Right-hander Carlos Martinez had an injection to stimulate healing in his weak pitching shoulder, and likely will not be in the starting rotation to start the season.
St. Louis said Tuesday that Martinez will not throw for two weeks after he received a platelet rich plasma injection on Monday at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze.
“We’ll evaluate his role at that point,” Cardinals Manager Mike Shildt said.
RANGERS: Logan Forsythe agreed to a minor league contract with Texas and will be at major league spring training.
A REQUEST from Major League Baseball to gambling regulators to ban betting on spring training games was quickly rejected in Nevada and is under consideration in at least three other states that recently legalized sports betting.
The league asked for the ban last Wednesday – the day before the first scheduled spring training game – arguing in letters to regulators that the exhibition games are “more vulnerable to manipulation” because teams are focused on getting players ready for the season, not on winning.
MLB said its concerns have grown because of the spread of legal sports gambling after a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last year opened the possibility of new American markets.
The games have historically attracted little to no betting action in Nevada, where casinos in Las Vegas and elsewhere have taken bets on spring training games for decades.
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