BOSTON — First baseman Mitch Moreland is staying with the Boston Red Sox, agreeing Tuesday to a one-year contract that guarantees $3 million.

Moreland gets a $2.5 million salary this year, and Boston has a $3 million team option for 2021 with a $500,000 buyout.

The 34-year-old hit .252 with 19 homers and 58 RBI in 91 games last year, going on the injured list for a strained lower back and a strained right quadriceps. He batted .297 with six homers from Aug. 9 through the end of the season.

He was an All-Star in 2018, when he hit .245 with 16 homers and 68 RBI for the World Series champion Red Sox. He had a pinch three-run homer off the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ryan Madson with two outs in the seventh inning of World Series Game 4, starting Boston’s comeback from a 4-0 deficit in a 9-6 win.

Moreland spent seven seasons with Texas before joining the Red Sox before the 2017 season.

Right-hander Denyi Reyes, who pitched for the Portland Sea Dogs last season, was designated for assignment to open a roster spot.

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ASTROS: Dusty Baker is working to finalize an agreement to become manager of the Houston Astros, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been completed.

Baker, 70, becomes the oldest manager in the big leagues. He takes over from AJ Hinch, who was fired Jan. 13 just an hour after he was suspended for the season by Major League Baseball for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.

Baker’s hiring is a sign the AL champions want to bring an old-school mentality and stern presence to a franchise reeling from the dismissal of Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow. Baker has 22 years of managerial experience, starting in 1993 with the San Francisco Giants.

A three-time National League Manager of the Year, Baker last managed the Washington Nationals, who let him go after a 97-65 season in 2017.

Since 2018 Baker has served as a special adviser to Giants CEO Larry Baer, working in the baseball and business operations of the club. He regularly attended son Darren’s college games at the University of California in Berkeley.

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Now Baker will chase his first title as a manager with a team that returns the bulk of its roster from last year that reached the World Series for the second time in three years before losing to the Nationals.

Baker was voted Manager of the Year in his first season with San Francisco in 1993, when he helped the Giants to a 103-59 record. He won the award again in 1997 and 2000 with the Giants, and led San Francisco to the 2002 World Series, a seven-game loss to the Anaheim Angels.

METS: Former All-Star infielder Eduardo Nunez has agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Mets and will report to big league spring training

Nunez, 32, has a .276 average with 58 homers, 309 RBI and 141 steals in 10 big league seasons with the New York Yankees (2010-13), Minnesota (2014-16), San Francisco (2016-17) and Boston (2017-19). He was an All-Star in 2016 and homered in the 2018 World Series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

CUBS: The Chicago Cubs are taking another low-risk chance on an oft-injured reliever, agreeing to an $850,000, one-year contract with Jeremy Jeffress.

Jeffress, 32, can earn an additional $200,000 in incentives.

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Jeffress was one of baseball’s most dominant relievers in 2018, making the All-Star team for the first time while going 8-1 with a 1.29 ERA and 15 saves for Milwaukee. The right-hander made a career-high 73 appearances for the NL Central champions, and then pitched in eight games in the playoffs.

Jeffress was slowed by right shoulder weakness during spring training last year. He also spent time on the injured list with a strained left hip before he was cut by the Brewers on Sept. 1.

He finished 2019 with a 3-4 record and a 5.02 ERA in 48 games.

GIANTS: The San Francisco Giants’ aggressive pursuit of minor league free agents continued as they reportedly agreed to terms with former Chicago White Sox second baseman Yolmer Sánchez.

Sánchez, 27, has spent the last three seasons as the White Sox starting second baseman, but was non-tendered this winter despite taking home the 2019 American League Gold Glove at his position.

NATIONALS: Ryan Zimmerman and the World Series champion Washington Nationals finalized a $2 million, one-year contract .

BREWERS: Oft-injured pitcher Shelby Miller re-signed with the Milwaukee Brewers, agreeing to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to major league spring training camp.


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