NEW YORK — Tim McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country’s most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Thursday. He was 81.

McCarver’s death was announced by baseball’s Hall of Fame, which said he died Thursday morning in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was with his family.

Among the few players to appear in major league games during four different decades, McCarver was a two-time All Star who worked closely with two future Hall of Fame pitchers: The tempestuous Bob Gibson, whom McCarver caught for St. Louis in the 1960s, and the introverted Steve Carlton, McCarver’s fellow Cardinal in the ’60s and a Philadelphia Phillies teammate in the 1970s. He switched to television soon after retiring in 1980 and became best known to national audiences for his 18-year partnership on Fox with play-by-play man Joe Buck.

“I think there is a natural bridge from being a catcher to talking about the view of the game and the view of the other players,” McCarver told the Hall in 2012, the year he and Buck were given the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting. “It is translating that for the viewers. One of the hard things about television is staying contemporary and keeping it simple for the viewers.”

PADRES: Right-hander Michael Wacha and San Diego finalized a contract that guarantees $26 million over four seasons and could be worth $39 million over three years.

Wacha, a 31-year-old who was 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts for the Boston Red Sox last year, gets a $3.5 million signing bonus and a $4 million salary this year. San Diego must decide after this year’s World Series whether to exercise $16 million options for both 2024 and 2025.

If the Padres decline their options, Wacha would decide whether to exercise player options at $6.5 million for 2024 and $6 million for each of the following two years. Wacha could earn $2 million in performance bonuses this year for starts and under any season of the player options: $500,000 each for 20 and 25 and $1 million for 30.

METS: Carlos Beltrán is joining the Mets as a special assistant to General Manager Billy Eppler, his first work with a team since he lost his job as New York’s manager for his role in the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal.

Beltrán was hired on Nov. 1, 2019, to replace Mickey Callaway as Mets manager. The Mets announced Beltrán’s departure the following Jan. 16 without his managing a game.

Beltrán’s departure was announced three days after he was the only Astros player mentioned by name in Major League Baseball’s report that concluded the team broke rules by using electronics to steal signs en route to the 2017 World Series title.

ANGELS: Shohei Ohtani is concentrating on what could be his final season with Los Angeles and not on free agency next fall.

“This is my last year, I’m aware of this. As of now I’m an Angel and that’s all I’m focused on,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara on Thursday.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said the two-way star will be on the mound for the March 30 opener at Oakland, which Ohtani called “a great honor.” First, Ohtani will report to Japan for the World Baseball Classic.

While Ohtani said he is open to a long-term contract with the Angels, he said repeatedly he wants to focus on 2023.

“I’m not really an expert on the free-agent market,” he said. “I’ve never been through it, so I don’t know what it feels like.”

• Left-hander Matt Moore and the Angels agreed to a $7.55 million one-year contract. Moore was a fulltime reliever for the first time last season, going 5-2 with a five saves and a 1.93 ERA for Texas. He struck out 83 and walked 38 in 74 innings, holding opponents to a .187 batting average.

Moore is 61-62 with a 4.45 ERA in 11 seasons for Tampa Bay (2011-16), San Francisco (2016-17), Texas (2018, 2022), Detroit (2019) and Philadelphia (2021). He spent 2020, with Fukuoka in Japan’s Pacific League.

PHILLIES: Right-handed reliever Seranthony Domínguez and Philadelphia agreed to a $7.25 million, two-year contract that avoided salary arbitration.

Dominguez gets $2.5 million this season and $4.25 million next year. The deal includes an $8 million team option for 2025 with a $500,000 buyout. He had asked for a raise from $727,500 to $2.9 million when the sides swapped proposed arbitration salaries last month and the Phillies submitted $2.1 million

MARINERS: Seattle outfielder Taylor Trammell will have surgery on his broken right hand and is expected to need six to seven weeks to recover.

Trammell was injured when he was hit by a pitch during a workout before spring training started this week, team president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said.

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