UNDATED (AP) — A person familiar with the deal tells AP that All-Star third baseman José Ramírez and the Cleveland Guardians have reached agreement on a five-year, $124 million contract extension. Ramírez’s deal runs through the 2028 season, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because numerous details need to be finalized. The Guardians open the 2022 season in Kansas City on Thursday. Ramírez is one of the AL’s best all-around players. He’s finished in the top three in MVP voting three times in the past five seasons.
In other MLB news:
— Second-year right-hander Tylor Megill has been given the opening day starting assignment for the New York Mets against the Washington Nationals. The Mets do not have Cy Young Award winners Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer available for Game 1. And Scherzer’s status for Game 2 is still uncertain. The Nationals will send left-hander Patrick Corbin to the mound on Thursday.
— The Texas Rangers have arrived in Toronto for their season-opening series. Canada requires all visitors to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 at least 14 days prior to entry. Before returning to the United States after the three-game weekend series in Toronto, they all will have to provide a negative COVID-19 viral test taken no earlier than Saturday, or provide documentation of having recovered from the virus in the 90 days before the trip. The Rangers play their home opener Monday against Colorado.
— The Minnesota Twins are delaying their season opener until Friday due to expected bad weather. The Twins were due to open at Target Field on Thursday against the Seattle Mariners, but the forecast calls for a rain-snow mix and cold conditions.
— All-Star outfielder Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals agreed to a restructured contract in which the club exercised its option for next season and the sides added a mutual option for the 2024 season. Merrifield, who made his second All-Star team last season, will make $7 million this season with $2.75 million with up to $4 million in escalators. The mutual option is for $18 million with a $500,000 buyout.
— Former All-Star CC Sabathia has been hired as a special assistant to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. The 41-year-old retired after the 2019 season. Sabathia will work with The Players Alliance. He is a vice president of that group’s board and is working to increase Blacks in the major leagues.
— The Los Angeles Dodgers and veteran right-hander Dellin Betances have agreed to a minor league contract, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The 34-year-old Betances made four All-Star teams in eight seasons with the New York Yankees but hasn’t been a reliable contributor since 2018.
— The scheduled starting time for the opening day matchup between the New York Mets and Washington Nationals has been pushed back three hours because of rain in the forecast. Washington announced Wednesday that the Nationals and Mets agreed to play each other on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. EDT instead of 4:05 p.m. EDT. The season-opening four-game series between the NL East rivals is at Nationals Park.
— Major League Baseball and NBC agreed to a new Sunday morning package of broadcast streams that will start at 11:30 a.m. and noon EDT. The deal requires all other big league games on those days to be scheduled to start no earlier than 1:30 p.m. The package announced starts May 8, with the Chicago White Sox at the Boston Red Sox.
