UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have fired hitting coach Terry Bradshaw and promoted Alex Zumwalt in a shakeup of the coaching staff that they hope will wake up one of the worst offenses in the majors.
The Royals have scored 118 runs through their first 32 games, better only than the Tigers, Orioles and White Sox. Their 21 home runs trail only the Tigers and Red Sox for the worst total in the big leagues.
In other MLB news:
—Gerardo Parra says he is retiring from baseball after 12 seasons in the major leagues and will become a special assistant to Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo. Parra, who is 35, became a fan favorite as he helped Washington win the 2019 World Series, making “Baby Shark” his walkup song. He hit .237 with 90 homers and 532 RBIs.
—Mariners left-hander Robbie Ray isn’t joining Seattle for a series in Toronto this week, missing a chance to celebrate the Cy Young Award he won with the Blue Jays last season amid border restrictions related to the COVID-19 vaccine.
—New York Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes says he deactivated his Twitter account after screenshots surfaced of tweets from a decade ago that included racial slurs. Cortes appeared to be quoting rap lyrics in at least some of the tweets. Cortes said Monday he felt it wasn’t the right message he wanted to send out.
—A man walking on a footbridge to a Detroit Tigers game says he fell 15 feet to the ground when part of the concrete collapsed. Ely Hydes said the incident occurred May 9. But the bridge over the Lodge Freeway still was open until The Detroit News reached out to the state Transportation Department on Sunday.
—The Seattle Mariners put Drew Steckenrider on the restricted list before a three-game series at the Toronto Blue Jays, a move that could cost the right-hander $51,099 of his $3.1 million salary. To enter the country, the Canadian government requires a person to have received a second COVID-19 vaccine dose — or one dose of Johnson & Johnson — at least 14 days before entry.
