Year

With an opening for a designated hitter and a need for more power in the lineup, the Minnesota Twins found quite a fit on the free agent market with a six-time All-Star in Nelson Cruz. They’ll be counting on his impact beyond the middle of the batting order. There’s a clubhouse filled with still-developing players who could use his wisdom, too. The Twins signed Cruz to a one-year, $14.3 million contract that comes with a $12 million club option for 2020, formalizing Wednesday their addition of a player whose 203 home runs over the previous five seasons are the most […]

Japanese pitching sensation Yusei Kikuchi is coming to Major League Baseball after reportedly agreeing to a deal with the Seattle Mariners, according to Fancred’s Jon Heyman.  Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported the deal is for four years. The 27-year-old spent his entire career with the Seibu Lions of the Pacific League prior to coming to terms with Seattle. The left-hander had a 2.81 ERA with 925 strikeouts, 1.177 WHIP and 838 hits allowed over 1,035.1 innings in 163 appearances since 2011.  The Lions posted Kikuchi for MLB teams to make a bid on Dec. 3. He figured to generate significant interest because of his age, high level of performance in […]