Baseball

There's a new No. 2 in the New York Yankees' rotation behind Gerrit Cole. A familiar face is getting a fresh start leading the Cincinnati Reds. Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani & Co. are preparing a title defense .

PHOENIX (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers added a rotation candidate Wednesday, agreeing to a $1 million, one-year contract with 30-year-old left-hander Tyler Alexander.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Roki Sasaki was warming up for his bullpen on a cool, breezy Wednesday morning at Camelback Ranch, when the right-hander let loose a fastball that sailed past catcher Austin Barnes and clanged against the chain-link fence.

Life changed for José Bautista after his momentous bat-flip homer, but the former Toronto Blue Jays slugger felt rewarded with the blast's impact on Canadian baseball from coast to coast to coast.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani plans to throw his first bullpen this weekend as he aims to return to the mound from a one-season pitching layoff caused by elbow surgery.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon needs hip surgery and will be out for an extended period, his latest major injury setback since joining Los Angeles.

CHICAGO (AP) — Center fielder Michael A. Taylor and the Chicago White Sox have agreed to a $1.95 million, one-year contract. Chicago announced the agreement Wednesday. Taylor spent last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, batting .

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Ke'Bryan Hayes is not entirely pain free. The Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman knows he may never be.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals split their first two salary arbitration cases, beating Brendan Donovan on Wednesday and losing to Lars Nootbaar in results that left teams ahead 4-3 with two decisions remaining.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto is likely to start for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they open the season against Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on March 18 and Roki Sasaki could make his major league debut the next day.