INDIANS
Deal near for Crisp
CLEVELAND -- A person familiar with the trade said the Cleveland Indians are nearing a deal to acquire outfielder Coco Crisp from the Oakland Athletics.
The exchange has been agreed to by both teams, said the person who spoke Tuesday night to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has to be approved by Major League Baseball.
The trade would have to be official by Wednesday for Crisp to be eligible for the postseason. The Indians entered Tuesday leading the AL Central by 4 1/2 games.
Cleveland has a need for outfield depth because left fielder Michael Brantley is out for the season following surgery and Abraham Almonte is ineligible for the playoffs following a PED suspension.
The 36-year-old Crisp is batting .234 with 11 homers and 47 RBIs in 102 games this season. He previously played in Cleveland from 2002-05.
PIRATES
Cole confident of return
CHICAGO -- Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole expressed confidence he'll return this season after returning to the team and playing catch Tuesday.
Cole was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday and traveled to Los Angeles for a second opinion with a specialist, who confirmed posterior elbow inflammation.
"This is very encouraging news," Pirates trainer Todd Tomczyk said. "He is now focused on how he is going to help this team win some ballgames the rest of the season."
Pittsburgh entered Tuesday night's game against the Cubs 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second NL wild card.
Cole, 7-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 20 starts, played catch in right field with Tomczyk before Tuesday's game as pitching coach Ray Searage looked on.
"It's comforting to have confirmation that you'll be OK," Cole said.
Cole is on the DL retroactive to last Thursday, meaning he is eligible to return Sept. 9.
Cole had a 6.08 ERA in five August starts and said he alerted the team of a "level of discomfort that was concerning" after allowing five runs and seven hits in five innings last Wednesday against Houston.
Polo, Tarpley to Yankees
The Pirates have sent outfielder Tito Polo and left-hander Stephen Tarpley to the New York Yankees to complete the Aug. 1 deal in which Pittsburgh acquired right-hander Ivan Nova.
In five starts with the Pirates Nova has gone 4-0 with a 2.87 ERA and one complete game. He has struck out 22 and walked one.
Overall this season, the 29-year-old has gone 11-6 with a 4.41 ERA and three complete games, including one shutout.
Polo, 22, hit .289 with 16 home runs in 109 games between Class A Bradenton and West Virginia this season and was selected as a South Atlantic League Midseason All-Star.
Tarpley, 23, was 6-4 with a 4.32 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 100 innings in 20 starts with Class A Bradenton.
METS
Matz no-go on Thursday
Steven Matz will not start for the Mets on Thursday because of continued shoulder stiffness that the lefty on Tuesday called "irritation in the rotator cuff."
Matz, who was scheduled to come off the disabled list to face the Marlins on Thursday, felt the stiffness when he tried to throw on Tuesday. He will rest and get treatment, and while Matz and the Mets say they hope he can return this season, it's not clear that he will be able to.
"I don't quite feel like I can let it go yet," Matz said. "So [I] talked to them and the training staff and that's the decision, to just get some more rest. Let it calm down ... . The doctor said everything structurally looks OK. Just classic impingement, I guess, it what you can call it."
The Mets are calling it more bad injury luck. Manager Terry Collins said he hoped he'd see Matz on the mound again this season, but admitted he's concerned that isn't going to happen.
"Yes, I am," Collins said. "We've had him looked at. The reports are there's no structural damage, so we're not worried about rotator-cuff stuff, we're not worried about torn labrums. We're worried about a stiffness in his shoulder that is keeping him from being confident that he can pitch. He's too valuable down the road to just continue to push it and say, 'You're going out there anyway.' "
Collins may not have had the latest information when he said Matz didn't have a rotator cuff issue. Matz, who spoke after the manager informed the media of the new problem, said he's been told "this is not a surgery-type deal."
Collins said Jacob deGrom would replace Matz on Thursday. DeGrom had his most recent start skipped because of ineffectiveness. He was originally slated to return on Friday.
Sports on 08/31/2016