ROYALS
Infante free agent
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Veteran infielder Omar Infante cleared waivers Thursday and became a free agent.
Infante was designated for assignment June 15 by the Kansas City Royals, who chose to pay him the nearly $14 million remaining on his contract rather than let him ride the bench as a utility player.
Infante spent his first six seasons in Detroit. He later played for Atlanta, earning an All-Star nod with the Braves in 2010, and briefly spent time in Miami before returning to the Tigers for two more seasons.
But after signing with Kansas City, the career .271 hitter began a slow decline, his bat speed and fielding ability no longer what it was in his prime. He hit only eight homers with the Royals, two fewer than his final season with Detroit.
METS
Injured pair OK
ATLANTA -- New York Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes should miss no more than a couple of games and pitcher Noah Syndergaard is expected to make his next start.
A day after both players were hurt in a victory over Kansas City, the Mets said Thursday that neither injury was significant.
Cespedes, who's third in the NL with 18 home runs, was not in the lineup Thursday at Atlanta after having a cortisone shot in his left wrist. He's been bothered by the pain over the last week, but didn't tell Manager Terry Collins until Wednesday.
"Right now I'm ready to play," Cespedes said through a translator. "The manager said he was going to give me a day off."
Syndergaard, who ranks sixth in the NL in both ERA and strikeouts, was prescribed anti-inflammatory medication for his right elbow. An MRI showed nothing wrong with the structure of his elbow.
Syndergaard had a similar problem in a start May 2 against the San Francisco Giants.
"It flares up every so often," Collins said. "Certainly I'm glad there's nothing wrong structurally but I was real concerned about Cespedes because he never says anything. So for him to say something, I was concerned about it."
Cespedes dealt with a similar injury three years ago when he played for Oakland. Collins knows that hand and wrist injuries sometimes heal slowly for hitters.
"That's one of the reasons I wanted him to rest tonight," Collins said. "Let that shot take effect and see how he feels tomorrow."
Already missing David Wright, Lucas Duda, Juan Lagares and Zack Wheeler, Collins appreciated Syndergaard speaking up that he didn't feel right. It was obvious, though, that something was amiss when Syndergaard's fastball velocity dropped from 98 to 93 mph.
CUBS
Rizzo misses 2nd start
MIAMI -- Cubs Manager Joe Maddon said he might need to monitor first baseman Anthony Rizzo more closely to ensure his health for the rest of the season. The usually durable slugger missed his second start in 14 days Thursday because of back stiffness.
"I have no problem with giving him a day off," said Maddon, who acknowledged starting position players such as Rizzo don't like to sit out. "It's a prideful thing."
Maddon gave Rizzo a day off June 10 against the Braves because of back stiffness, only for it to return Wednesday during the Cubs' loss to the Cardinals.
"We need a good open conversation so that we don't hurt him," said Maddon, adding that he has tried to be proactive in giving Rizzo days off. "I don't think it's anything significant other than stiffness."
Rizzo played in 160 games in 2013 and 2015, but a lower-back strain limited him to 140 in 2014. He said his back was tight when he woke up Thursday and he hoped treatment would eventually loosen it.
"This is totally different than what it was before," Rizzo said. "It's just a different feeling. I've had this before, but this is just being smart and cautious about it.
"I'm sure everyone's had back problems before. It just comes out of nowhere."
MARINERS
Minor leaguer suspended
NEW YORK -- Seattle Mariners minor league outfielder Boog Powell has been suspended 80 games for violating Major League Baseball's drug agreement after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance.
The commissioner's office made the announcement Thursday. It was Powell's second penalty for a banned substance.
Powell, 23, not related to the former Baltimore slugger of the 1960s and 1970s, was on Seattle's 40-man roster. He hasn't played in the majors.
Powell was hitting .270 with 27 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 64 games at Class AAA Tacoma, playing center field.
He tested positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, an anabolic steroid used to increase speed and strength. He was banned 50 games in 2014 after a positive test for an amphetamine.
In a statement, Powell said he accepts the penalty but does not know how the substance could have been in his system.
There have been 12 players suspended this year under the big league drug program.
Sports on 06/24/2016