BASEBALL
Big Mets, Mariners trade?
The New York Mets and Seattle Mariners are engaged in trade talks about a potential blockbuster that would send second baseman Robinson Cano and All-Star closer Edwin Diaz to Queens, but no deal was close to completion as of midday Thursday, a source said. Among the most prominent unanswered questions regarding such a trade: How much of Cano's contract would Seattle pay and which prospects are the Mets comfortable giving up? Cano, 36 and coming off a season in which he served an 80-game PED suspension, is owed $120 million over the next five years, the back half of one of the largest contracts in baseball history. In his previous career as a player agent, Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen negotiated Cano's 10-year, $240 million deal with the Mariners after the 2013 season. The Mariners, embarking on a rebuild that has already included a trade of lefthander James Paxton to the Yankees and catcher Mike Zunino to the Rays, are motivated to dump Cano's contract, so much so that they are willing to pay it down and perhaps include Diaz in the same trade, according to multiple reports.
Cubs trade La Stella
The Chicago Cubs on Thursday traded infielder Tommy La Stella to the Los Angeles Angels for a player to be named later or cash, avoiding a salary arbitration case. The La Stella trade comes one day after the Cubs acquired infielder Ronald Torreyes from the Yankees. Torreyes, 26, can play all three infield positions and was projected to earn $900,000, according to MLBtraderumors.com. That figure was $300,000 less than what La Stella was projected to earn. Torreyes' versatility becomes more essential with shortstop Addison Russell in the midst of a 40-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic-violence policy and won't be eligible to return until May 3. La Stella, 29, set a single-season franchise record with 24 pinch hits in 2018. He batted .273 during his four seasons with the Cubs after being dealt from the Braves for reliever Arodys Vizcaino in November of 2014. But La Stella was relegated to pinch-hitting duties for most of 2018, although he did start 12 games at third base and 10 at second base.
Rockies, Rusin agree
Left-handed reliever Chris Rusin and the Colorado Rockies have agreed to one-year contract worth $1,687,500, a deal with a $400,000 raise that avoided salary arbitration. Under the terms of the deal announced Thursday, Rusin would earn an additional $50,000 should he make the All-Star Game. The 32-year-old was 2-3 with a 6.09 ERA in 49 appearances last season. In the postseason, Rusin threw four scoreless innings. Rusin had a phenomenal 2017 season when he went 5-1 with a 2.65 ERA.
Padres, Richards sign
The San Diego Padres have agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent starting pitcher Garrett Richards. The 30-year-old right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in July and is not expected to pitch this season, so he is certainly not the veteran who will fill the need the team has identified in its rotation. Richards has started just 28 games (138 2/3 innings) in the past three seasons due to various arm ailments. When healthy, he has been effective. Richards has a 3.15 ERA with 1.17 walks and hits per innings pitched over his past 86 starts, dating to the beginning of the 2014 season. That includes a 3.66 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 16 starts in 2018. Terms of the deal were not reported, but the Padres are obviously banking on Richards to be part of their 2020 campaign. Sources reported the two-year deal is worth about $15 million in guaranteed money with a maximum value of about $18 million.
GOLF
Reed, Cantlay tied for lead
Tiger Woods' return to tournament competition didn't start nearly as well as his last one ended. Woods had a chip roll back into the hazard for a triple bogey Thursday, leading to a 1-over 73 that left him eight shots behind world-traveling Patrick Reed and late-entry Patrick Cantlay in the Hero World Challenge at Nassau, Bahamas. Reed didn't show any sign of fatigue in his travels from Dubai to Hong Kong to the Bahamas in successive weeks. He birdied three of his last five holes for a 7-under 65. Cantlay, added to the field when Webb Simpson withdrew, birdied five of his last six holes for a 65. Woods was never under par at any point and was one of just three players in the 18-man field who were over par.
Pair shares lead in Mauritius
Victor Perez continued his fabulous start on the European Tour by sharing the first-round lead with an 8-under 64 at the Mauritius Open on Thursday. Perez and Chikkarangappa S. are the co-leaders on the second weekend of the tour's 2019 season. Perez finished in a tie for third at the season-opening Hong Kong Open last weekend after graduating from the Challenge Tour. The Frenchman began at the Four Seasons Golf Course in Mauritius with nine birdies and a single bogey. Perez and Chikkarangappa have a one-shot advantage over a trio of golfers: Masahiro Kawamura, Kurt Kitayama and Jaco van Zyl, who was the early clubhouse leader. Ernie Els, who designed the Four Seasons course, opened with a 3-under 69 as did defending champion Dylan Frittelli. They are in a tie for 22nd.
FOOTBALL
Flacco back at practice
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco returned to practice Thursday for the first time since suffering a right hip injury more than three weeks ago. Flacco participated in throwing drills with Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin III but appeared limited. It's unclear whether he will be available for the Ravens' game Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons; players and coordinators were available only before the portion of practice open to media. Flacco had not practiced since before the Ravens' Week 9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a stretch of seven practices. With Flacco inactive for the past two games, Jackson has led the Ravens to victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders.
OLYMPICS
Sweden, Italy want '26 games
After finding it difficult to sell the 2026 Winter Olympics, the IOC finally has two countries that are all in: Sweden and Italy. It's Stockholm, the capital of Sweden and the self-described capital of Scandinavia, up against a joint Italian bid of Milan -- a global fashion capital -- and the ski resort of Cortina d' Ampezzo. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and the IOC have what they want: bids that will take the Winter Olympics back to a traditional venue after winter games in Russia, South Korea and, in 2022, Beijing. China got the games by attrition, winning by four votes over Almaty, Kazakhstan, after a half-dozen European bidders dropped out, discouraged by soaring costs and taxpayer backlash. For 2026, it seems different with the IOC picking the winner in June in Lausanne, Switzerland. Sweden was host to the 1912 Olympics, but has never held the Winter Games. Italy has held two Winter Olympics -- 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo and 2006 in Turin -- and the Summer Games in Rome in 1960. Both bidders said they are almost ready to go with little to build. The IOC said Stockholm would construct three new venues, and Italy will need one. The rest of the venues in both bids will be temporary, existing, or existing venues that will be refurbished. Both said their operating budgets will be about $1.5 billion, which is the budget for running the games themselves. Both downplay the need for much government spending, although Olympic costs -- always difficult to track -- often double or triple.
Sports on 11/30/2018