Báez to Detroit, MLB teams race to finish biz before lockout

NEW YORK (AP) — Javier Báez agreed to bring his high motor to the Motor City, while other teams around the majors raced to finish up business before Tuesday's deadline to tender contracts and a likely roster freeze coming when baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires Wednesday.

Clubs agreed to more than 30 one-year contracts with players to avoid salary arbitration, while 41 players were not tendered contracts and became free agents, including fan-favorite Brewers slugger Dan Vogelbach and Mets pitcher Robert Gsellman. The deadline for teams to offer contracts to players with less than six years of major league service was 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The biggest deal of the day went to Báez, a free agent infielder who agreed to a $140 million, six-year contract with Detroit, giving the Tigers a dynamic bat for the middle of their order.

The Chicago White Sox fortified their bullpen by signing right-hander Kendall Graveman to a $24 million, three-year deal, while Miami finalized a $56 million, five-year deal to keep right-hander Sandy Alcantara in the rotation for years to come. The Marlins also acquired All-Star infielder Joey Wendle from the Tampa Bay Rays for a minor league outfielder.

The flurry pushed spending in recent days to more than a billion dollars before what likely will be Major League Baseball's first work stoppage since 1995. The five-year collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. EST Wednesday, and owners are expected to lock out the players if the sides can’t reach a new labor deal in time.

“The last few weeks have been as active of a November as we’ve ever experienced," Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. "It’s been a lot of fun. My personal opinion is that we don’t need three, four months of winter to drag it out to...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/B-ez-to-Detroit-MLB-teams-race-to-finish-biz-16664714.php