BASEBALL
A-Rod to be DH
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says Alex Rodriguez's days as an everyday fielder are over and he hopes A-Rod will be New York's fulltime designated hitter. Chase Headley will be the Yankees' starting third baseman after agreeing to a $52 million, four-year deal. Cashman said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that "I can't expect Alex to be anything." He adds: "Even before the suspension, he wasn't the same player at third base on the defensive or offensive side." Rodriguez is coming off a season-long suspension for violations of baseball's drug agreement and labor contract and is owed $61 million over the final three seasons of his contract. Cashman says: "We look forward to him hopefully solidifying himself as a tremendous DH for us."
• Chris Capuano is staying with the New York Yankees, just like fellow free agents Chase Headley and Chris Young. The 36-year-old left-hander agreed Tuesday to a $5 million, one-year contract. He started last season with Boston and had a 4.55 ERA in 28 relief appearances. He was released July 1 and signed with Colorado three days later but never made it to the majors with the Rockies. New York purchased his contract July 24, and he was 2-3 with a 4.25 ERA in 12 starts for the Yankees. Capuano joins a rotation projected to have Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda and David Phelps or Adam Warren, with Ivan Nova returning from elbow surgery in May or June. Young, a backup outfielder, agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract. Headley, who figures to start at third base, accepted a $52 million, four-year deal. Like Capuano, Headley and Young were acquired last season. New York's most prominent addition has been left-hander Andrew Miller, who reached a $36 million, four-year agreement and will compete with Dellin Betances to replace David Robertson as closer.
• A South Florida businessman has pleaded guilty to illegally helping finance the smuggling of Los Angeles Dodgers star Yasiel Puig out of Cuba. Gilberto Suarez entered the plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Robert Scola, who set a March 6 sentencing date. The alien smuggling conspiracy charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. Investigators say Suarez was one of the Miami-based financiers of the 2012 smuggling venture in which Puig was taken by boat from Cuba to Mexico. The financiers were to receive a cut of the seven-year, $42 million contract Puig later signed with the Dodgers. Court documents show Suarez got $2.5 million from Puig's contract. He agreed to forfeit a house, a condominium and a Mercedes-Benz traceable to the Puig contract to the government.
• The Kansas City Royals have finalized a $17 million, two-year deal with veteran slugger Kendrys Morales. Morales gives the Royals a new designated hitter after Billy Butler agreed to a free agent deal with Oakland. Kansas City will hope last season was an aberration for Morales, who hit .218 with eight home runs and 42 RBI in 98 games with the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners. Two years ago, Morales hit .277 with 23 home runs for Seattle. The 31-year-old Morales will get $6.5 million next year and $9 million in 2016. The deal includes an $11 million mutual option for 2017 with a $1.5 million buyout. Morales can make an additional $750,000 in performance bonuses in each of the first two seasons based on plate appearances.
• The Texas Rangers on Tuesday completed the details on a one-year deal for right-handed reliever Kyuji Fujikawa. He will receive a base salary of $1 million with incentives based on appearances and innings. The Rangers hold an option on Fujikawa for 2016. Fujikawa, 34, was a star reliever for 12 seasons with Hanshin of the Japan Pacific League. He joined the Chicago Cubs in 2013 but made only 12 appearances before undergoing Tommy John surgery. Fujikawa returned late last season and had a 4.85 ERA with 26 baserunners allowed in 13 innings.
• Right-hander Gavin Floyd has agreed to a $4 million, one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians, giving him a chance to make a comeback from his latest elbow surgery. The deal, announced Tuesday, allows him to earn an additional $6 million in performance bonuses. The 31-year-old broke a bone in his elbow while throwing a curveball with Atlanta last June. He had surgery and couldn't resume throwing until after the season. That injury occurred during his ninth start since returning from Tommy John elbow-ligament replacement surgery. Floyd is 72-72 with a 4.40 ERA in 196 starts and 12 relief appearances with Philadelphia, the Chicago White Sox and the Braves. His best season was 2008, when he went 17-8 with a 3.84 ERA in 33 starts for the White Sox.
• The Los Angeles Angels have acquired outfielder Matt Joyce from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-handed reliever Kevin Jepsen. The clubs announced the deal Tuesday. Joyce batted .254 with nine home runs and 52 RBI last season, his seventh in the majors and sixth with Tampa Bay. The 2011 All-Star and Tampa native has 88 home runs and 313 RBI in his career. Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto says he envisions Joyce as their primary designated hitter next season, supplanting youngster C.J. Cron. Jepsen was the Angels' seventh-inning specialist last season, his seventh with the Angels. He established career bests with 65 innings pitched, 75 strikeouts and a 2.63 ERA. Jepsen was drafted by the Angels in 2002. He ranks fifth in franchise history with 315 appearances.
GOLF
McIlroy player of year
Rory McIlroy has been chosen as the European Tour player of the year, capping a season in which he won two majors, the Ryder Cup, and topped the money lists in Europe and the United States. McIlroy, the world No. 1, won his maiden British Open title by two strokes over Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia at Royal Liverpool in July, and less than a month later earned a second U.S. PGA Championship at Valhalla, finishing a shot clear of Phil Mickelson. Between McIlroy's third and fourth major victories, the Northern Irishman won the World Golf Championship event at Firestone for the first time, again with a two-shot victory over Garcia. Overall, he took four big titles over three months, starting in May at the tour's flagship event at Wentworth, where he edged Shane Lowry by a shot on a course where he missed the halfway cut the previous two years. That victory came days after cancelling a wedding and relationship with tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. At the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September, McIlroy won three points as Europe successfully defended the title. "If I had won any one of those four titles it would have been a good year, but to win all four, to win The Race to Dubai, and to be part of another fantastic European victory in the Ryder Cup, means it is a great one," McIlroy said. "The European Tour has always been good to me, so it is always special to be recognized in this way."
OLYMPICS
U.S. wants Summer Games
The U.S. Olympic Committee has decided to bid for the 2024 Olympics, hoping to bring the Summer Games back to America after a 28-year absence. The USOC board heard presentations from four candidate cities Tuesday -- Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington -- and voted to enter a field that already includes Rome and either Hamburg or Berlin, with Paris likely to join. A decision on which city the U.S. will put forward for a bid is expected next month. The United States hasn't hosted a Summer Games since the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. The country's last two tries have been flops, with New York (2012) and Chicago (2016) each finishing fourth in voting. The USOC chose not to bid for the 2020 Games, which will take place in Tokyo.
Sports on 12/17/2014