Freddie Freeman, Dodgers agree to 6-year, $162M deal: report

Freddie Freeman is headed home to Southern California and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The first-time free agent and the Dodgers have agreed to a $162 million US, six-year contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity late Wednesday night because the move had not yet been announced by the team.

Freeman was the 2020 National League MVP. The first baseman helped lead Atlanta to its fourth straight NL East title last season and their first World Series championship since 1995.

The Southern California native is a dual American-Canadian citizen, with both his parents being from Ontario.

Now the 32-year-old five-time All-Star will be playing not far from where he grew up in Orange County. He already lives in the area in the off-season.

Freeman is from Fountain Valley, where he rooted for the Los Angeles Angels as a kid.

Adding Freeman gives the Dodgers an even more imposing lineup. He'll join former MVPs Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger, along with Trea Turner, Max Muncy and Justin Turner. The lineup already was among the National League's best last year with 237 home runs and 5.12 runs per game to go with 612 walks and an OPS of .759.

Freeman gives the Dodgers a left-handed bat in the middle of the order to replace Corey Seager, who signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent.

Rockies reportedly add Bryant

Veteran slugger Kris Bryant has agreed to a $182 million, seven-year deal to join the Colorado Rockies, according to a person familiar with the agreement.

The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because its completion is pending a successful physical.

Bryant is headed to his third team in eight months after spending his first six major league seasons with the Chicago Cubs, who traded him to San Francisco last July.

The Rockies clearly liked what they saw: Bryant landed a huge free-agent deal to move to Colorado as a middle-of-the-order bat and a fielder who can play third base, first base or the outfield. Bryant also is an obvious candidate to join Charlie Blackmon among the Rockies' designated hitters.

The 2015 NL Rookie of the Year's right-handed swing also will offset the left-handed slant to the outfield lineup for the Rockies, who haven't won a playoff game since 2009.

They've made a major investment in being competitive in the NL West after their roster upheaval over the past year-plus, including last year's trade of Nolan Arenado and the impending probable departure of Trevor Story.

Bryant is a career .278 hitter with 167 homers and 487 RBIs, but he is about to get a full season of play at hitter-friendly Coors Field, where he has batted .263 (15-for-57) with two homers, nine RBIs and a .757 OPS.

Schwarber reportedly joins Phillies

Outfielder Kyle Schwarber agreed to a four-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies worth "just under $20 million" per season, The Athletic reported Wednesday.

The agreement is pending results of a physical.

Schwarber, 29, last season was selected to the all-star game for the first  time, as a member of the Washington Nationals. The Boston Red Sox then  acquired him before the trade deadline.

He finished the season with 32 homers, 71 runs batted in and a .266 batting average in 113 regular-season games.

He struggled for Boston in the loss to the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series, batting only .120, with one homer and four RBI in six games.

Schwarber was a member of the Chicago Cubs when they won the World Series in 2016. He played in two Series games, going hitless in four at-bats, with a walk.

Schwarber's best season was with the Cubs in 2019, when he had 38 homers, 92 RBI and a .250 batting average.

Back in NL Central

Andrew McCutchen is heading back to the National League Central after agreed to a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers announced they have finalized an agreement with the five-time all-star outfielder. McCutchen spent the first nine years of his career in the division with Pittsburgh and won the 2013 NL MVP.

McCutchen, 35, joins an outfield that already includes 2018 MVP Christian Yelich, two-time all-star Lorenzo Cain and Hunter Renfroe, who was acquired from the Boston Red Sox before the lockout. The Brewers also return Tyrone Taylor, who had a .778 OPS in 93 games last season.

He batted .222 with 27 homers and 80 RBI while posting a .334 on-base percentage and .444 slugging percentage in 144 games with the Philadelphia Phillies last season. But he hit .293 with a .405 on-base percentage against left-handers.

McCutchen also has a history of performing well in Milwaukee. He has batted .289 with a .350 on-base percentage, 23 homers and 61 RBI at American Family Field.

Rib injury sidelines Red Sox ace

Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale will miss opening day with a stress fracture in his rib cage.

Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom told reporters Wednesday that it would be "weeks, not days until we can get a ball back in his hand."

Sale said an MRI revealed the fracture in what he believed to be the eighth rib. He suffered the injury during the lockout but wasn't allowed to communicate it to the Red Sox until the new collective bargaining agreement was struck last Thursday.

Sale, 32, went 5-1 with a 3.16 earned-run average last season in his return from Tommy John surgery. The seven-time all-star missed nearly two years.

Sale is 114-74 with a 3.03 ERA in his career with the Chicago White Sox (2010-16) and Red Sox.

Cubs give Seiya Suzuki reported $85M US

Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki is set to join the Chicago Cubs on a five-year deal reportedly worth $85 million US.

Earlier reports put the value at $70 million. The $85 million will be on top of the $14.625 million posting fee, bringing the Cubs' total all-in to nearly $100 million.

Suzuki also gets a full no-trade clause in the deal, The Athletic reported.

The 27-year-old is considered a middle-of-the-order bat, with his 38 home runs last season in Japan and a .319 batting average.

Suzuki won the 2019 Central League batting title and is a past Home Run Derby champion known for tape-measure shots as a right-hander who could pepper Waveland Avenue at Wrigley Field.

The four-time all-star is also a three-time Gold Glove winner.

After nine seasons with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Nippon Professional Baseball, Suzuki posted to be eligible to play Major League Baseball on Nov. 22. Teams were not able to recruit or meet with Suzuki during the 99-day lockout.

Greinke returns to Royals

The Kansas City Royals signed six-time All-Star pitcher Zack Greinke to a $13 million contract for this season Wednesday, reuniting the left-hander with the club that drafted him in the first round two decades ago.

Greinke also can make up to $2 million in performance bonuses, a person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not disclosed.

The 38-year-old Greinke was the sixth overall pick of the Royals in the 2002 amateur draft, and he spent his first six seasons with the club, winning the Cy Young Award during his standout 2009 season. He was traded to the Brewers the following year for a package of players that formed the basis of the Royals' back-to-back AL champion teams.

Greinke spent just over a season in Milwaukee before his he was traded to the Angels, then spent three seasons across town with the Dodgers, where he finished second in Cy Young voting in 2015. Greinke went on to pitch four seasons for the Diamondbacks before spending the past three seasons with the Astros.

He went 11-6 with a 4.16 ERA and one complete game in 29 starts for Houston last season.

Greinke has 219 wins over 18 years in the big leagues, seven behind Justin Verlander among active pitchers, and he needs just 191 strikeouts to reach 3,000 for his career. Greinke also is a six-time Gold Glove winner.

Judge rules minor leaguers are year-round MLB employees

A federal judge ruled that minor leaguers are year-round employees who work during training time and found Major League Baseball violated Arizona state minimum wage law and is liable for triple damages.

Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero in San Francisco also ruled MLB did not comply with California wage statement requirements, awarding $1,882,650 US in penalties.

Spero unsealed a 181-page ruling Tuesday night in a lawsuit filed eight years ago. He ruled minor leaguers should be paid for travel time to road games in the California League and to practice in Arizona and Florida.

"For decades, minor league players have worked long hours year-round in exchange for poverty-level wages," the steering committee of Advocates for Minor Leaguers said in a statement. "Working as a professional baseball player requires far more than just playing baseball games. It also requires hours of year-round training, practice, and preparation, for which we have never been properly compensated.

"We are thrilled with today's ruling, which is an enormous step toward holding MLB accountable for its longstanding mistreatment of minor league players."

The suit was filed by first baseman/outfielder Aaron Senne, a 10th-round pick of the Florida Marlins in 2009 who retired in 2013, and two other retired players who had been lower-round selections: Kansas City infielder Michael Liberto and San Francisco pitcher Oliver Odle.

They claimed violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state minimum wage and overtime requirements for a workweek they estimated at 50 to 60 hours.