Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. could miss 3 months after breaking wrist

All-star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres likely will need surgery for a broken left wrist and could miss up to three months, general manager A.J. Preller said on Monday.

Tatis apparently suffered the injury early in the off-season and felt it when he began preparing for spring training, Preller said.

Reports surfaced in December that Tatis suffered scrapes on his hand and knee in a motorcycle accident in his native Dominican Republic. Tatis said he felt pain in the wrist shortly afterward, but thought it was from bruises.

He said the injury was a surprise and it got worse as he began taking swings to get ready for spring training, which was delayed due to the lockout.

"It's bad. It's terrible. I feel like everybody is disappointed, especially me," Tatis said. "We have a pretty good chance this year as a team. I just want to be out there for my teammates and for the fans."

The injury is a blow to a team that was looking for a fresh start following a brutal late-season collapse that left them with yet another losing record.

Tatis, 23, had a series of injuries to his left shoulder last year, when he still led the National League with 42 home runs in 130 games and finished third in balloting for league MVP honours.

The electrifying Tatis batted .282 with 97 runs batted in and 25 stolen bases last year. His season also included two trips to the injured list with left shoulder issues and a trip to the COVID-19 injury list.

He signed a 14-year, $330-million US contract with the Padres during spring training last year.

Atlanta gets Olson with Freeman likely leaving

Freddie Freeman's tenure with Atlanta appears to be over after the World Series champions acquired all-star first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics on Monday.

Oakland is getting a prize package of four players, including young outfielder Cristian Pache.

Freeman was the 2020 NL MVP and a five-time all-star over 12 seasons with Atlanta, including as a veteran leader on last year's championship team.

Manager Brian Snitker was speaking to reporters when ESPN broke the news. He said it was the first he was hearing of the trade

"He's been our guy for a number of years," Snitker said of Freeman. "Personally, he's meant a lot to me."

The 66-year-old Snitker said he already knows Olson, who grew up about 40 minutes east of Atlanta's Truist Park in Lilburn, Ga.

Olson is a two-time Gold Glove winner with a .252 career average, 142 homers and .859 on-base plus slugging percentage over six seasons. The 27-year-old slugged 39 homers and drove in 111 runs last season, finishing eighth in American League MVP voting. He's also under team control through 2024.

Oakland also receives minor league catcher Shea Langeliers and right-handers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes.

Cruz reportedly signs with Nationals

Meanwhile, free-agent designated hitter Nelson Cruz and the Washington Nationals have agreed to a one-year, $15-million deal, a person familiar with the contract told The Associated Press on Sunday night.

The 41-year-old Cruz has 449 career home runs and becomes the first full-time DH to join a NL team since MLB's new labour deal included a universal designated hitter.

Cruz is returning for an 18th major league season. The slugger hit .265 with 32 home runs and 86 RBI with the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays in 2021.

Cruz gets a $12 million salary this year, and the deal includes a $16 million mutual option for 2023 with a $3 million buyout.

A seven-time all-star, he's a career .277 hitter with 1,238 RBI for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Twins and Rays.

The NL used the DH during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The new labour agreement that owners and players reached Thursday brings the extra hitter to the NL for every game, including the World Series.

Cruz has hit 18 home runs in 50 post-season games. The Rays acquired him from Minnesota last July 22 in their push toward the playoffs.

Some NL teams might rotate the DH spot, letting several players fill the role in order to give them a day off from playing the field. Other clubs might want a permanent solution, and Cruz certainly fills that role.

Cruz made one start in the field last year -- playing first base for the first time in his career, he made a nifty pickup on a bounced throw to end the first inning at Philadelphia. He delivered a tie-breaking, two-run double in the eighth to win that game.

Prior to that, his previous time with a mitt was 2018 when he made four starts in right field for Seattle.

Mariners land Winker, Suarez in trade with Reds

The Seattle Mariners acquired All-Star outfielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suarez from the Cincinnati Reds on Monday in exchange for a package of players.

The trade gives the Mariners what they coveted for their batting order. They're getting a left-handed hitter who can play in the outfield and a corner infielder with major power just three seasons removed from hitting 49 home runs.

Winker seems likely to be in a rotation in left field and will get plenty of at-bats as a designated hitter.

Adding Suarez to the deal helps solidify the Mariners' lineup. Suarez hit just .198 last season but still added 31 home runs. He closed the season on a surge, hitting .370 with an .808 slugging percentage in the final month of the season.

Suarez hit 83 home runs and had 207 RBIs during the 2018 and 2019 seasons combined.

Suarez also answers the question of who is going step in at third base after the retirement of Kyle Seager. Abraham Toro was acquired from Houston last season but played mostly at second base. Seattle traded for Adam Frazier prior to the baseball lockout with the idea he would play second base primarily with a little bit of outfield as well. Toro will likely be in a utility infielder role now for Seattle.

Mets sign veteran reliever Ottavino

The busy New York Mets added an experienced arm to their bullpen Monday, signing Adam Ottavino to a $4 million, one-year contract.

The veteran right-hander can earn another $1 million in performance bonuses.

The 36-year-old Ottavino, who features a sharp-breaking slider, is 32-31 with a 3.60 ERA and 30 saves in 11 major league seasons with the Cardinals, Rockies, Yankees and Red Sox.

He joins a Mets bullpen that includes closer Edwin Diaz, setup man Trevor May and versatile right-hander Seth Lugo.

Cardinals reach deal with Wittgren

The St. Louis Cardinals added another bullpen arm, reaching a deal with free agent right-hander Nick Wittgren that pays $1.2 million while in the major leagues and $150,000 while in the minors.

The 30-year-old Wittgren, whose deal was anounced Sunday, was 2-9 with one save and a 5.05 ERA in a career-high 60 games for Cleveland last season.

In six seasons with Miami and Cleveland, he is 18-15 with five saves and 3.75 ERA in 258 games. He has struck out 265 in 271 1/3 innings.

Wittgren has permitted 19.8% of inherited runners to score since 2016, the sixth-best rate in the majors.

On Friday, right-hander Drew VerHagen and the Cardinals agreed to a $5.5 million, two-year contract.

The 31-year-old VerHagen went 10-10 over parts of six seasons in Detroit and spent the last two seasons in Japan.

Brewers reportedly add McCutchen

Veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen agreed to a free-agent deal with the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, multiple outlets reported.

Terms of the deal were not reported.

McCutcheon was named to the National League All-Star team five times during a nine-year stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates but has not earned the honor since the 2015 season.

In 13 career seasons, the 2013 NL MVP has batted .280 with an .849 OPS and has 270 home runs with 933 RBIs for the Pirates (2009-17), San Francisco Giants (2018), New York Yankees (2018) and Phillies (2019-21).