The Boston Red Sox have parted with Mookie Betts by sending him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a blockbuster deal. Two people with knowledge of the deal say the Bosox have agreed to send the 2018 AL MVP to Los Angeles.
The Red Sox would also send away left-hander David Price in a salary dump designed to save Boston tens of millions of dollars and help them dip below baseball's luxury tax threshold. The Dodgers are sending outfielder Alex Verdugo back to the Red Sox in a deal that also involves the Minnesota Twins, who are getting right-hander Kenta Maeda from Los Angeles and sending pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol to Boston.
An arbitrator has denied the grievance filed by Chicago Cubs infielder Kris Bryant, according to a person who has read the unreleased document of the decision. Mark Irvings ruled the players' association did not prove the team's reasons for holding the third baseman in the minors at the start of the 2015 season were a pretext to push back his eligibility for free agency. Bryant hit .425 with nine homers in 40 at-bats during 2015 spring training and was held in the minors until April 17, one day after he would have been eligible for a full year of service time.
Braves reliever Shane Greene has become the first player to go to salary arbitration this year. The 31-year-old right-hander asked a three-man panel for a raise from $4 million to $6.75 million, while the Braves countered with $6.25 million. Greene was a first-time All-Star last year and compiled a 2.30 ERA in 65 appearances with the Braves and Detroit, striking out 64 and walking 17 over 62 2/3 innings.
Outfielder Jon Jay and pitcher Edwin Jackson are among four players signed by the Diamondbacks to minor league contracts. Arizona also worked out minor league deals with John Hicks and outfielder Trayce Thompson.
NHL
Anthony Beauvillier capped his two-goal night by scoring 2:52 into overtime to give the Islanders a 4-3 win over the Stars. Dallas led 3-2 until Mathew Barzal notched a power-play goal late in the third period. Kieffer Bellows made his NHL debut and registered an assist against the team his father, Brian, spent most of his career.
Andre Burakovsky collected a career-high four points on one goal and three assists as the Avalanche mauled the Sabres, 6-1. Burakovsky tied a career high with his 17th goal and ran his point streak to five games. Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and two assists for Colorado, which scored six times on its first 14 shots.
Tuukka Rask picked up his third shutout of the season and 48th of his career by making 25 saves in the Bruins' 4-0 victory over the Canucks. Charlie Coyle had a goal and an assist as Boston earned its fourth straight win. Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Karson Kuhlman also tallied for the Bruins, who remain one point behind the Capitals for the top total in the Eastern Conference.
The Canadiens erased a 3-0 deficit and knocked off the Devils, 5-4 on Ilya Kovalchuk's shootout goal. Montreal's Charlie Lindgren had 20 saves filling for an ailing Carey Price. Kyle Palmieri scored two-power-play goals for New Jersey, including the game-tying tally with 20 seconds left in regulation.
Alex Ovechkin is two away from becoming the eighth player in NHL history to score 700 goals. The Washington Capitals trailed 2-1 with just over six minutes left before the left winger scored three times in leading a 4-2 triumph over the Kings. Ovechkin tallied twice in a 70-second span to put the Caps ahead before completing his 27th career hat trick with an empty-netter. John Carlson scored a goal and set up two others, giving him league-highs for defensemen with 51 assists and 65 points.
The Blues won for just the second time in seven games as Brayden Schenn provided two goals and an assist in a 6-3 victory against the Hurricanes. Colton Parayko and Sammy Blais also scored to back Jordan Binnington's 25-save performance. Petr Mrazek stopped just 20 of 26 shots in Carolina's fifth straight road loss.
Steven Stamkos tipped in his 24th goal of the season in the third period to send the Lightning to a 4-2 win over the Golden Knights. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves and extended his streak of consecutive games without a regulation loss to 16 games, matching the franchise record set by Nikolai Khabibulin in 2002-03. Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli also scored, and Nikita Kucherov had two assists for Tampa Bay.
The Blue Jackets have a nine-game point streak after beating the Panthers, 1-0 on Zach Werenski's goal against former Columbus netminder Sergei Bobrovsky 1:54 into overtime. Elvis Merzlikins had 32 saves in picking up his fourth shutout of the season, helping the Jackets move to 8-0-1 in their last nine games. The Panthers lost for just the second time in their last nine games.
Antti Raanta stopped 30 shots and the Coyotes ended a five-game losing streak with a 3-0 win versus the Oilers. Conor Garland and Lawson Crouse scored two minutes apart in the second period to support Raanta's 13th career shutout. Edmonton scored 26 goals in winning its previous five games.
Mikael Granlund scored 71 seconds into overtime to complete the Predators' 2-1 verdict over the slumping Jets. Nick Bonino also scored and Juuse Saros turned back 33 shots in Nashville's third win in four games. Winnipeg is 1-6-1 in its last eight contests.
The Wild got a goal from Matt Dumba at 2:21 of OT to beat the Blackhawks, 3-2. Kevin Fiala scored twice before Dumba hit the net for the first time in 34 games. Alex Stalock handled 27 shots as Minnesota handed Chicago just its second loss in eight games.
Joe Thornton reached the 1,500-point plateau by setting up goals by Brent Burns and Kevin Lebanc in the Sharks' 3-1 victory at Calgary. Evander Kane netted his 20th goal of the season and Aaron Dell made 30 saves for the Sharks. Dell blanked Calgary after Johnny Gaudreau's power-play goal 57 seconds into the second period.
Shootout goals by Ondrej Kase and Rickard Rakell gave the Ducks a 3-2 victory at Ottawa. Kase also scored in the second period and Rakell assisted on Nick Ritchie's first-period goal.
NBA
The NBA's reigning MVP got the better of the league's No. 1 pick last season. Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered 34 points on 12 of 17 shooting and had 17 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks topped Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans, 120-108. Williamson finished with 20 points, but he shot just 5-for-19 and had seven rebounds in his first meeting with Antetokounmpo. Khris Middleton had 20 points for the Bucks, who took control by outscoring the Pelicans 42-24 in the third quarter. The outcome leads Milwaukee with an NBA-best 42-7 record.
LeBron James poured in 36 points and the Lakers shot a blistering 58.8% in a 129-102 romp over the Spurs. James was 6 of 9 from 3-point range and finished with nine assists and seven rebounds. Kyle Kuzma added 18 points and 12 boards as Los Angeles improved to a Western Conference-leading 38-11.
James Harden's 40 points, 11 assists and nine boards carried the short-handed Rockets past the Hornets, 125-110. The Hornets led early in the fourth before the Rockets used a 15-2 run to take control. Daniel House had 20 points for Houston, which played without Russell Westbrook and Clint Capella due to injuries.
Nikola Jokic finished an assist shy of a triple-double in just three quarters of the Nuggets' 127-99 blowout over the Trail Blazers. Jokic had 29 points and 13 rebounds as the Nuggets improved to 8-0 against Northwest Division rivals this season. Portland guard Damien Lillard had scored at least 30 points in eight straight games before Gary Harris helped Denver limit him to 21 on 8 of 23 shooting.
In NBA news, the New York Knicks are changing team presidents once again. The Knicks have dismissed Steve Mills with the team about to miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. Mills took over the post less than three years ago following Phil Jackson's three-year run at the helm. The move came two days after the NBA trade deadline, and two months after head coach David Fizdale was dismissed. The Knicks entered Tuesday with the NBA's fourth-worst record at 15-36. They've lost at least 50 games each season since 2013-14. General manager Scott Perry will take control of the basketball operations while the team seeks a permanent replacement for Mills.
The league is changing the format to this season's 3-point contest at All-Star Saturday Night in Chicago by adding a pair of deep shots that will be worth three points apiece. That change means each round will now be a total of 27 shots instead of 25. Competitors will now get 70 seconds to finish their shots instead of the customary 60.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men's college basketball, Rhode Islande downed UMass 73-67. In women's college basketball, Marist topped Iona 73-56.
In men's top-25 basketball, Mike Krzyzewski hit another milestone in his Hall of Fame coaching career. Krzyzewski picked up his 500th ACC victory as Vernon Carey Jr. had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead seventh-ranked Duke to a 63-55 win at Boston College. Carey made a layup and then hit two free throws with about six minutes left during a 10-0 run that put the Blue Devils ahead to stay. Tre Jones scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to help Krzyzewski improve to 500-200 in all ACC regular season and tournament games. Duke missed its first 10 shots in allowing the Eagles to race out to a 12-2 lead.
No. 9 Maryland trailed by five before opening the second half on a 14-4 spurt to pull ahead in a 56-51 victory against Rutgers. Jalen Smith had 14 points and 15 rebounds to help the Terrapins move to 13-0 at home. Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 17, including three free throws that put the Terps ahead, 52-49 with 2:12 remaining.
Samir Doughty dropped in 23 points, including hitting two free throws in the final seconds of overtime, to send 11th-ranked Auburn past Arkansas, 79-76. The Tigers closed the second half on a 15-4 run before improving to 16-6. The Razorbacks lost despite Mason Jones' 40 points for the Razorbacks.
Nick Richards poured in a career-high 27 points and Immanuel Quickley added 21 as No. 15 Kentucky beat Mississippi State, 80-72. The Wildcats never trailed and led by as many as 14 in the second half of their 14th straight win over the Bulldogs. Richards and Quickley closed the victory by combining to make 14 free throws over the final 2 ½ minutes.
Lamar Stevens had 24 points and Myreon Jones made a career-high six 3-pointers while scoring 20 points as No. 22 Penn State earned a 75-70 win over No. 16 Michigan State. Stevens hit five free throws over the final 16 seconds to help the Nittany Lions wrap up their fifth consecutive win. Michigan State's Cassius Winston scored 25 points but could not convert on chances to pull into a tie twice in the closing seconds.
NFL
The Los Angeles Chargers have announced a contract extension for head coach Anthony Lynn. Lynn is 27-24 in three seasons with the Chargers. He guided the team to a 12-4 mark and a berth in the AFC divisional round in 2018, but the Chargers fell to 5-11 this past season. Lynn had one year left on his contract. The Chargers also say Shane Steichen will remain the offensive coordinator after taking over midway through the season.
Jacksonville announced that it will play consecutive home games in London next season. The Jaguars have played a home game at Wembley Stadium every year since 2013 and expect to extend a contract that runs through 2020.
The NFL has suspended Jaguars defensive tackle Carl Davis without pay for the first four games of the regular season for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Davis' contract is set to expire when the new league calendar begins in March.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Michigan State's winningest football coach has stepped down. Mark Dantonio has announced his retirement, ending a 13-year run in which his teams won three Big Ten titles and he became the school's winningest coach. Dantonio went 114-57 as the Spartans' coach and won Big Ten titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015. He won at least 11 games five times in that six-year span — the first time a Big Ten coach had done that. The 63-year-old Dantonio called his decision a difficult one while noting the nonstop demands of the job.
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