Springer, Bauer, Lindor lead list of big names on new teams

Full Screen
1 / 2

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

New York Mets' Francisco Lindor (12) reacts after flying out to Washington Nationals center fielder Victor Robles during the first inning of a spring training baseball game, Monday, March 8, 2021, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

George Springer, Trevor Bauer and Francisco Lindor are wearing blue now.

Springer received the biggest contract in the offseason from the Toronto Blue Jays. Bauer got the most money per season from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lindor was traded to the New York Mets in a six-player deal.

Recommended Videos



The three star players headline the list of big names on new teams.

Springer, a three-time All-Star outfielder and 2017 World Series MVP with Houston, signed a team-record $150 million, six-year contract with the Blue Jays in January. He joined a roster that includes young sluggers Vladimir Guerrero and Bo Bichette, plus Cavan Biggio, Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel, Jr.

“I really like the blue. It’s a good color,” Springer said after his first spring training game with Toronto. “It was a little weird but I’m over it. It’s fun and I enjoy it.”

Bauer, who won the NL Cy Young Award last season with Cincinnati, signed a $102 million, three-year deal with the Dodgers last month. The reigning World Series champions already had a pair of Cy Young Award winners in Clayton Kershaw and David Price.

“This uniform is special,” Bauer said in a two-minute video announcing his decision to sign with Los Angeles. “It’s more than clothing. It’s a lifestyle.”

Lindor, a four-time All-Star shortstop in Cleveland, was traded along with right-hander Carlos Carrasco to the Mets in January for young infielders Andrés Giménez and Amed Rosario, and two minor league prospects: right-hander Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Greene.

He arrived to spring training with his hair dyed blue, something he also did during his time with the Indians.

“You can see that I am all blued out,” Lindor said. “Everything is blue in my life right now — blue and orange.”

Here are five more well-known players in different places:

NOLAN ARENADO

The five-time All-Star third baseman was traded from Colorado to the St. Louis Cardinals for five players. Arenado, who won a Gold Glove in each of his eight seasons with the Rockies, joined a team that reached the postseason seven times in the past 10 years. The Cardinals last won a World Series in 2011.

Arenado hit .300 with a .937 OPS and averaged 40 homers and 124 RBIs between 2015-19. He led the league in homers three times in that span.

BLAKE SNELL

The 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the San Diego Padres for four players in December. The left-hander left the mound with a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series but the bullpen blew it and the Dodgers clinched the title with a 3-1 win.

Snell had a 3.24 ERA in 11 starts last season. He was 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA in 2018. The Padres had the second-best record in the NL in 2020, snapping a 13-year postseason drought. But they were swept in the NL division series by the Dodgers.

Snell will anchor a rotation that features newcomers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove.

YU DARVISH

The four-time All-Star right-hander was traded to the Padres from the Chicago Cubs in a seven-player deal on the same day San Diego acquired Snell. Darvish has twice finished runner-up for a Cy Young Award, including last season when he was 8-3 with a 2.01 ERA in 12 starts.

Darvish has three years and $59 million left on the $126 million, six-year deal he signed with the Cubs before the 2018 season.

JON LESTER

The six-time All-Star left-hander signed a $5 million, one-year deal with the Washington Nationals. Lester is a three-time World Series champion, winning twice with Boston and once with the Cubs.

He’s part of a rotation led by three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg and lefty Patrick Corbin.

JACKIE BRADLEY Jr.

The former All-Star center fielder signed a 24 million, two-year deal with Milwaukee last week after spending his first eight seasons in Boston.

Bradley was a Gold Glove winner in 2018 when the Red Sox won the World Series. He was an All-Star in 2016 when he set career highs with 26 homers and 87 RBIs.

Milwaukee, which has reached the postseason three straight seasons, also has Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain in its outfield.

___

More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports