close

Sports briefs

2 min read

Pirates part ways with Diaz

Catcher Elias Diaz will not return to the Pittsburgh Pirates after the club declined to offer him a contract for the 2020 season Monday.

The 29-year-old Diaz inherited the starting job last season while Francisco Cervelli dealt with a concussion before being released in August. Diaz hit .241 with two home runs and 28 RBIs in 101 games while splitting time with Jacob Stallings. Diaz struggled defensively. His 12 errors led all National League catchers and his eight passed balls ranked fifth.

The Pirates did sign shortstop Erik Gonzalez to a 2020 contract. Gonzalez hit .254 with one home run and six RBIs in his first season in Pittsburgh in 2019. He missed more than three months after fracturing his collarbone during a collision with center fielder Starling Marte in April.

Penguins sign Noesen

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed former New Jersey and Anaheim forward Stefan Noesen to a two-way contract.

Noesen previously agreed to a minor league deal with the Penguins but earned a promotion to the NHL after collecting 14 goals and eight assists in 22 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. The one-year deal has a prorated annual average value of $700,000.

The 26-year-old Noesen played 159 games combined for New Jersey and Anaheim from 2015-19, scoring 24 goals and dishing out 21 assists.

The Penguins announced the signing shortly after forward Patric Hornqvist left practice on Monday with what coach Mike Sullivan described as a lower-body injury. Pittsburgh is off until Wednesday, when it hosts the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues.

Gov. Wolf warns of harm to minor leagues

Pennsylvania’s governor wants Major League Baseball to rethink a restructuring plan that would affect three minor league teams in his state.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday wrote to baseball commissioner Robert Manfred to express concern about the impact on the Erie SeaWolves, the Williamsport Crosscutters and the State College Spikes.

The Professional Baseball Agreement between Major League Baseball and the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues expires after the 2020 season. The restructuring proposal would lead to 42 minor league teams being dropped from circuits.

Major league teams say they spend nearly $500 million annually in salary to support the minor leagues but get back only $18 million.

Wolf says the current proposal will put players and employees out of jobs and be economically harmful to host communities.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today