MLB Notes: Royals, Jason Hammel Agree to Two-year Deal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Royals and right-hander Jason Hammel have agreed to a $16 million, two-year contract, a person with direct knowledge negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal is pending a physical.

The 34-year-old Hammel went 15-10 with a 3.83 ERA for the World Series champion Chicago Cubs last season and likely will slot into the Kansas City rotation behind Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy.

Kansas City was looking for another starter late in the offseason after right-hander Yordano Ventura was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic. Hammel was considered the best arm still available on the free-agent market.

The Royals also have Jason Vargas penciled into the starting rotation, leaving one job up for grabs when they converge next week in Surprise, Arizona.

Indians: Mo Pena's career revived
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians are giving Wily Mo Pena a chance to revive his major league career.

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Pena, who hasn't played in the major leagues since 2011, agreed to a minor league contract with the AL champions on Monday. The 35-year-old outfielder will report next month to Cleveland's minor league camp in Goodyear, Arizona.

Pena was last in the majors with Arizona and Seattle six years ago, then went to Japan and became known for hitting some long home runs. He connected for a career-high 26 homers with Cincinnati in 2004.

A close friend of new Indians slugger Edwin Encarnacion, Pena has a .250 career batting average with 84 homers and 240 RBIs in eight seasons with Cincinnati, Boston, Washington, Arizona and Seattle.

Yankees: Tanaka reports for pre-spring training 
TAMPA, Fla. -- Masahiro Tanaka arrived at the New York Yankees' minor league complex for pre-spring training workouts in Florida.

Tanaka arrived Monday and is scheduled to throw off a mound Wednesday.

The right-hander was a concern at the start of spring training last year after arthroscopic surgery in October 2015 to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow. He went 14-4 with a 3.07 ERA in 31 starts.

"Last year he had that procedure done, so he's ahead of where he was last year," Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. "He's already been on the mound a little bit. Coming in he seems to be in a good place."

Tanaka can opt out of his $155 million, seven-year contract after this season, give up a $23 million annual salary from 2018-20 and become a free agent. He is 39-16 with a 3.12 ERA over 75 starts in three seasons with the Yankees.

New York pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report on Feb. 14.

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