AL East

The New York Yankees will be without center fielder Aaron Hicks for Monday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the wake of the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright. 

Manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com that Hicks was initially slotted to hit sixth but will not play after hearing about the news.

"He came to me about an hour ago," Boone said. "It's been a hard day for him. He would have had a hard time going out there tonight."

The Minnesota Twins announced their game against the Boston Red Sox was postponed, and the NBA postponed Monday's game between the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The NHL announced Monday's game between the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues was postponed as well. 

According to CNN, a police officer shot Wright during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center on Sunday. An officer can be heard yelling "Taser! Taser! Taser!" on bodycam footage that was released Monday before firing a gun instead.

The officer then said, "Holy s--t, I shot him."

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said it was "an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright."

The fatal shooting happened as the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin remains ongoing about 10 miles away. He is charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd.

Hicks has been a member of the Yankees since the 2016 season but was with the Twins for the first three years of his career from 2013 through 2015.

Maybe don't pitch to J.D. Martinez. 

The Boston Red Sox slugger was en fuego on Sunday, blasting three homers in his team's 14-9 win over the Baltimore Orioles: 

Per Sarah Lange of MLB.com, that made him just the fifth player in MLB history to register a three-homer game with three different teams: 

So yeah, this type of hot streak isn't new to Martinez, who had his struggles in the COVID-shortened 2020 season but is rebounding in a big way. 

The New York Yankees have optioned right-handed starting pitcher Domingo German to their alternate training site following the team's 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.

German allowed home runs to Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena en route to giving up four earned runs and eight hits in four frames versus the Rays. He walked one and struck out five.

The 28-year-old's start followed a disappointing performance against the Toronto Blue Jays last Sunday in a 3-1 loss. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Randal Grichuk hit home runs off German, who left the game after allowing three earned runs and four hits over three frames. He struck out two and walked one.

German made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2017. He became a full-time starter in 2018 and led the Yanks with 18 victories in 2019 while posting a 4.03 ERA.

However, German was placed on administrative leave in September 2019 under the MLB-MLBPA domestic violence policy and missed the team's final nine regular-season games and all of its nine playoff matchups.

Eventually, MLB suspended the pitcher 81 games for violating its domestic violence policy.

Lindsey Adler of The Athletic provided details leading to the suspension in February. She noted that German had multiple altercations with his girlfriend beginning with an incident at a charity gala held by ex-teammate and pitcher CC Sabathia and attended by numerous teammates and their family members:

"Germán slapped his girlfriend at the event, sources said, but the MLB investigation focused primarily on what happened at his home later that night.

"According to multiple league sources, including a person with knowledge of the MLB investigation, Germán was intoxicated and became physically violent toward his girlfriend until she hid in a locked room. The victim is said to have contacted the wife of another Yankees player, and the couple drove to Germán’s home late at night. The victim remained with the teammate’s wife, while the player attempted to calm down Germán, who is said to have been angry and belligerent."

German's 81-game suspension included the 18 games missed in 2019 and an additional 63 games in 2020, which nearly encompassed the entirety of the Yanks' shortened campaign (67 games including playoffs) in the pandemic-reduced schedule.

He earned a spot at the back end of the rotation after spring training, but it appears the Yankees will give another pitcher a shot after German allowed four home runs, seven earned runs and 12 hits in seven innings this season, going 0-2 along the way.

Deivi Garcia and Michael King figure to be the top two candidates to replace German. Garcia, 21, went 3-2 with a 4.98 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 34.1 frames last year. 

King, 25, notably threw six shutout innings in relief of German against Toronto. He appeared in nine games (four starts) the year before, posting a 7.76 ERA.

Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez was placed on the COVID-19 Related Injured List on Saturday, the team announced just before it faced off against the Baltimore Orioles.

Infielder Michael Chavis was recalled from the team's alternate site to fill Martinez's spot on the roster.

Martinez, 33, has been one of baseball's best hitters in his career. Between 2015 and 2018 he ripped 148 homers and 404 RBI, numbers that would be even higher had he not missed 42 games in 2016 and 43 games in 2017 because of injuries.

He proved as much in the 2018 campaign, when he hit .330 with 43 homers and 130 RBI, making a legitimate push for both an MVP award and Triple Crown. While he didn't accomplish either, he did win Silver Slugger awards as both an outfielder and designated hitter. He also won a title with the Red Sox.

He continued on that torrid pace in 2019, hitting .304 with 36 homers and 105 RBI. He did struggle in 2020, hitting .213 with seven homers and 27 RBI in 54 games, though the coronavirus-shortened season was an odd one on a number of fronts.

Martinez is 13-for-30 to begin the season with two home runs and 12 RBI.

The three-time All-Star isn't replaceable for Boston, though Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec should see an uptick in playing time while he's out.

The Tampa Bay Rays are optimistic that starting pitcher Chris Archer won't miss an extended period of time after leaving Saturday's start against the New York Yankees in the third inning. 

Archer told reporters after his team's 4-0 win that the injury is "nothing serious."

Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays placed Archer on the injured list and called up Brett Honeywell from the alternate site. 

Topkin noted that Honeywell will be used as the opener for Sunday's series finale against the Yankees. 

Archer missed the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery in June for thoracic outlet syndrome. 

The Rays signed Archer to a one-year deal in free agency worth $6.5 million. He previously played for the organization for six-plus seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2018. 

Tampa Bay's pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries to start the season. Chaz Roe, Oliver Drake, Nick Anderson, Jalen Beeks, Yonny Chirinos and Colin Poche are all on the 60-day injured list. Pete Fairbanks was placed on the 10-day IL on Friday with a strained rotator cuff. 

Archer was pitching well with four strikeouts and no runs allowed on three hits in 2.1 innings against the Yankees before being removed from the game. Tampa's bullpen allowed just two hits over the final 6.2 innings. 

The Rays are in the midst of 13 games in 13 days, so they will have to get the most out of what remains of the starting rotation. Their next scheduled day off is April 22. 

Tampa is off to a 4-4 start and has won back-to-back games after losing four straight from April 3-7. 

Boston Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez earned the win in his first start back after missing the 2020 season due to myocarditis, a heart inflammation he developed as a result of COVID-19. 

Rodriguez gave up three runs in five innings as the Red Sox rolled past the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3, on Thursday.

The 28-year-old allowed Boston's first home runs of the season, but made up for it by striking out seven and walking none.

Rodriguez began 2021 on the injured list due to a dead arm he developed at the end of spring training. He was originally slated to be the team's Opening Day starter, an honor that went to Nathan Eovaldi instead.

“I’m just happy to have the opportunity to be back in baseball and be back to start tomorrow," he told reporters on Wednesday,his 28th birthday. "That’s what it means to me. It’s been a year and two months, maybe, since the last time I was on the mound in like a real game. So I think I’m going to really appreciate being on the mound tomorrow.”

In his last significant action in 2019, he amassed a 19-6 record in 34 starts with a 3.81 ERA. 

The Red Sox were swept by the Orioles in the first three games of the season, scoring just five runs in the series. Since, the team has gone on a four-game winning streak and crossed the plate 33 times in that span. 

They'll continue the series with the Orioles on Saturday (7:05 p.m. ET) and Sunday (1:05 p.m. ET). 

Trey Mancini received a warm reception the first time he stepped into the batter's box during the Baltimore Orioles' home opener against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.

It was Mancini's first game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards since Sept. 21, 2019. He missed the entire 2020 season after being diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer.

The veteran outfielder returned to the field in February during spring training, with fans and players providing him with a standing ovation.

"It was amazing,” Mancini told reporters. “I almost teared up a little bit, I’m not going to lie … it meant the world to me. It was a really, really cool moment and one of my favorite moments of my baseball career.

Mancini grounded into a fielder's choice in the bottom of the first inning Thursday and came around to score on a two-run homer by Ryan Mountcastle. 

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer will have to wait longer to make his 2021 debut for his new team.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Springer is awaiting the results of an MRI on a quadriceps injury. He started the season on the injured list with a strained left oblique muscle but was perhaps going to play Thursday prior to the quad setback.

The 31-year-old joined the Blue Jays on a six-year, $150 million deal during the offseason, ending his seven-year Houston career. The three-time All-Star helped the Astros win two American League pennants and the 2017 World Series.

Springer won the World Series MVP in 2017 after hitting .379 with five home runs in a seven-game series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Connecticut native was an excellent power hitter by the time his Houston tenure ended, as he smacked 53 homers in 173 regular-season games over the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He added eight more dingers during the 2019 and 2020 playoffs, continuing his dominance over a postseason career that includes 19 homers.

He signed as a free agent with the Blue Jays on Jan. 23 but started the regular season on the 10-day injured list with the Grade 2 oblique strain.

Randal Grichuk has replaced Springer in the lineup in his absence and figures to do so again, forming an outfield with Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

The Boston Red Sox unveiled new Nike MLB City Connect Series uniforms Tuesday inspired by the Boston Marathon. The uniforms will debut during Patriots' Day weekend April 17-18 during a series against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park.

Here's another look at the jerseys, which pay tribute to the Boylston Street finish line of the famed race:

"We viewed the City Connect collaboration with Nike as an opportunity to celebrate the spirit of a weekend that is uniquely Boston," Red Sox executive vice president Adam Grossman said. "The departure from our traditional style pays homage to that iconic weekend, and recognizes Boston's boldness, culture and creativity."

The Red Sox will continue to wear their Boston Strong uniforms, which debuted after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, for their Patriots' Day game against the White Sox on April 19. The team traditionally hosts a game at 11 a.m. ET on the day of the 26.2-mile race.

Other notable parts of the City Connect Series jerseys are the 617 patch, denoting the Boston area code, and numbers depicted within a marathon-style racing bib.

The Red Sox are one of seven clubs that will introduce the special-edition uniforms during the 2021 season as a collaboration between MLB and Nike. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants are also taking part.

The initiative will expand to include MLB's other clubs in the coming years.