Reiseplan » available to a major league team, Luhnow said.

PITTSBURGH -- It probably wasnt meant to be a state secret. More like leaving their options open and deciding as they went depending on circumstances such as the state of the standings.So it wasnt until late Saturday night that the Washington Nationals announced A.J. Cole as their starter for Sundays series finale at Pittsburgh. The Pirates waited until Friday to announce a starter and then switched to Tyler Glasnow later that night.Washington manager Dusty Baker had been waiting to see whether his club clinched the National League East title. The Nationals did, with a 6-1 win Saturday night coupled with a New York Mets loss.Naming Cole the starter for Sunday was about the only order of business the Nationals were interested in conducting once Saturdays game ended. There was, after all, a raucous celebration in the visiting PNC Park clubhouse that took a high priority.Let these young men have a great time, back to work (Sunday), Baker said. First step in a four-step process. This step is the hardest to get.And if the Nationals have anything to say about it, just one step.They won the division because we have a group of guys who only think about going out on the field and doing whatever it takes to win every day, shortstop Danny Espinosa said. No one is caught up in individual stats. Our focus since the first day of spring training has been to win the division and then keep going.Washington has eight games left in the regular season to do some fine-tuning before the postseason, beginning with Sundays game.As of Thursday, neither team had revealed a starter for Sunday -- officially, that looks like TBD.If Washington had not named Cole (1-2, 4.68 ERA), a 24-year-old making his seventh start, it most likely would have been Tanner Roark.On Friday, Pittsburgh named rookie Steven Brault as the guy. But after their 11-inning win that night, they announced a switch to another rookie, Glasnow.The move apparently was made to give Glasnow another look as a starter. Brault is not injured.Glasnow (0-1, 4.11 ERA), a highly touted prospect entering the season, has been in the bullpen most of this month since coming back from a shoulder injury. In three relief appearances, he allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and three walks.He was aggressive in the zone, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Glasnow as a reliever. He mixed his pitches and I love the tempo hes been using on the mound. Its been in a better place than when he first came up. Trust the catcher and go.Glasnows long-term value, though, is considered to be as a starter.With the switch, Brault went to the bullpen.Its not clear who might pitch in Pittsburghs final regular-season series next weekend in St. Louis. That might depend on whether the Pirates can manage to keep their wild-card hopes alive this week.For a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs that begins Monday, Pittsburghs starters are listed as rookie Chad Kuhl, Ryan Vogelsong, rookie Jameson Taillon and Ivan Nova, who lost for the second time Saturday after starting his Pittsburgh career 5-0. Nick Foles Jersey .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. DeSean Jackson Youth Jersey . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Dallas-Goedert-Inverted-Jersey/ Seth Joyner Youth Jersey . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Harold Carmichael Womens Jersey . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. HOUSTON -- Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow first saw Yulieski Gurriel play a decade ago in a tournament in Amsterdam.He imagined him playing in the major leagues and made that dream a reality Saturday when he signed the Cuban free agent to a $47.5 million, five-year deal with the Astros.To be able to get him now really in the prime of his career ... is a huge deal for us, Luhnow said. Its probably the most exciting day since Ive been here except for the wild-card win against the Yankees.A beaming Gurriel was introduced Saturday in Houston, seated next to Luhnow behind a table draped with the American and Cuban flags. He was handed an Astros hat and jersey and proudly put both on, slowly fastening each button on the jersey, a huge smile never leaving his face.I have no words to describe this moment, he said in Spanish through an interpreter.Gurriel was one of the most sought international free agents since leaving Cuba in February after competing in the Caribbean World Series in the Dominican Republic. The 32-year-old was declared a free agent last month.There were times Gurriel wondered if hed ever get the chance to play in the majors.I always had the hope to play in the United States, he said. But it always seemed like something very far away ... it has been my dream my whole life to be here and to play next to big league players.The Astros are in the process of obtaining a work visa for Gurriel. After thats done, Luhnow said, hell head to the minors to get some at-bats to prepare to face major league pitching for the first time. Houstons Triple-A club is in Fresno, but the Astros want Gurriel to be closer to the team, so hell likely get those swings with Double-A Corpus Christi. For now, hell head to Houstons spring training complex in Florida to prepare for his next move.Though theres no official timetable for his major league debut, Luhnow is confident that it will happen this season.Absolutely, he said. One of the reasons why (we) worked so hard to get this deal done as timely as we could was I want, and Yuli wants to be part of a playoff run this year.Gurriel gets a $2 million reporting bonus if he obtains a U.S. work visa before the end of the 2016 season and salaries of $1.5 million this year, $14 million in 2017, $12 million in 2018, $10 million in 2019 and $8 million in 2020.ddddddddddddHe has a one-time right to opt into salary arbitration following his first eligibility and has the right to become a free agent when the contract expires. He does not have a no-trade provision.He would earn $100,000 if voted MVP, $50,000 for finishing second and $25,000 for third. He would get $50,000 for World Series MVP, and $25,000 each for League Championship Series MVP, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove and being selected an All-Star.The Astros have shaken off a terrible start to the season and entered Saturdays games 4 1/2 games behind Texas for the lead in the AL West and one game back for the second wild card playoff spot.Gurriel is primarily a third baseman but also has played second base and shortstop. He was an Olympian in 2004 and 2008.Luis Valbuena is currently playing third base for Houston but can also play first base. Luhnow said theyll figure out where Gurriel will play later.In 15 seasons in Cuba, he is a.335 hitter with 250 homers and 1,018 RBI. Last season, he hit .500 with 15 homers and 51 RBI in just 49 games for Industriales.To me, he was the Cuban star that everybody was hoping would become available to a major league team, Luhnow said. Its a combination of pretty impressive offensive output, both power and speed and average and the ability to take walks and avoid strikeouts -- all of the things we talk about being key elements of success in the major leagues.Hes a five-tool player with 15 years of incredible success on the international stage ... pretty much the combination wed design if we were going to design a ballplayer.Though Gurriel, who said he prefers to be called El Yuli, will be a rookie in the majors at 32, hell be looked upon to be a leader for a team with several young Latin stars. When Luhnow went to Florida to watch him work out, it took only a short conversation with the player to see that hed be perfectly comfortable filling that role.The makeup here is exactly what you look for in a ball player in your clubhouse, Luhnow said. ' ' '