Marlins sign Wei-Yin Chen to five-year, $80 million contract

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UPDATE: Buster Olney of ESPN.com says Chen has agreed to terms with the Marlins on a five-year deal, $80 million contract with a sixth-year option He joins a rotation headlined by Jose Fernandez and will try to be rare big-money free agent to actually remain in Miami for the entire contract.

Chen’s contract reportedly does not include a no-trade clause and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that he’ll have the ability to opt out of the deal after two seasons. In terms of guaranteed money Chen’s deal is right in line with what Mike Leake (five years, $80 million) and Jeff Samardzija (five years, $90 million) got, but the opt-opt gives him more flexibility and potentially more earning ability.

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Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Marlins “remain in active negotiations” with free agent left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, which is a follow-up to his report from last week that they’d expressed interest in the former Orioles starter.

There hasn’t been a ton of buzz around Chen yet, although now that the bigger names are off the market he stands as the top available free agent starter following a season in which he logged 191 innings with a 3.34 ERA. Through age 29 he has a 3.72 ERA in 707 total innings as a big leaguer, all with Baltimore.

Chen turned down a $15.8 million qualifying offer from the Orioles and would require forfeiting a draft pick to sign, but because of the Marlins’ poor record last season they’d be giving up a second-rounder rather than a first-rounder.

Based on what Jeff Samardzija and Mike Leake signed for earlier this winter Chen would seemingly be in line for at least $75 million over five years and possibly as much as $100 million. And based on the Marlins’ track record with such signings they’d probably be looking to trade his contract in a year or two anyway.

MLB homer leader Pete Alonso to IL with bone bruise, sprain in wrist

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Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports
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PITTSBURGH — The New York Mets will have to dig out of an early-season hole without star first baseman Pete Alonso.

The leading home run hitter in the majors will miss three-to-four weeks with a bone bruise and a sprain in his left wrist.

The Mets placed Alonso on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to June 8. Alonso was hit in the wrist by a 96 mph fastball from Charlie Morton in the first inning of a 7-5 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

Alonso traveled to New York for testing on Thursday. X-rays revealed no broken bones, but the Mets will be missing one of the premier power hitters in the game as they try to work their way back into contention in the NL East.

“We got better news than it could have been,” New York manager Buck Showalter said. “So we take that as a positive. It could have been worse.”

New York had lost six straight heading into a three-game series at Pittsburgh that began Friday. Mark Canha started at first for the Mets in the opener. Mark Vientos could also be an option, though Showalter said the coaching staff may have to use its “imagination” in thinking of ways to get by without Alonso.

“I’m not going to say someone has to step up and all that stuff,” Showalter said. “You’ve just got to be who you are.”

Even with Alonso in the lineup, the Mets have struggled to score consistently. New York is 16th in the majors in runs scored.

The team also said Friday that reliever Edwin Uceta had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Uceta initially went on the IL in April with what the team called a sprained left ankle. He is expected to be out for at least an additional eight weeks.

New York recalled infielder Luis Guillorme and left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn from Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets sent catcher Tomás Nido to Triple-A and designated reliever Stephen Nogosek for assignment.

Nogosek is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 13 games this season.