MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers acquired shortstop Willy Adames in a multiplayer trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
The Brewers also got pitcher Trevor Richards from the Rays for relievers J.P Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen.
Adames, regarded as a top defensive shortstop, is hitting .197 with five homers and 15 RBI in 41 games. Richards has a 4.50 ERA and one save in six relief appearances.
The move could clear the way for Tampa Bay to bring up Wander Franco, widely considered the top prospect in baseball. But the switch-hitting shortstop is just 20 years old, and the Rays also have prospects Taylor Walls and Vidal Bruján at Triple-A Durham.
The acquisition of Adames gives the Brewers some help at shortstop, which had been a growing concern. Luis Urías, a first-year starter, is hitting .205 and has nine errors in 38 games.
Adames, 25, has a career .254 batting average with 43 homers and 124 RBI in 332 games.
METS: First baseman Pete Alonso went on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Wednesday because of a sprained right hand that has bothered him for more than two weeks.
Alonso has been nursing the injury since he was hit by a pitch.
The 2019 NL home run champion is batting .236 with six homers and 19 RBI. He is 5 for 40 since May 5.
YANKEES: Center fielder Aaron Hicks will have surgery for a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist that could sideline him for the rest of the season.
Hicks will be out for several months, Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged, but the team won’t be sure if the switch hitter has a chance to return this year until after the operation.
VACCINES: Two more Major League Baseball teams have been able to relax coronavirus protocols after 85% of their players and other on-field personnel completed vaccination, raising the total to 14 of the 30 clubs.
Relaxed protocols include dropping the requirements for facemasks in dugouts and bullpens, and loosening restrictions on mobility during road trips.
In addition, the Dodgers said Dodger Stadium will return to full capacity on June 15. The announcement means at least one-third of the 30 teams will be at full capacity by the All-Star break.
MLB said 84.4% of all Tier 1 individuals such as players, managers, coaches, trainers and support personnel have been partially or fully vaccinated, up 0.5% from the previous week, and 78.8% had been fully vaccinated, up 1.2%.
MARINERS: Four Seattle relievers were placed on the COVID-19 injured list after the Mariners reported a positive test within the team.
Those placed on the IL were right-handers Robert Dugger, Will Vest and Drew Steckenrider, and left-hander Anthony Misiewicz. The team did not say who tested positive.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
YANKEES 2, WHITE SOX 1: Gleyber Torres homered late and singled home the winning run in the ninth inning as New York – moments after a turning a clutch triple play – beat visiting Chicago.
White Sox lefty Carlos Rodón and counterpart Jordan Montgomery combined for 24 strikeouts during the first game since 1900 in which both starters had at least 10 punchouts while permitting no walks or runs, according to Stats.
Chicago put two runners on to open the ninth against closer Aroldis Chapman (3-0). Rookie Andrew Vaughn hit a sharp grounder toward third, where Gio Urshela stepped on the bag and went around the horn to nip Vaughn and suddenly end the inning as first baseman Luke Voit made a long stretch.
TWINS 10, INDIANS 0: Max Kepler and rookie Alex Kirilloff drove in two runs apiece in Minnesota’s nine-run fourth inning and the Twins shook off a couple long days of cross-country travel to beat host Cleveland.
NATIONALS 4, ORIOLES 2: Stephen Strasburg pitched into the sixth inning in his return from the injured list, allowing just one hit as Washington won at home.
BRAVES 20, PIRATES 1: Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a grand slam in the second inning off Tyler Anderson, pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza added another slam in the eighth against position player Wilmer Difo and Atlanta homered seven times in a rout of visiting Pittsburgh.
Austin Riley homered twice for his first multihomer game, and Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna and Dansby Swanson also went deep for the Braves, who became the first team in major league history to have seven or more homers in a game that included two slams, according to STATS.
REDS 9, BREWERS 4: Jesse Winker hit three solo home runs while going 4 for 4, leading Cincinnati to a win at home.
Tyler Naquin added a three-run homer as the Reds bounced back from being swept in a four-game series by San Francisco, capped by a 19-4 drubbing on Thursday.