FORT MYERS, Fla. — First baseman C.J. Cron has agreed to a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox that includes an invitation to big league camp for spring training.
The Red Sox announced the deal on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Cron played for Colorado and the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, batting .248 with 12 homers and 37 RBI in 71 games. He was hampered by back issues for much of last year.
Cron was an All-Star in 2022, hitting .257 with 29 homers and a career-best 102 RBI in 150 games for the Rockies.
Cron, who broke into the majors with the Angels in 2014, is a .260 hitter with 187 homers and 604 RBI in 1,049 career games. He also has played for Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Detroit.
Cron has appeared in 16 games at Boston’s Fenway Park, batting .328 (21 for 64) with six homers and 13 RBI.
Pitcher Kutter Crawford delivers a pitch in the first inning of Boston’s 3-1 win over Toronto in a spring training game on Sunday in Fort Myers, Florida. Crawford allowed two hits in three scoreless innings. Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
• Kutter Crawford pitched three scoreless innings and the Red Sox beat Toronto 3-1 in a spring training game in Fort Myers, Florida.
Crawford allowed two hits, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.
Masataka Yoshia, Nathan Hickey and Dalton Guthrie each had an RBI single for Boston.
BRAVES: Chris Sale is looking pretty good in his first spring training with Atlanta.
The lanky left-hander struck out five in 2 2/3 scoreless innings in Atlanta’s 3-2 win over Philadelphia in Florida. He allowed three hits – all singles – walked two and hit a batter.
Sale pitched two hitless innings in his spring debut against Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old Sale has been one of the majors’ most dominant pitchers when he is healthy, but he has struggled with injuries over the years. He was acquired in a December trade with Boston.
He went 6-5 with a 4.30 ERA in 20 starts in his last year with the Red Sox.
NATIONALS: Prospect Daylen Lile has a lower back contusion after tumbling over the outfield wall during a spring training game.
The 21-year-old Lile was taken off on a stretcher during the seventh inning of Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Boston. He got hurt when he tried to make a leaping catch on Tyler Miller’s solo homer to right-center.
Manager Dave Martinez said Sunday that Lile was out of the hospital.
“I mean, he’s hurting. But he’s gonna be OK, which is great news,” Martinez told reporters. “We lucked out.”
DIAMONDBACKS: Arizona signed veteran infielder Elvis Andrus to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league spring training.
The two-time All-Star has played in the majors for 15 seasons, spending time with the Texas Rangers, Oakland A’s and Chicago White Sox. He has 2,091 career hits, which ranks third among active players, behind only Joey Votto and Freddie Freeman.
DODGERS: Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani each had three hits and Freddie Freeman drove in two runs during the Dodgers’ 7-4 win over the Rockies. Betts is 7 for 17 so far this spring, and Ohtani is 5 for 7 in limited action.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.