Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano is out for the rest of the Japan Series after fracturing his right pinkie toe in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game against Samurai Japan.
Cano was taken to a hospital for X-rays after he was hit by a pitch. The X-rays confirmed the fracture. Cano will be able to resume baseball activities in mid-December, according to MLB.com. He is expected to be fully healthy for spring training.
A year ago, Cano signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Mariners. He batted .314 with 14 home runs, 82 RBIs and a career-high 10 stolen bases in 595 at-bats in his first year in Seattle.
—Japan’s Takahiro Norimoto combined with three relievers to no-hit the Major League Baseball All-Stars 4-0 Saturday in Tokyo. Japan took a 3-0 lead in the five-game series.
Norimoto got offensive support from Hayato Sakamoto and Sho Nakata, who each clubbed two-run homers for Japan. Norimoto struck out six batters in five perfect innings to earn the victory.
—The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired right-hander Jeremy Hellickson on Friday night from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for two minor leaguers.
The trade, made by new Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart, sent two prospects, infielder Andrew Velazquez and outfielder Justin Williams, to the Rays.
Hellickson, 27, was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 2011 after posting a 13-10 record with a 2.95 ERA but started the 2014 season on the disabled list after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow on Jan. 30. He didn’t pitch until July 8 and finished the 2014 season with a 1-5 record and a 4.52 ERA.
—Agent Scott Boras denied covering up former slugger Manny Ramirez’s performance-enhancing drug use.
Newsday reported Friday that Boras tried to cover up a positive test in 2009 when Ramirez played with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez was suspended 50 games for using chorionic gonadotropin, a female fertility drug often used when coming off a PED cycle.
According to the report, Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch told federal investigators that Boras arranged a meeting with him after Ramirez tested positive for the banned substances in 2009. Boras came up with an explanation for the positive test that included Ramirez accidentally using an elderly uncle’s testosterone cream because he thought it was aftershave.
Bosch’s claims were recorded with evidence in the federal criminal case against him and others linked to the South Florida anti-aging clinic that provided PEDs to several baseball players.
In a lengthy statement, Boras denied Bosch’s allegations.
—Former major league slugger Jose Canseco’s reattached finger fell off during a poker game in Las Vegas this week.
Canseco accidentally shot himself in the left hand while cleaning his handgun at home in Las Vegas on Oct. 28. He had surgery to have the finger reattached.
In a series of tweets Friday, Canseco announced that the finger fell off.