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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani returned to cheer on his Los Angeles Angels teammates and to receive some cheers of his own in the final weekend of the regular season.

Ohtani had been away from the Angels since surgery on his pitching elbow Sept. 19, but he was back in the dugout Saturday night when the Halos hosted Oakland.

The two-way superstar received several standing ovations before the game while he accepted the Angels’ team MVP award on the field from general manager Perry Minasian and manager Phil Nevin. Angels owner Arte Moreno wasn’t on the field for the ceremony.

Ohtani is the strong favorite to win his second AL MVP award in three seasons despite playing in his final game Sept. 3. Nevin was among many Angels eager to check in with their teammate and friend.

“I’m going to give him a big hug and hope I don’t hurt his elbow,” Nevin said before the game. “I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks. … I know he misses the guys, and everybody misses him, too. He knows his schedule. He’s never somebody I have to worry about with his rehab or getting stronger or getting ready for next season. Come into spring training, and I know he’s going to be ready.”

Ohtani is in the final year of his contract with the Angels, so the weekend carries added weight for the teammates and fans who don’t know whether Ohtani will be back in Anaheim next season. Ohtani cleared out his locker at the Big A during a game on Sept. 15 after getting test results that determined he would need surgery.

The Angels hope to re-sign Ohtani in free agency despite missing the playoffs and posting a losing record in all six seasons of his stateside career. They will have stiff competition from more successful franchises, including the nearby Los Angeles Dodgers, despite Ohtani’s injury.

Ohtani still leads the majors with a 1.066 OPS, and he is all but certain to win the AL home runs crown with 44 despite hitting his final homer of the season Aug. 23. That’s the day Ohtani homered in the first inning of the opening game of a doubleheader before injuring his elbow ligament pitching in the second inning.

Ohtani won’t pitch next season while his elbow recovers from surgery, but his surgeon has said Ohtani should be able to hit in 2024 before returning to the mound in 2025. Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, has said Ohtani is determined to continue his two-way career after recovering.

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz accepted an invitation on Tuesday to compete in Monday’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Cruz is the fifth player to commit to the competition, held one day before the All-Star Game. The others are Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Cruz, 26, is known for having a powerful bat and regularly delivers some of the hardest-hit homers in the sport. His home run May 25 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers had an exit velocity of 122.9 mph and was the hardest hit homer in the 10-year Statcast era.

But Cruz has never hit more than 21 in a season, and that was in 2024. He’s on track to set a new high this year and has 15 in 80 games.

Cruz has 55 career homers in 324 games with the Pirates.

Cruz will be the first Pittsburgh player to participate in the Derby since Josh Bell in 2019. Other Pirates to be part of the event were Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012) and Pedro Alvarez (2013).

Overall, Cruz is batting just .203 this season but leads the National League with 28 steals.

Among the players to turn down an invite to the eight-player field are two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and 2024 runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers recently turned down a spot as a consideration to nagging injuries.

Top power threats Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers also are expected to skip the event.

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

New York Yankees All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr., after making 28 starts in a row at third base, is moving back to second base starting with Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone confirmed the change on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast on Tuesday.

Chisholm, who is batting .245 with 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 steals in 59 games, has recently been bothered by soreness in his right shoulder, which he said is an issue only on throws.

He said he prefers to play second base and prepared in the offseason to exclusively play in that spot before injuries played havoc with Boone’s lineup card, starting with Chisholm’s oblique injury in May.

Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera went down with a season-ending ankle injury on May 12.

DJ LeMahieu manned second base while Chisholm was at third, but Boone has a better glove option in Oswald Peraza, a utility man with a stronger arm plus defensive skills across the infield.

LeMahieu, 36, is batting .266 with two home runs and 12 RBIs this season.

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

The Chicago White Sox reinstated outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Robert, 27, has struggled this season through career lows in batting average (.185), on-base percentage (.270) and slugging percentage (.313). Through 73 games, he has amassed just 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, eight home runs) in 285 plate appearances.

He does have 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts and is just one shy of his career- high in steals.

In a corresponding move, the White Sox optioned infielder Tristan Gray to Triple-A Charlotte. Gray was just recalled before Monday night’s game but did not play.

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