Austin Hays, Kyle Finnegan, Brendan Rodgers and Jordan Romano among 62 new free agents

NEW YORK (AP) — Outfielder Austin Hays and right-hander Kyle Finnegan — both former All-Stars — and second baseman Brendan Rodgers were among 62 players who became free agents Friday when their teams failed to offer 2025 contracts.

Right-hander Jordan Romano, left-hander Patrick Sandoval and outfielders Michael Tauchman and Ramón Laureano also were among the players cut loose, including 36 who would have been eligible for salary arbitration.

Washington cut right-hander Tanner Rainey, its last remaining player from the 2019 World Series champions.

More than 20 players agreed to contracts ahead of the deadline, including San Francisco outfielder Mike Yastrzemski ($9.25 million), Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin ($5.4 million) and New York Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham ($5 million).

Hays, 29, was an All-Star in 2023 when he hit .275 with 16 homers and 67 RBIs for Baltimore. He was traded to the Phillies last July 26 and batted .256 with two homers and six RBIs in 22 games while dealing with a kidney infection.

The 33-year-old Finnegan was an All-Star this year for Washington and finished with 38 saves.

In addition, Kansas City acquired second baseman Jonathan India, the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year, in a trade with Cincinnati to play alongside star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. The Royals also acquired outfielder Joey Wiemer while sending right-hander Brady Singer to Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh acquired reliever Peter Strzelecki from the Cleveland for cash.

The deadline marked the last time a team could drop an arbitration-eligible player without committing to at least 30 days of termination pay if the player is released. The flurry of cuts and contracts left 169 players eligible to exchange proposed arbitration salaries with their teams on Jan. 9.

Others reaching one-year deals were Baltimore third baseman Emmanuel Rivera ($1 million); Cleveland right-hander Ben Lively ($2.25 million) and left-hander Sam Hentges ($1,337,500); Detroit second baseman Zach McKinstry ($1.65 million) and third baseman Andy Ibáñez ($1.4 million); Minnesota right-hander Michael Tonkin ($1 million); Yankees right-hander JT Brubaker ($1.82 million); Texas right-handers Dane Dunning ($2.66 million) and Josh Sborz ($1.1 million); Toronto right-hander Erik Swanson ($3 million); Chicago Cubs right-handers Julian Merryweather ($1,225,000) and Keegan Thompson ($850,000); Cincinnati infielder Santiago Espinal ($2.4 million); Colorado outfielder Sam Hilliard ($1 million); Milwaukee catcher Eric Haase ($1.35 million); New York Mets right-hander Sean Reid-Foley ($800,000 in majors, $386,375 in minors); Philadelphia right-hander José Ruiz ($1,255,000) and catcher Garrett Stubbs ($925,000 in majors, $450,000 in minors); and San Francisco right-hander Austin Warren ($785,000 in majors, $350,000 in minors)

Grisham can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses for plate appearances: $50,000 each for 350 and each additional 50 through 550.

Ruiz can earn $45,000 in performance bonuses for games: $20,000 for 30 and $25,000 for 40.

Among players reaching one-year deals on Thursday were Dodgers right-hander Dustin May ($2,135,000), Cubs catcher Matt Thaiss ($1 million in majors, $400,000 in minors), Colorado left-hander Lucas Gilbreath ($785,000) and Washington right-hander Mason Thompson ($770,000 in majors, $374,600 in minors).

San Diego infielder/outfielder Tyler Wade agreed to a $900,000, one-year contract that includes an $850,000 salary this year and a $1 million team option for 2026 with a $50,000 buyout. Wade can earn $150,000 in performance bonuses each year for plate appearances: $25,000 each for 100 and 150, and $50,000 apiece for 200 and 250.

In addition, the Mets agreed to minor league contracts with first baseman Joey Meneses and catcher Jakson Reetz.

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FILE - Colorado Rockies' Brendan Rodgers follows the flight of his RBI single in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sept. 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - Washington Nationals relief pitcher Kyle Finnegan delivers during a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Sept. 14, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

FILE - Philadelphia Phillies' Austin Hays takes an at-bat during a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Sept. 24, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A key U.N. General Assembly committee adopted a resolution late Friday paving the way for negotiations on a first-ever treaty on preventing and punishing crimes against humanity after Russia dropped amendments that would have derailed the effort.

The resolution was approved by consensus by the assembly’s legal committee, which includes all 193-member U.N. nations, after tense last-minute negotiations between its supporters and Russia that dragged through the day.

There was loud applause when the chairman of the committee gaveled the resolution’s approval. It is virtually certain to be adopted when the General Assembly puts it to a final vote on Dec. 4.

“Today’s agreement to start up negotiations on a much-needed international treaty is an historic achievement that was a long time coming,” Richard Dicker, Human Rights Watch’s senior legal adviser for advocacy, told The Associated Press.

“It sends a crucial message that impunity for the kinds of crimes inflicted on civilians in Ethiopia, Sudan, Ukraine, southern Israel, Gaza and Myanmar will not go unheeded,” he said.

The resolution calls for a time-bound process with preparatory sessions in 2026 and 2027, and three-week negotiating sessions in 2028 and 2029 to finalize a treaty on crimes against humanity.

Dicker said Russia’s proposed amendments left in question whether treaty negotiations would have been completed.

Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Maria Zabolotskaya said Russia withdrew the amendments “in a spirit of compromise." But she said Russia “dissociates itself from consensus.”

“This, of course, does not mean that we are not ready to work on this crucial convention,” Zabolotskaya told the committee.

The International Criminal Court was established to punish major perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide and it has 124 countries that are parties to it. The ICC says crimes against humanity are committed as part of a large-scale attack on civilians and it lists 15 forms including murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, sexual slavery, torture and deportation.

But the ICC does not have jurisdiction over nearly 70 other countries.

There are global treaties that cover war crimes, genocide and torture — but there has been no specific treaty addressing crimes against humanity. And according to sponsors of the resolution, led by Mexico and Gambia and backed by 96 other countries, a new treaty will fill the gap.

Kelly Adams, legal advisor at the Global Justice Center, also called the resolution “a historic breakthrough” after many delays.

Pointing to “the proliferation of crimes against humanity around the world,” she expressed hope that a treaty will be “strong, progressive and survivor-centric.”

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard expressed disappointment that the timeline had been extended until 2029, but said, “What’s important is that this process will deliver a viable convention.”

“It is long overdue and all the more welcome at a time when too many states are intent on wrecking international law and universal standards,” she said. “It is a clear sign that states are ready to reinforce the international justice framework and clamp down on safe havens from investigation and prosecution for perpetrators of these heinous crimes.”

After the resolution’s adoption, Gambia’s Counselor Amadou Jaiteh, who had introduced it hours earlier, called its approval “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a difference,” to hope for a world without crimes against humanity, “and a world where voices of victims are heard louder than their perpetrators.”

FILE - Exterior view of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, on April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)