Reliever Adam Ottavino returns to the Yankees, agrees to a 1-year contract

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Reliever Adam Ottavino returns to the Yankees, agrees to a 1-year contract

2025-04-02 04:25 Last Updated At：04:31

NEW YORK (AP) — Right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino is returning to the New York Yankees, agreeing Tuesday to a one-year contract.

Ottavino gets $1 million while in the major leagues and $150,000 while in the minors.

A 39-year-old sidearmer, Ottavino agreed to a minor league contract with Boston on Feb. 18 and exercised his right to be released on March 23 after compiling a 10.80 ERA in five spring training appearances.

“I felt like I was kind in a little bit of no man’s land for the last week or so, but it all came together pretty quickly,” Ottavino said before the Yankees opened a three-game series with the Diamondbacks. “Obviously I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m very lucky for it.”

He was 2-2 with one save and a 4.34 ERA in 60 relief appearances for the New York Mets last year, stranding 15 of 20 inherited runners.

Ottavino pitched for the Yankees in 2019 and '20, going 8-8 with a 2.76 ERA in 97 relief appearances. He is 41-43 with 46 saves and a 3.49 ERA in 14 big league seasons with St. Louis, Colorado (2012-18), the Yankees (2019-20), Boston (2021) and the Mets (2022-24).

“He’s kind of on our board a little bit,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I know the front office has been talking about him the last couple of weeks but felt like what he was doing at the back end of spring training was in line with who Otto is.”

The Yankees transferred right-hander JT Brubaker to the 60-day injured list and placed closer Devin Williams on the paternity list.

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Rising rivers threaten US South and Midwest after dayslong torrent of rain

2025-04-07 07:23 Last Updated At：07:30

FRANKFORT, Kentucky (AP) — Rivers rose and flooding worsened Sunday across the sodden U.S. South and Midwest, threatening communities already badly damaged by days of heavy rain and wind that killed at least 18 people.

From Texas to Ohio, utilities scrambled to shut off power and gas, while cities closed roads and deployed sandbags to protect homes and businesses.

In Frankfort, Kentucky, rescue crews checking up on residents in the state capital traversed inundated streets in inflatable boats.

“As long as I’ve been alive — and I’m 52 — this is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Wendy Quire, the general manager at the Brown Barrel restaurant in downtown Frankfort.

As the swollen Kentucky River kept rising, officials diverted traffic and turned off utilities to businesses in the city built around it, Quire said. “The rain just won’t stop. It’s been nonstop for days and days,” she said.

The river's depth had risen above 47 feet Sunday and was expected to crest above 49 feet Monday morning to a record-setting level, according to Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson. The city's flood wall system is designed to withstand 51 feet of water.

Forecasters said that flooding could persist as torrential rains lingered over several states. Tornadoes are possible in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, forecasters said.

For many, there was a sense of dread that the worst was still to come.

“This flooding is an act of God,” said Kevin Gordon, a front desk clerk at the Ashbrook Hotel in downtown Frankfort. The hotel was open Sunday and offering discounted stays to affected locals, but Gordon said it could eventually be forced to close.

The 18 reported deaths since the storms began on Wednesday included 10 in Tennessee. A 9-year-old boy in Kentucky was caught up in floodwaters while walking to catch his school bus. A 5-year-old boy in Arkansas died after a tree fell on his family’s home and trapped him, police said. A 16-year-old volunteer Missouri firefighter died in a crash while seeking to rescue people caught in the storm.

The National Weather Service said on Sunday dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach a “major flood stage,” with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.

In north-central Kentucky, emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Falmouth and Butler, towns near the bend of the rising Licking River. Thirty years ago, the river reached a record 50 feet (15 meters), resulting in five deaths and 1,000 homes destroyed.

There were 207 domestic and international flights cancelled within the U.S. and more than 5,400 delayed on Sunday, according to FlightAware.com.

The storms come after the Trump administration cut jobs at NWS forecast offices, leaving half of them with vacancy rates of about 20%, or double the level of a decade ago.

The NWS said 5.06 inches (nearly 13 centimeters) of rain fell Saturday in Jonesboro, Arkansas — making it the wettest day ever recorded in April in the city.

As of early Sunday, Memphis had received 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain since Wednesday, the NWS said. West Memphis, Arkansas, received 10 inches (25 centimeters).

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong winds and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

A northwestern Tennessee town of about 200 people that flooded after a levee failure in February was almost entirely underwater after the Obion River overflowed. Domanic Scott went to check on his father in Rives, Tennessee, after not hearing from him in a house where floodwater had reached the doorsteps.

“It’s the first house we’ve ever paid off. The insurance companies around here won’t give flood insurance to anyone who lives in Rives because we’re too close to the river and the levees. So if we lose it, we’re kind of screwed without a house,” Scott said.

In Dyersburg, Tennessee, dozens of people arrived Saturday at a storm shelter near a public school in the rain, clutching blankets, pillows and other necessities.

Among them was George Manns, 77, who said he was in his apartment when he heard a tornado warning and decided to head to the shelter. Just days earlier the city was hit by a tornado that caused millions of dollars in damage.

“I grabbed all my stuff and came here,” said Mann, who brought a folding chair, two bags of toiletries, laptops, iPads and medications: “I don’t leave them in my apartment in case my apartment is destroyed. I have to make sure I have them with me.”

For others, grabbing the essentials also meant taking a closer look at the liquor cabinet.

In Kentucky, with water rising up to his windowsills, Frankfort resident Bill Jones fled his home in a boat, which he loaded with several boxes filled with bottles of bourbon.

Izaguirre reported from New York. Kruesi reported from Nashville. Associated Press writers Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Adrian Sainz in Memphis; Tennessee; Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Obed Lamy in Rives, Tennessee; and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.