Sandy Alderson says Jay Bruce trade was not about ‘saving money’ or slighting Yankees  —  PHILADELPHIA — After shipping Jay Bruce to the Indians Wednesday night, slighting an offer made by the Yankees, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said that the motivation was not pinching pennies or playing spoiler to the Yankees.

Girardi says ‘good possibility’ Montgomery starts Sunday  —  TORONTO (AP) Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Thursday there's “a really good possibility” that rookie left-hander Jordan Montgomery will be recalled from Triple-A to start against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.

Josh Bell, Gerrit Cole lead Pirates past Tigers 7-5 (Aug 10, 2017)  —  DETROIT (AP) Rookie Josh Bell hit his 20th homer and drove in three runs Thursday, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers.  —  Gerrit Cole (10-8) allowed six hits and three earned runs in a season-high eight innings.

rallykitty: St. Louis Cardinals credit stray cat as they claw past Royals 8-5  —  ST. LOUIS — After the St. Louis Cardinals' latest win Wednesday, Mike Matheny said he's not a cat person.  —  “But I liked that one,” he said of the kitten that ran on the field just before Yadier Molina sank his claws into the Kansas City Royals.

There's a sleeper for NL Manager of the Year that deserves some consideration  —  Should the Padres' Andy Green get some consideration?  —  On Thursday, my colleague R.J. Anderson ran down the top candidates as things stand for the National League Manager of the Year.

Dodgers win 80th game of season, rallying over Diamondbacks  —  Hitless in 23 previous at-bats, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Joc Pederson faced Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke with two outs in the seventh inning and a man on second base.  —  Pederson, who'd struck out in his first two at-bats …

Yankees Place Clint Frazier On DL, Activate Hicks  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees placed rookie outfielder Clint Frazier on the 10-day disabled list Thursday just as they welcomed back outfielder Aaron Hicks.  —  Frazier was a late scratch from the starting lineup Wednesday at Toronto …

Carlos Rodon on mound as White Sox seek sweep of Astros  —  White Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez discusses his outing in the team's 7-1 win over the Astros on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017.  (Chris Kuc/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  The White Sox will send Carlos Rodon to the mound …

Royals will play Class AAA affiliate to end spring schedule in 2018  —  If the schedule-makers are kind to the Royals, they'll have a short trip home to start the 2018 season.  —  The Royals announced on Thursday that they will play a game at the home of their Class AAA affiliate …

Rangers still have narrow path to playoffs, but strong finish required  —  If the Texas Rangers are going to make a run it needs to start already.  —  The club has been treading water the entire season.  Even a 10-game win streak in May did little to alter their course.

In the midst of one his best seasons in years, Gio Gonzalez continues to own the Marlins  —  Gio Gonzalez's 10-day whirlwind began with an emotional night in his hometown two Mondays ago, one in which he carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning at Marlins Park on what would've …

A MLB source indicated encouraging news for Cubs catcher Willson Contreras who will be out at least two weeks due to a hamstring injury suffered on Wednesday.  The Cubs avoided a  —  Read more on ESPN

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/10/17  —  Thursday's minor transactions from around baseball:  — The Mariners announced that they've outrighted catcher Tuffy Gosewisch to Triple-A Tacoma.  The team designated Gosewisch for assignment after its minor trade with the Rays last weekend.

Rangers Claim Jhan Marinez  —  The Rangers have claimed righty Jhan Marinez off waivers from the Pirates, per an announcement from Texas.  Marinez had been designated for assignment over the weekend.  —  Marinez, 28, already moved from the Brewers to the Bucs this year after a previous trip through DFA limbo.

Mets To Promote Dominic Smith  —  The Mets will promote first base prospect Dominic Smith to the majors on Friday, general manager Sandy Alderson told reporters, including Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter link).  Smith will follow shortstop Amed Rosario as the second well-regarded prospect …