D2 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2 , 2020
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BASEBALL
Ross, Nationals agree
on $1.5 million salary
Joe Ross and the Washington
Nationals agreed to a $1.5 million
salary for 2021, ensuring that the
27-year-old right-hander will stay
with the club and avoid an
arbitration hearing.
The sides aligned Tuesday,
according to a person with
knowledge of the deal, a day
ahead of the deadline for teams to
tender contracts for arbitration-
eligible players. Ross is expected
to again compete for the fifth spot
in Washington’s starting rotation.
But there are additional
wrinkles after Ross opted out of
playing in 2020. By doing so, he
forfeited his salary — a lso an
agreed-upon $1.5 million — a nd a
full year of major league service
time. As a result, he will be
arbitration eligible for a fourth
time after next season.
That will delay his ability to
become a free agent, giving the
Nationals an extra year of team
control. Ross was acquired in the
2014 trade that also brought Trea
Turner to Washington.
With Ross’s deal out of the way,
the Nationals have two more
arbitration-eligible players in
Turner and Juan Soto. They
happen to be franchise
cornerstones. Turner, a 27-year-
old shortstop, is in his third year
of eligibility and was set to make
$7.45 million in 2020 before
salaries were prorated. Soto, a 22-
year-old phenom, is in line to be
Super Two eligible and is due for a
big raise on the $629,400 salary
assigned to him by the Nationals
this past year.
Washington can negoti ate with
either player at any time. But if
they don’t agree before 7 p.m.
Wednesday — the non-tender
deadline — the Nationals will
have to officially tender contracts
to Turner and Soto.
— Jesse Dougherty
The Bo ston Red Sox and left-
hander Eduardo Rodríguez
avoided arbitration by agreeing to
a one-year deal worth
$8.3 million. Rodríguez, a career-
best 19-6 in 2019 with a 3 .81 ERA,
missed all of last season because
of heart inflammation caused by
covid-19....
Left-hander Mike Minor and
the Kansas City Royals finalized a
two-year, $18 million d eal,
reuniting the 2019 all-star with
the club that helped him revive
his career....
The New York Mets reached
their first agreement with a free
agent since Steve Cohen bought
the team, a d eal with 31-year-old
right-hander Trevor May, who
had a 3 .86 ERA in 24 relief
appearances for the Minnesota
Twins last season....
Utility man Chad Pinder
reached a o ne-year, $2,275,000
contract, and right-hander Burch
Smith agreed to a one-year,
$705,000 deal with the Oakland
Athletics....
Hall of Fame manager Tom
Lasorda was moved out of
intensive care, although he
remains hospitalized in Southern
California. Los Angeles Dodgers
spokesman Steve Brener said the
team’s 93-year-old former
manager is doing rehab at the
hospital in Orange County.
Lasorda has been hospitalized
since Nov. 8.
PRO BASKETBALL
B oston Celtics point guard
Kemba Walker will be sidelined
until at least the first week of
January after receiving a s tem cell
injection in his left knee.
Team president of basketball
operations Danny Ainge said the
decision was made after Walker
consulted with multiple
specialists in early October.
Walker was then put on a 1 2-week
strengthening program for the
upcoming season. He is expected
to resume on-court activities in
early December.
Walker was a b ig part of
Boston’s run to the Eastern
Conference finals, averaging 19.6
points and 5.1 assists during the
postseason....
Golden State General Manager
Bob Myers said two Warriors
tested positive for the
coronavirus, meaning the club
won’t start full-scale practice
unti l at least Monday, just six days
before its preseason opener....
The Los An geles Lakers re-
signed veteran forward Jared
Dudley to a o ne-year contract.COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Vanderbilt has only one kicker
listed on its two-deep chart for
this weekend’s game at No. 11
Georgia, and it’s Sarah Fuller, the
first woman to play in a Power
Five game.
“She’ll be with us on the trip to
Georgia, and we’re going to put
the best people out there,” interim
coach Todd Fitch said.
None of the kickers who were
out last week after coronavirus
issues kept them away from the
team are back yet....
Former Oklahoma coach Bob
Stoops is helping coach the
Sooners again — a t lea st for now
— because of coronavirus issues.
The Sooners had to postpone
this past Saturday’s game against
West Virginia and temporarily
paused organized team activities
because of recent positive tests
and contact tracing.
The situation affected the
assistant coaches, leading
Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley
to ask Stoops for help. Riley said
Stoops was on the field helping
coach the team Tuesday.
Stoops, 60, led the Sooners to
10 conference championships
and a n ational title in 18 seasons
and had a career record of 19 0-48
at Oklahoma....
Stanford is heading for a long
trip to the Pacific Northwest
because of new virus protocols in
California’s Santa Clara County.
The new rules prohibit
practices and games for contact
sports for three weeks. The
Cardinal is traveling to Seattle on
Wednesday to begin preparing for
Saturday’s game at Washington.
It will then spend the following
week in Corvallis, Ore., before
playing Oregon State on Dec 12.
That game had originally been
scheduled to be played at
Stanford but has been moved
because of the new rules.MISC.
S even-time Formula One
champion Lewis Hamilton
tested positive for the coronavirus
and will miss this weekend’s
Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain.
Hamilton was tested three
times last week and returned a
negative result each time, the last
on Sunday afternoon at the
Bahrain International Circuit.
But Hamilton woke up Monday
morning with mild symptoms
and was then informed that a
contact before arrival in Bahrain
had subsequently tested positive,
his Mercedes team said....
Mikaela Shiffrin, a three-time
overall World Cup champion, will
skip World Cup races in
Switzerland this weekend after
missing training time in speed
events during the pandemic, the
U.S. ski team said.
— From news services
and staff reportsDIGESTASSOCIATED PRESSAtlético Madrid was held to a
1-1 dr aw against a depleted Bayern
Munich squad Tuesday, failing to
secure its spot in the knockout
stage of the Champions League in
advance.
João Félix put Atlético ahead in
the first half, but Thomas Müller
equalized from the penalty spot in
the 86th.
A win would have been enough
to give Atlético a spot in the round
of 16 after Lokomotiv Moscow lost
to Salzburg, 3-1, at home earlier
Tuesday, but the draw kept the
Spanish club only two points in
front of third-place Salzburg,
which is its opponent in the final
round of Group A matches.
Bayern had already clinched
first place after four consecutive
victories in the group and rested
several regular starters for the
match in the Spanish capital. The
defending champion reached 13
points, while Lokomotiv stayed
with three.
Salzburg kept alive its faint
hopes of qualifying for the knock-
out round after getting a pair of
first-half goals from Mergim Ber-
isha....
Host Shakhtar Donetsk beat
Real Madrid, 2-0, in Kyiv, Ukraine,
leaving the 13-time European
champion’s hopes of advancing
hanging in the balance in Group
B.
Dentinho made the most of a
defensive lapse early in the second
half, and fellow substitute Manor
Solomon secured the result late as
the Ukrainian side completed the
double over Madrid in the group.
Shakhtar goes ahead of Madrid
courtesy of a better head-to-head
record. Both teams are one point
behind group leader Borussia
Mönchengladbach....
Romelu Lukaku scored twice as
Inter Milan beat h ost
Mönchengladbach, 3-2, in Ger-many to avoid being eliminated in
the group stage for the third year
in a row....
Host Porto advanced to the
knockout stage w ith a 0-0 draw in
Portugal against already-quali-
fied Manchester City, whose point
assured the English team a first-
place finish in Group C.
The result suited both teams,
though City created t he better
openings at Estádio do Dragão.
That was especially so in the sec-
ond half when defender Rúben
Dias squandered a chance from
close range and Gabriel Jesus had
a goal disallowed for an offside
call against teammate Rodri.
Porto needed just a draw to join
City in advancing and is guaran-
teed to finish in second place....
Dimitri Payet scored on two
penalty kicks in the second half,
and host Marseille beat Olympia-
kos, 2-1, in France. The Group C
result leaves them tied for points,and results in the last round of
matches will determine which
team places third and drops into
the Europa League....
Jürgen Klopp could count on
his kids to see injury-depleted
Liverpool through to the knock-
out stage from Group D.
A first European goal from Cur-
tis Jones secured a 1-0 victory over
Ajax for the hosts, clinching a
place for the English side in the
next round with a game to spare.
The midfielder scored after
connecting with a cross from fel-
low 19-year-old Neco Williams,
taking advantage of s tranded
goalkeeper André Onana and clip-
ping the ball into the net with the
outside of his right boot in the
58th minute.
The victory came on a day when
Liverpool’s defensive problems
intensified a fter goalkeeper Alis-
son Becker was ruled out by K lopp
for up to two weeks with a ham-string strain.
The Brazil international suf-
fered the injury in the second half
of a 1-1 dr aw at Brighton in the
Premier League on Saturday,
Klopp said, but he finished the
game.
Liverpool is already missing al-
most its entire first-choice de-
fense, with center backs Virgil van
Dijk and Joe Gomez out with long-
term injuries and right back Trent
Alexander-Arnold also side-
lined....
FC Midtjylland picked up its
first point in club history in the
Champions League with a 1-1
draw at Atalanta in Bergamo, Ita-
ly.
Atalanta moved into second
place in Group D, a p oint above
Ajax, and needs just a point
against Ajax in the Netherlands
next week to send it through to the
knockout stage for the second suc-
cessive year.SOCCER ROUNDUPAtlético misses a chance to advanceJUANJO MARTIN/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK
M ario Hermoso a nd Atlético Madrid get one more shot to clinch a Champions League round-of-16 spot.ATLÉTICO MADRID 1,
BAYERN MUNICH 1teammates,” she said.
There are four Pro Swim Series
meets scheduled for the first half
of 2021. Ledecky would like to race
as often as possible, but health and
safety concerns promise to dictate
all of her decisions. The first meet
is scheduled for mid-January in
Richmond.
“We’re kind of taking it step by
step, and things change so much
that it’s hard to plan really far in
advance,” she said.
“You just want to make sure
that you get everything in place to
keep yourself safe and keep others
safe. So we’re just taking a cau-
tious approach.”
As for formally receiving her
degree from Stanford, Ledecky
isn’t quite certain. The school’s
graduation ceremonies are sched-
uled for June — at the same time as
the U.S. Olympic trials. If the cer-
emony is a virtual one, Ledecky
said she would like to take part.
“But it might be from a hotel
room in Omaha,” she said.
rick [email protected]vember, her first live competition
since the TYR Pro Swim Series
event in Des Moines in February.
“It’s been nice to have those
opportunities to race next to some
people that you know aren’t yourskipped last month’s U.S. Open,
the first major American meet in
more than eight months. Along
with her Stanford teammates,
Ledecky competed against the
California swim team twice in No-dominated headlines and nation-
al conversation in the summer
and fall, Ledecky loaded up on
political science courses to fulfill
requirements for her minor.
Ledecky often has spoken of the
impo rtance of education to her
and her family and recently
launched initiatives to encourage
young people to pursue STEM
fields (science, technology, engi-
neering and mathematics).
Ledecky said her formal educa-
tion will continue beyond her
bachelor’s degree. She plans to
continue her studies — perhaps
business school or law school — in
the near future.
“I don’t know exactly what area
I want to go into,” she said, “but I
want to explore some of these in-
terests that I’ve developed over the
last couple of years.”
With schoolwork complete,
Ledecky is locked in on training
for Tokyo, where she is likely to
take aim at five medals. SheLEDECKY FROM D1After earning degree, Ledecky shifts focus to Tokyo
TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST
Katie Ledecky wants to race as often as possible in preparation for
the 2021 Games, but health and safety concerns are paramount.for United in 2007. Realistically,
though, he is off to Los Angeles.
Jill Ellis, a two-time World Cup
winner with the U.S. women’s
national team, had introductory
conversations with United
officials several weeks ago. She is
the first woman to be considered
for an MLS head coaching job.
However, Ellis seems to be
keeping her options open for a
possible return to the
international arena ahead of the
2023 Women’s World Cup.
One person familiar with
United’s search said the Ellis
candidacy “seems dead,”
although another did not rule
out the team revisiting the
possibility.
United has spoken to several
candidates overseas, including
Javier Aguirre, Clarence Seedorf,
David Wagner, Eddie Howe and
former U.S. World Cup defender
Steve Cherundolo, who is
coaching in Germany. T he
chances of landing Wagner or
Howe, former Premier League
coaches, were slim from the start.
The Athletic reported United
has also had multiple
conversations with Manchester
City assistant Rodolfo Borrell. A
person close to the matter said
the Spaniard is in the mix but
unlikely to end up in Washington
for a variety of unspecified
reasons.
[email protected]Would the Sounders be willing
to let Schmetzer go and hand the
reins to assistant Preki
Radosavljevic or Gonzalo
Pineda? Radosavljevic has had
two MLS head coaching jobs and
two second-division gigs, while
Pineda is projected to become a
head coach in the near future.
The other opening is in D.C.,
where Chad Ashton has held the
interim job since Ben Olsen’s
firing in October.
Over the past month, United
has spoken to about 20 potential
candidates. Two people familiar
with the search said the list has
been whittled to three or four
and a decision is expected by
mid-December.
The club, several people said,
would prefer someone with MLS
experience.
Chris Armas, a former New
York Red Bulls coach, and Ezra
Hendrickson, a Columbus Crew
assistant, have been interviewed
by the club’s chairmen, Jason
Levien and Steve Kaplan. It’s
unclear whether anyone else has
reached that level of review.
Ashton, Pineda and
Philadelphia assistant Pat
Noonan were also being
considered. At least one notable
player, a person close to the
process said, is backing Ashton.
Would United make a late play
for Vanney? It’s possible. Beyond
his coaching success, he playedtitles, the organization and its
fan base have high expectations.
Furthermore, competing for
attention with Los Angeles FC,
the Galaxy has got to get the
coaching situation right before
losing more ground to a local
rival that has been among MLS’s
best (in regular season play,
anyway) since entering the
league in 2018.
Vanney’s departure — 55
weeks after Toronto lost to
Seattle in the 2019 MLS Cup —
creates a coveted opening in the
Canadian city.
Meanwhile, another high-
profile club, Atlanta United, has
yet to announce a long-term
replacement for Frank de Boer,
the Dutchman who was fired in
July, midway through his second
season. Stephen Glass is serving
on an interim basis.
Multiple people said the job is
probably going to Argentina’s
Gabriel Heinze, a move the club
hopes will revive the stylish and
high-scoring attack featured in
2017-18 under Argentina’s
Gerardo “Tata” Martino.
In Seattle, Brian Schmetzer
has guided the Sounders to three
of the previous four Western
Conference championships and
won two titles, including last
year. But his contract expires this
month, and he and the club
reportedly haven’t made much
progress toward a new deal.The MLS coaching
landscape was
already in an
intriguing state
when Toronto FC
announced a bombshell T uesday:
Greg Vanney was stepping down
after six years, five playoff trips,
three MLS Cup appearances and
one league title.
Vanney, 4 6, was in the final
year of his contract. But given his
success and ownership’s deep
pockets — Toronto FC is operated
by the same group that runs,
among other properties, the
NBA’s Raptors and NHL’s Maple
Leafs — he figured to stay much
longer.
In October, he said he was
“very close” to agreeing to an
extension.
Vanney was not only the coach
but also the technical director,
overseeing the club’s greater
mission developing talent and a
philosophy.
Speculation immediately
turned to Vanney taking over the
Los Angeles Galaxy, for which he
had two stints during a 14-year
playing career. (He also played at
UCLA.)
The Galaxy is seeking a
replacement for Guillermo
Barros Schelotto, who was fired
late in his second season amid
the team’s fourth consecutive
subpar campaign.
With a record five MLS CupV anney’s departure changes MLS coaching landscape
On Soccer
STEVEN GOFFYWZZQQSF