NEW YORK — Boston Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello won the AL Comeback Player of the Year award Tuesday, and Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon received the NL honor.
Porcello also won the Cy Young Award in his second season with the Red Sox, helping Boston to its second AL East title in four seasons. He went 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA over 33 starts. Porcello bounced back after going 9-15 with a 4.92 ERA in 2015. His 22 victories led the majors.
Rendon hit .270 with 20 home runs and 85 RBI in 156 games in his fourth season. He had a .348 on-base percentage and a .450 slugging percentage to help the Nationals win the NL East for the second time in three seasons. Rendon was limited to 80 games in 2015 because of injuries.
The awards are voted on by the 30 team beat writers from MLB.com.
METS: After testing free agency for the second straight offseason, outfielder Yoenis Cespedes agreed to a $110 million, four-year contract.
A two-time All-Star, Cespedes gets $22.5 million in 2017, $29 million in each of the following two seasons and $29.5 million in 2020.
Cespedes, 31, receives a full no-trade provision as part of the agreement, the largest for a free agent this offseason. The deal’s $27.5 million average annual value ties former Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for the second-highest among position players, trailing only Miguel Cabrera’s $29.2 million with Detroit.
Acquired by the Mets from the Tigers at the July 31 trade deadline in 2015, Cespedes had 17 home runs and 44 RBI in 57 games with the Mets down the stretch, helping them reach the World Series for the first time since 2000.
After finding a slow market in a free-agent class that also included Jason Heyward, Alex Gordon and Justin Upton, Cespedes made a surprise return to the Mets when New York agreed in January to a $75 million, three-year contract that allowed him to opt out after one season and $27.5 million.
Cespedes had 31 homers and 86 RBI in 132 games this year.
BREWERS: The team signed free agent Eric Thames, who spent the last three seasons in Korea, and designated first baseman Chris Carter for assignment.
Carter tied for the National League lead in home runs with 41 in 2016, his one season with the Brewers. He’s eligible for arbitration.
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