Southern seeks HOFers

SALINEVILLE — The Salineville-Southern Local Athletic Hall of Fame is accepting nominations for the Class of 2026. Induction of new members will be held the weekend of September 11-12. Nomination forms are available on the school web site www.southern.k12.oh.us. The deadline to nominate someone is June 1. Nomination forms should be mailed to Deborah Boyd, 5893 St. Rt. 164, Leetonia, OH 44431.

Clevinger sent to minors

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Mike Clevinger’s career reset with the Pittsburgh Pirates is going to start in the minors.

The club reassigned the veteran right-handed pitcher to minor league camp on Monday. The 35-year-old, who agreed to a minor league deal with Pittsburgh in early February, went 1-0 with a 5.02 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings of work during spring training, starting in two games and serving as a reliever in two others.

Clevinger is 60-44 with a 3.55 ERA across nine seasons with Cleveland, San Diego and the Chicago White Sox. He has dealt with injuries in recent seasons and struggled with the White Sox last spring after being moved to the bullpen. He bounced back after returning to the rotation with Triple-A Charlotte. Clevinger went 7-3 with a 4.20 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 22 starts in the minors last summer.

The Pirates have a young rotation led by reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, veteran Mitch Keller and rookie Bubba Chandler, who went 4-1 during a stint in the majors at the end of last season.

Clevinger was eyeing a spot either at the back end of the rotation or as a long reliever. Pittsburgh instead went with Carmen Mlodzinski as their fifth starter and Jose Urquidy and Hunter Barco in middle-inning relief roles.

Clevinger’s best days came with Cleveland from 2017-19, when he was 38-18 with a 2.91 ERA.

McCutchen will be on the Rangers roster

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Andrew McCutchen will be on the opening day roster for the Texas Rangers, who expect the 39-year-old former MVP outfielder to split some time at designated hitter, maybe play a few games in the field and be a mentor to their young, talented outfielders.

Chris Young, the team’s president of baseball operations, said Monday that McCutchen, who joined the team on a minor league contract less than three weeks ago, will be part of the 26-man squad when the Rangers begin the season Thursday at Philadelphia. The 2013 National League MVP and five-time All-Star more than a decade ago with Pittsburgh won a roster spot over Mark Canha, another veteran outfielder also in camp on a minor league deal.

“I was wrote off in a lot of places, honestly told to retire. But I knew deep down there was something in me that told me that there was still more in the tank and that I could continue to keep playing,” McCutchen said. “For them giving me the opportunity … I’m going to make sure that it’s worth it from both of our ends.”

The right-handed-hitting McCutchen, who will make $1.5 million playing in the majors this season, batted .444 (8 for 18) in seven spring training games, with three doubles, a home run and seven RBIs.

“There were a number of factors that went into it, but ultimately we felt like Cutch earned it just with his performance,” Young said.

McCutchen is a .271 career hitter with 332 homers and 1,152 RBIs in 2,262 games over 17 big league seasons, all but five of those with the Pirates. He spent the past three seasons back in Pittsburgh, batting .239 with 13 homers and 57 RBIs last year when 120 of his 135 games were as the DH.

“This is the beginning of for me to continue to keep doing what I’ve been doing since I got here. And understanding that just because I’m here doesn’t mean that I’m here to stay,” McCutchen said. “I have to remind myself of that every single day that I’m out here and that I am on the field. Even the days that I’m not starting, always knowing that there’s a way to improve, and for my peers and teammates, there’s something that I can do to be able to help them.”

The Rangers have rising standouts Wyatt Langford in left field and Evan Carter in center, with veteran newcomer Brandon Nimmo in right after they acquired him from the Mets in a trade that sent second baseman Marcus Semien to New York.

Hall of Fame recognizes assistants

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Influential special teams coach Mike Westhoff, former San Francisco 49ers offensive line coach Bobb McKittrick and longtime defensive coach Ted Cottrell will be honored with the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Awards of Excellence for the 2026 class.

The Hall announced on Monday that the three assistants were picked as part of the fifth class for the Awards of Excellence who will be honored later this year.

Westhoff spent 33 seasons in the NFL, spending the majority of his career in charge of special teams with the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.

McKittrick was the offensive line coach for 21 seasons with the 49ers, and was one of four coaches involved with all five of the franchise’s five Super Bowl titles. Bill Walsh brought McKittrick to San Francisco in 1979 and he played a key role in establishing a dynasty.

Cottrell worked for six franchises over 24 seasons and is viewed as an innovator of the 3-4 defense. He helped develop several Hall of Famers, including Bruce Smith in Buffalo.

The Hall previously announced winners in three other categories with Scott Berchtold, Jim Gallagher and Lee Remmel picked as public relations directors; Red Batty, Mike Davidson and Jack Noel as equipment managers; and Edward “Abe” Abramoski, Kent Falb and Michael Ryan in the athletic trainers category.

The Hall will still announce the winners in film and video directors category for the ceremony in June.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL