NEW YORK — David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Howard and Tim Lincecum are among 13 first-time candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joining 17 holdovers.

Steroids-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens make their 10th and final appearance on the BBWAA ballot along with Curt Schilling, who fell 16 votes shy of the necessary 75% in last year’s balloting. Schilling appeared on 71.1% of ballots, Bonds 61.8% and Clemens 61.6%.

Justin Morneau, Jimmy Rollins and Jake Peavy also are new to the ballot along with Carl Crawford, Prince Fielder, Joe Nathan, Jonathan Papelbon, A.J. Pierzynski and Mark Teixeira, the Hall and BBWAA said Monday.

Holdovers include Bobby Abreu, Mark Buehrle, Todd Helton, Tim Hudson, Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, Andy Pettitte, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield, Sammy Sosa, Omar Vizquel and Billy Wagner.

Sosa also will be on the ballot for the final time after receiving 17% last year.

BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of membership are eligible to vote. Ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 31 and results will be announced Jan. 25.

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Any players elected will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 24 along with anyone elected by the Golden Days Era and Early Baseball Era committees, which are scheduled to meet on Dec. 5.

No was elected by the BBWAA in last year’s vote, and Schilling asked after the vote that the Hall remove him from the ballot.

“It’s all right, the game doesn’t owe me anything,” he said during a live video stream on his Twitter account.

Clemens has denied using performance-enhancing drugs and Bonds has denied knowingly using them. Bonds also has been accused of domestic violence and Clemens of maintaining a decade-long relationship with a singer who was 15 when they met.

Rodriguez was suspended for the 2014 season for violating MLB’s drug policy and collective bargaining agreement, and Ortiz’s name was alleged to have appeared on a list of players who tested positive during 2003 survey testing.

ANGELS: Left-handed reliever Aaron Loup has agreed to a $17 million, two-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

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The 33-year-old Loup went 6-0 with a 0.95 ERA in 65 appearances last season for the New York Mets, posting the lowest ERA among all major league relievers with at least 50 innings.

GIANTS: Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani reached agreement on a $36 million, three-year contract to remain with the San Francisco Giants.

DeSclafani emerged as a key member of Manager Gabe Kapler’s rotation during the NL West champion Giants’ record-setting 107-win season, going a career-best 13-7 with 152 strikeouts and a 3.17 ERA over 31 starts.

TRADES: Speedy utility player Tyler Wade was traded from the New York Yankees to the Los Angeles Angels for a player to be named or cash.

Wade was designated for assignment Friday when the Yankees needed roster spots to protect prospects ahead of the winter meeting draft.

The speedy 26-year-old infielder and outfielder hit .268 (34 for 127) with five doubles, one triple, five RBI and 17 stolen bases in 103 games last season.

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He has a .212 batting average (92 for 433) with six homers and 33 RBI over parts of five big league seasons.

•  The Chicago Cubs acquired outfielder Harold Ramirez from the Cleveland Guardians for cash.

The 27-year-old Ramirez batted .268 with seven home runs and 41 RBI in 99 games for Cleveland last season. He was designated for assignment on Friday.

• The Milwaukee Brewers acquired pitcher J.C. Mejia from the Cleveland Guardians for a player to be named or cash.

Mejia, 25, was 1-7 with an 8.25 ERA in 17 games this past season, including 11 starts. The right-hander struck out 47 and walked 24 in 52 1/3 innings.

•  The Texas Rangers acquired outfielders Billy McKinney and Zach Reks from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash.

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OBIT: Doug Jones, a five-time All-Star reliever who had his best success closing for the Cleveland Indians, has died. He was 64.

Jones spent seven seasons with the Indians and ranks third on the club’s career saves list with 129. The club, which officially transitioned to Cleveland Guardians last week, said Monday it was “saddened by the loss of one of our organization’s all-time greats.”

The team said Jones died in Arizona. A cause was not immediately known.

One of Jones’ former Indians teammates, pitcher Greg Swindell, posted on Twitter that his friend had died. Swindell called Jones “one hell of a pitcher.”

Jones pitched in the majors for 16 seasons with Cleveland, Houston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee and Oakland. He had two stints with the Indians, first from 1986-91 and again in 1998.

The right-hander had a career-high 43 saves in 1990 for Cleveland, where he made the All-Star team three times. In 2001, he was selected as one of the team’s top 100 players.

Jones went 69-79 with a 3.30 ERA in 846 big league games. He retired following the 2000 season with the Athletics.

Born in Covina, California, Jones was drafted by the Brewers in 1978.


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