MLB notes: Royals exercise options on Alcides Escobar, Wade Davis

The World Series champion Kansas City Royals kept on shaping their roster for next season on Thursday, exercising an $8 million option on All-Star closer Wade Davis and $5.25 million option on All-Star shortstop Alcides Escobar.

The Royals also declined a $3 million option on outfielder Jonny Gomes, one day after learning All-Star outfielder Alex Gordon had declined his player option and choosing not to exercise options on aging outfielder Alex Rios and unproductive starter Jeremy Guthrie.

General manager Dayton Moore indicated Thursday the Royals are interested in signing Gordon and free agent Ben Zobrist.

“We’ll see what the market brings,” Moore said. “Obviously our goal is to bring back players that are most impactful to us, and you know, the players you mentioned have been a big part of our success here. We’ll do everything we can to make sure we operate efficiently, first of all, and do the best we can to get them back. We’ll see what happens.”

There was no question that Davis and Escobar will be part of the 2016 team.

After a starring turn as a setup man, Davis took over as the closer when Greg Holland required Tommy John surgery. He wound up saving four games in the playoffs, and recorded the final out in the 12th inning of Game 5 against the New York Mets to wrap up the World Series.

Holland will likely miss all of next season, which means Davis – who has a $10 million option for 2017 with a $250,000 buyout – will go into spring training as the closer.

Escobar was MVP of the A.L. Championship Series, and proved to be a sparkplug when he returned to the top of the lineup late in the season. He hit an inside-the-park homer to lead off Game 1 of the World Series, helping propel the Royals to their first championship since 1985.

While he hit just .257 with three homers and 47 RBIs, Escobar also played marvelous defense, and could win his first Gold Glove when the results are revealed next week.

The Royals have a team option worth $6.5 million with him for the 2017 season, too.

Rangers hire Doug Brocail, Anthony Iapoce

The Rangers hired former reliever Doug Brocail as their pitching coach and Anthony Iapoce as hitting coach when they also promoted two Triple-A coaches to complete manager Jeff Banister’s on-field staff for next season.

Brocail replaced Mike Maddux, who left the A.L. West-champion Rangers last week after seven seasons when the sides failed to agree on a new contract. Maddux was hired Thursday as pitching coach for new Washington manager Dusty Baker.

In his 15 seasons pitching in the majors, Brocail appeared in 626 games for San Diego, Houston, Detroit and Texas, pitching 104 games for the Rangers in 2004-05. He was Houston’s pitching coach from 2011-13, then a special pitching adviser for the Astros in 2014. He was pitching coach at Double-A Corpus Christi last season.

Iapoce spent the last three years overseeing the Chicago Cubs’ minor league hitting program as a special assistant to the general manager/player development.

CC Sabathia: No other option

New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia says he had “no other option” than to leave the team for treatment for alcoholism ahead of its loss to Houston in the one-game A.L. wild-card playoff.

In his first remarks to media since seeking treatment, Sabathia told ABC “it was just the time.”

An excerpt from the interview was posted Thursday on ABC’s website. The network says the interview will be broadcast Friday on “Good Morning America.”

“I know it was a bad time of the season, but there was no other option for me but to get help,” Sabathia said. “And I understand where, you know, fans would be upset and people don’t understand, but it’s a disease. And if it was my knee or it was anything else, then people wouldn’t have a problem with it, but, you know, it being alcoholism, it’s tough for people to swallow. But it’s the same thing.”

The 35-year-old left-hander was 6-10 with a 4.73 ERA this season, slowed by a chronic knee injury.

Clearing the bases

The San Francisco Giants declined their 2016 contract options on outfielders Nori Aoki and Marlon Byrd. Both players became free agents, but the Giants left open the possibility of bringing them back later in the offseason. … The Angels have declined their $7 million contract option for next season on outfielder David Murphy, making him a free agent. Murphy gets a $500,000 buyout. … The White Sox have declined a $10 million option on shortstop Alexei Ramirez and owe the former All-Star a $1 million buyout. Ramirez, 34, is a .career 273 hitter with 109 homers and 542 RBIs in eight seasons.