OF Rajai Davis agrees to contract with Tribe

OF Rajai Davis agrees to contract with Tribe

CLEVELAND

Rajai Davis can play all three outfield positions, bat almost anywhere in the lineup and steal a base when needed.

Just what the Indians were looking for.

With star left fielder Michael Brantley expected to miss the start of next season following shoulder surgery, the Indians and Davis agreed to a one-year contract on Thursday.

“He fits our team very well,” general manager Chris Antonetti said. “He can fill a variety of roles. He’s been a part-time player, he’s been a semi-regular player and he’s been a regular player, depending on what a team needs. We think he’ll really fit well on our team and help provide some balance with some of our left-handed hitting outfielders.”

The 35-year-old, who spent the past two seasons with Detroit, will be counted on to give the Indians outfield depth and added speed. He’ll also hold things down in left field while Brantley works his way back.

To make roster room for Davis, the Indians designated infielder Chris Johnson for assignment Thursday. Johnson, acquired from Atlanta in August, is guaranteed $17.5 million for the next two seasons and a 2018 option buyout.

Davis hit .258 with 11 triples, eight homers and 30 RBIs in 112 games last season, playing 46 games in center field, 39 in left and 10 games in right. Davis had 18 steals, including three against the Indians on April 25.

Davis has a .269 career average since debuting with Pittsburgh in 2006. He has 322 career steals.

Top running back commits to Michigan

ANN ARBOR, MICH.

Kareem Walker, the Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic four-star senior ranked the No. 1 running back by multiple recruiting services, committed to Michigan on Thursday at a news conference.

The second elite commitment in as many days — Michigan landed four-star linebacker Devin Bush Jr. out of Florida on Wednesday — Walker becomes the school’s highest-profile recruit in a hotbed state and, according to recruiting services Scout.com and Rivals.com, was expected to vault U-M’s 2016 class to No. 1.

At 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, Walker is a versatile back who was so talented, Ohio State locked him up with a commitment during the College Football Playoff title game last January.

But, by November, Walker had decommitted from the Buckeyes, opening the door for Michigan and others.

By the end of the process, he was reportedly down to the same final two as Bush: Michigan and Florida State, one team two years removed from a national title and one just a year removed from a 5-7 season. U-M won out again.

Howland High graduate De’Veon Smith started 11 of 12 games and rushed for 644 yards while Derrick Green, Drake Johnson and Ty Isaac, expected to supplement Smith, have vanished entirely.

QB Murray to transfer from Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas

Texas A&M quarterback Kyler Murray has left the team and has been granted his release to transfer.

The highly touted freshman is the second Texas A&M quarterback to transfer from the school in a week after Kyle Allen left last Thursday.

The move leaves the Aggies in a difficult predicament for the Music City Bowl against Louisville on Dec. 30. Texas A&M has just one scholarship quarterback on its roster in Jake Hubenak, a junior college transfer from Blinn College who played sparingly this season.

Murray missed practice Wednesday and coach Kevin Sumlin said at the time that the quarterback was “going through some things and didn’t feel well.”

Correction: Browns game set for Sunday

A game-time box in Thursday’s sports section incorrectly stated that the Browns-Seahawks game in Seattle was Thursday. The game is Sunday.

Kickoff is at 4:05 p.m. at CenturyLink Field.

Staff and wire reports