Archives for January 2010

Eric Byrnes does not care what his role becomes. Just hearing Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik say he believes Byrnes can still contribute after two injury-plagued season was good enough. Seattle added a needed, veteran right-handed bat to its roster signing Byrnes to a one-year deal on Friday two weeks after he was let loose by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"Once I talked to Jack I knew this was the right fit. It was just a matter of figuring out what other opportunities I had out there," Byrnes said. "Right away I just felt that this was the place I felt like I could contribute.

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The New York Yankees will bring the World Series trophy to Tokyo, Beijing and Hong Kong on a six-day Asia tour, the Yankees said on Thursday. The Major League Baseball championship trophy will accompany a delegation of Yankees executives, including team president Randy Levine and general manager Brian Cashman, who will arrive at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Sunday.

It will be displayed on Monday at the MLB Cafe in Tokyo alongside the Yomiuri Giants' 2009 Japan Series championship trophy. The trophy will be displayed on Wednesday at Beijing's New World Department Store, and on Friday in Hong Kong at New World's recently-opened K11 mall. During the trip, the Yankees delegation will also meet Wednesday with the China Baseball Association (CBA) to further their cooperation agreement. The World Series winners created a partnership with the CBA three years ago formalizing the CBA's first strategic alliance with a Major League Baseball club.

The New York Yankees and free agent outfielder Randy Winn agreed Wednesday to a $2 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The agreement, which all but eliminates any chance Johnny Damon has of returning to the World Series champions, is subject to a physical that is scheduled for Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because a final agreement was not in place.

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An agreement that would help keep the Chicago Cubs' spring training home in Arizona cleared a hurdle Monday, winning approval from city officials in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa. Under the deal, Mesa would build an $84 million stadium and training facility for the Cubs, and the team would stay in Arizona for at least another 25 years. State lawmakers still need to approve legislation to finance and build the stadium, and Mesa voters will need to approve it in November. But city officials see those as minor hurdles.

"The Cubs, they have a 50-year history with the city," Mesa City Manager Chris Brady said. "Everyone knows them and we're pretty optimistic we'll get the support."The Cubs also must decide to give Mesa exclusive negotiating rights by the end of the week for the deal to move forward, Brady said. City officials in Naples, Fla., are trying to lure the Cubs away from Mesa, where the team first trained in 1952 and has played almost every spring since.

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Left-hander Tim Byrdak and the Houston Astros have avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.6 million contract. General manager Ed Wade said in a statement Sunday that the deal includes bonuses. Byrdak made $1 million in 2009. He asked for $1.9 million and the Astros offered $1.3 million. The 36-year-old Byrdak made a club-leading 76 relief appearances last year and was 1-2 with a 3.32 ERA. He held opponents to a .178 average, lowest in the majors among left-handers. Byrdak allowed just 39 hits in 61 1-3 innings pitched. Starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez is the only remaining Astros player in arbitration.

Mike Scioscia thought about the Los Angeles Angels' rotation, now that Joel Pineiro has been added to holdovers Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, Scott Kazmir and Ervin Santana. "You put Joel in that mix, and I think our rotation can hold its own against any rotation in our league," the manager said. "It's a terrific fit for us."

Pineiro and the Angels finalized a $16 million, two-year contract on Friday, a deal that pays him $8 million a season. He also had been sought by the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers but choose the Angels on Wednesday, subject to a physical.

A 31-year-old right-hander, Pineiro was 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA last season for the St. Louis Cardinals, his best season since going 16-11 for Seattle in 2003. He has an 87-79 record with a 4.39 ERA in 10 major league season that also included a stint with the Red Sox.

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His fans from Seattle to Venezuela call him "King Felix."Yet it's another, more personal title that Felix Hernandez cites as the reason his career took off last year, when he went from maddening inconsistency and unfulfilled potential to dominant pitching that earned him a $78 million, five-year deal with the Mariners.

Dad. "It's the maturity, man. I had my kids and it made me grow up," the 23-year-old ace said Thursday after finalizing his first big contract.

The move averted an arbitration hearing between Hernandez and the Mariners, and it keeps him under contract through 2014. The right-hander gave up a chance to become a free agent after the 2011 season.

Wearing a constant grin, a sharp, black, three-piece suit, a silver tie plus diamonds in each earlobe, the son of a truck driver rolled up his cuffs. He pulled away his jeweled watch and proudly showed off script tattoos inside each wrist — the names and birthdates of his and wife Sandra's 4-year-old daughter, Mia, and 11-month-old son, Jeremy.

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In an unexpected twist, Bengie Molina is coming back to the San Francisco Giants. The free-agent catcher reached a preliminary agreement with the Giants on a $4.5 million, one-year contract, two people with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical and had not been completed.

The 35-year-old Molina can earn an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on games started. KPIX TV in San Francisco first reported Molina's deal.

It's a surprising move for both sides, because Molina had been negotiating a deal only days ago with the New York Mets, who offered $5.5 million in guaranteed money as part of a proposal that included a vesting option for 2011. But if Molina stays healthy, he would earn $500,000 more from the Giants this year than under the Mets' proposal.

Molina had originally hoped to land a three-year contract this offseason, and Giants general manager Brian Sabean had said the veteran backstop wouldn't return.

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Players and clubs rushed to settle salary arbitration cases before the scheduled exchange of figures Tuesday. Twelve more players reached agreements Monday, leaving 110 set to swap salaries among the 128 who filed for arbitration last Friday. Dozens more were expected to settle by Tuesday morning.

Florida struck one-year deals with second baseman Dan Uggla ($7.8 million) and pitchers Anibal Sanchez ($1.25 million) and Renyel Pinto ($1,075,000). The frugal Marlins, under pressure from the players' association, agreed last week to increase their payroll from last year's $37.5 million, the major league low. Two days later, they agreed to a $39 million, four-year contract with pitcher Josh Johnson, a deal the team still has not officially announced.

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 Mark McGwire received a standing ovation from Cardinals fans Sunday in his first public appearance in St. Louis since admitting he used steroids. His scheduled news conference, only minutes later, was much more combative.

The second session was shifted to an overcrowded hallway at the last minute, and McGwire evaded questions about the criticism he's received from ex-players. He repeatedly emphasized that he was ready to talk about the game instead of performance-enhancing drugs. "I hope you all can accept this," McGwire said at the Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up. "Let's all move on from this. Baseball is great right now, baseball is better.

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