Baseball notes: Red Sox finalize deal with Japanese pitcher
Associated Press
The Red Sox anded another Japanese pitcher, completing their contract with right-hander Junichi Tazawa.
“I wanted to challenge myself to do more in the United States,” Tazawa, who spurned professional teams in Japan to sign with the Red Sox, said through a translator at a Fenway Park news conference.
Tazawa is expected to begin next season in Double-A but could soon join Japanese pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima with the big club.
“I did speak to them, we talked about baseball and also some cultural issues,” Tazawa said about his countrymen and potential future teammates. “(Matsuzaka) has got a presence that’s even more above the clouds, which means that he’s been a great hero of mine.”
Wilson on the move?
The Dodgers have been involved in extensive talks this week about acquiring longtime Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson, with one hang-up being his $7.25 million salary for next season, a person familiar with the talks said.
Los Angeles apparently wants the Pirates to pick up a substantial share of Wilson’s salary, a problem because Pittsburgh has little organizational depth at shortstop and has no prospect ready to take his place, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing.
The Dodgers had season-long problems at shortstop because of Rafael Furcal’s back problems, and would seem to be a good fit for Wilson — a southern California native who is strong defensively and is a .269 career hitter.
MLB salaries down
Baseball salaries started to slow this year even before the economy cooled.
The average salary in Major League Baseball this season was $2.93 million, the players’ association said in its annual report.
The 3.6 percent increase was the smallest since 2004, when the average declined 2.5 percent from the previous season.
With some teams skittish because of the recession, the free-agent market has slowed this offseason. Only seven of 171 free agents had agreed to contracts entering Thursday, but the pace was expected to pick up at the winter meetings, which start Monday in Las Vegas.
Mayor playing ball
When it comes to getting a luxury box at the new Yankees and Mets stadiums, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s aides appear willing to play ball.
Recently released internal e-mails between the mayor’s aides, city lawyers and Yankees officials show that City Hall gave the team even more parking spaces than had been negotiated previously, plus the rights and revenue from three billboards near the stadium in exchange for a suite.
For months, the city had publicly played down the importance of having exclusive use of the suite, but the e-mails obtained and released by state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky show luxury boxes in both ballparks were “a big issue to the mayor,” as one official put it.
Brodsky is investigating the city’s deals with the Mets and Yankees, who are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies for new stadiums that are scheduled to be completed next year.
Renteria back in NL
Edgar Renteria is back in the National League, where he thinks he belongs.
Renteria became the second free agent to join the San Francisco Giants in two days, receiving an $18.5 million, two-year contract to replace 11-time Gold Glove shortstop Omar Vizquel.
A five-time NL All-Star, Renteria has spent 11 of his 13 major league seasons in the National League. He won a World Series ring with the 1997 Florida Marlins and a pennant in 2004 with St. Louis, but struggled during a pair of one-season stints in the AL, with Boston in 2005 and Detroit this year.
Signings
Free agent reliever Jorge Julio agreed to a $950,000, one-year contract with Milwaukee, adding a right-hander with experience as a closer to the Brewers’ thin bullpen.
The 29-year-old split last season between Cleveland and Atlanta, going 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA in 27 relief appearances. He was released by the Indians in June but finished the season strong for the Braves, earning all three of his victories with a 0.73 ERA in 12 appearances.
* Reliever Mike Lincoln agreed to stay with the Cincinnati Reds, accepting a
$4 million, two-year contract following a comeback season.
The 33-year-old right-hander was 2-5 with a 4.48 ERA in a career-high 64 games this year. He missed more than three seasons following elbow-ligament replacement surgery in July 2004 while with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Bonds’ counts dropped
Federal prosecutors dropped four counts of lying to a grand jury against Barry Bonds, leaving him to face trial next year on 10 counts of making false statements plus an addition obstruction of justice charge.
Bonds faces the same potential sentence range — probation to roughly two years in prison — if convicted. His trial is scheduled to begin March 2.
Cards acquire Greene
The St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of the San Diego Padres’ sell-off by acquiring shortstop Khalil Greene.
The Padres get minor league right-hander Mark Worrell and a prospect to be named from a pool of players.
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Filed by Associated Press December 5th, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 2% |
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