MLB Capsules: Texas spent time getting to know Yu before $111M
ARLINGTON (AP) — Before the Texas Rangers committed more than $111 million to get Japan's best pitcher, they spent more than two years watching and getting to know Yu Darvish.
"It wasn't just sitting behind the plate with a radar gun," Texas general manager Jon Daniels said.
Sure, that was part of the process of scouting Darvish. But Rangers scouts in the Pacific Rim who watched just about every one of his starts in recent seasons and other team officials also spent time developing a personal relationship with the pitcher and his family.
"They've probably seen about 50 games the last two years, they were very thorough in how they evaluated," said Don Nomura, one of Darvish's agents. "We knew they were very interested in Yu, and I'm glad it was the Texas Rangers that won the bid."
That familiarity with each other should help the 25-year-old Darvish with the cultural transition he faces playing in the United States and the major leagues.
Arn Tellem, the other agent, said all the effort by the Rangers to build a personal connection was "very significant" to Darvish, who agreed Wednesday to a $60 million, six-year contract with the two-time defending American League champions.
The deal was finished at the end of a 30-day exclusive negotiating window for Texas that began when its record $51,703,411 posting bid was accepted last month by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, Darvish's team in Japan's Pacific League.
Though negotiations went down to the final minutes before a deadline when Darvish would have stayed in Japan without a deal, Daniels said talks were never contentious since they knew each other so well.
"It wasn't like the clock started on Day 1 and we were a brand new entity. They were open with us and talked with us and gave us access," Daniels said. "You hear about other negotiations where you're completely shut off from the player or the family, and it wasn't handled that way."
Darvish, whose only previous visit to Texas was two weeks ago, was expected back Friday night to be formally introduced by his new team.
Texas appointed a director of Pacific Rim operations just more than four years ago, and has since expanded to three full-time scouts and a couple of part-timers who scout the area that includes Japan.
With the bigger presence there, the Rangers got to see and bring back starter Colby Lewis, a supplemental first-round pick by Texas in 1999 who revived his career with two seasons in Japan. Right-handed reliever Yoshinori Tateyama, a teammate of Darvish's with the Fighters, joined the Rangers last year.
"We've had more and more of our American professional scouts and some of our best evaluators go over there, just knowing that, not just with Yu, that there was going to be opportunity," Daniels said.
They turned quite a bit of their attention the last couple of seasons toward Darvish, the 6-foot-5 right-hander who is a two-time Pacific League MVP. He had a 93-38 record with a 1.99 ERA in 167 games the past seven seasons in Japan, and pitched an average of 205 innings the past five years.
"As it became more and more evident, whether it was this year or next year at some point there was a chance Yu would get posted, we really ramped up our efforts," said Daniels, one of 12 different Rangers officials or scouts who watched Darvish pitch in Japan just last season.
"We knew the size of the investment was going to be big and we were going to have to be really thorough in our presentation to ownership and be convicted if this is what we decided to do," he said. "Our guys really did their homework, and we feel really good about the process."
So do Darvish's agents, who said Texas is where the pitcher wanted to play in the majors.
The Rangers talked to Darvish's teammates in Japan, players who competed against him, his managers, coaches and people who knew him outside of baseball.
"You heard the same thing time after time," Daniels said. "This is a guy that's really committed to his craft, that wants to be the best and wants to win on the biggest stage."
Texas President and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, who has watched film and first met the pitcher earlier this month, called Darvish a unique talent who clearly has the potential to be a No. 1 starter in the majors. But the Rangers aren't yet putting that kind of expectation on him even with their huge financial investment.
"What you hope is that he comes to spring training and that he's comfortable and that he fits into the routine, and doesn't put a lot of pressure on himself to try to prove that he's worthy of the consideration that he got and also of the attention that is going to brought to him," Ryan said. "If he comes in and doesn't put a lot of pressure on himself, the transition should go fairly well."
Darvish doesn't have to impress the Rangers. They already know him.
Cherington: Red Sox eager for 2012 to start
BOSTON (AP) — After his first winter as general manager of the Boston Red Sox, Ben Cherington can't wait until spring training so he can finally see how things are working out.
And his players are eager to get going for their own reasons.
"I'm really looking forward to getting down there and seeing this in action," Cherington said Thursday night before the annual dinner of the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "I truly believe our players are ready to put last year behind them. Spring training is the first chance to do that."
More than 600 people attended the dinner at a downtown Boston hotel where designated hitter David Ortiz was presented with the Roberto Clemente Award as well as the Tim Wakefield Award for community service by a Red Sox player. Retired St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was given the organization's most prestigious honor, the Judge Emil Fuchs Award for long and meritorious service to baseball, named for the former owner of the Boston Braves.
Others honored included Chicago Cubs outfielder Tony Campana, who overcame Hodgkin's lymphoma, as the Tony Conigliaro Award winner for dealing with adversity.
Jacoby Ellsbury was chosen as the Red Sox MVP after a year in which he finished second in the AL MVP voting. One year after playing in just 18 games because of injuries, Ellsbury batted .321 with 32 homers and 105 RBIs — all career highs — and had 39 stolen bases.
He also batted .358 with eight homers and 21 RBIs in September, one of the few bright spots for the Red Sox as they went 7-20 down the stretch to finish one game behind Tampa Bay in the AL wild-card race.
"I'm really looking forward to being with the guys," Boston manager Bobby Valentine said, turning to Ortiz and saying: "That smile is part of any culture. So I want to see that smile."
Alluding to the reports of pitchers drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse during games, Valentine said, "Josh Beckett's presence has got to be the right presence, and he assures me that it is."
"One of my jobs is to get the guys to believe. Not to believe in me," Valentine said. "But to believe that they deserve and they're ready to win a championship."
Other honors included:
— Associated Press sports writer Howard Ulman with the Dave O'Hara Award for BBWAA service.
— Fenway Park architect Janet Marie Smith for her work on the ballpark's renovations, in recognition of its 100th anniversary.
— Catcher Ryan Lavarnway as Red Sox minor league player of the year.
— Traded outfielder Josh Reddick with the Harry Agganis Award as Red Sox rookie of the year.
— Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon as manager of the year.
— Texas general manager Jon Daniels as major league executive of the year.
— Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, with the Tommy McCarthy Good Guy Award.
Cherington also declined to comment on reports that Commissioner Bud Selig had taken over the drawn-out talks for compensation from the Cubs for former general manager Theo Epstein. Epstein left to take over as president of baseball operations in Chicago, but the teams never settled on what the Red Sox would get for letting him out of his contract with one year left.
"We'd like to find a resolution. We may need help to do that," Cherington said, adding he hopes it will be done before spring training.
The other big change for the Red Sox this offseason was the loss of closer Jonathan Papelbon, who signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Red Sox obtained former Oakland closer Andrew Bailey in a trade for Reddick.
Ortiz is headed to arbitration, unless the sides can work out a deal before the hearing.
"We lost a closer; we replaced a closer. The best DH in the game: That guy's back," Cherington said. "We just don't feel like we needed wholesale changes."
Also Thursday, the Red Sox announced a restructuring of their medical staff.
Rick Jameyson, who spent 20 years as a trainer in the Indians organization, joined the Red Sox as head athletic trainer. Pat Sandora, who had been the organization's minor league strength and conditioning coach, has been hired in the same role in Boston.
Larry Ronan will continue as the team internist and Peter Asnis has been promoted to head team orthopedist.
"We hope that the staff gives the players everything they need and does it in a way that shows the players" that the staff has their best interests at heart, Cherington said, "and ultimately keep them on the field more."
Cherington stressed that he wasn't blaming the old crew for the injuries and conditioning that helped doom the team down the stretch.
''There were areas of the players' individual conditioning we thought could improve over 2011," he said. "Ultimately, it falls back to the players to take care of themselves."
-- Jimmy Golen
Tigers ready to move on without DH Martinez
DETROIT (AP) — At this time last year, Tigers manager Jim Leyland was telling reporters that the middle of his lineup was set "in stone" — with new designated hitter Victor Martinez in the No. 5 spot.
Now Leyland's batting order is a lot less certain. After an excellent first season in Detroit, Martinez tore the ACL in his left knee last week during offseason conditioning, and the Tigers are considering their options with spring training set to start in about a month.
"I wrote down several lineups already since this happened," Leyland said. "But there's also a blank spot in the lineup. Whatever spot it may be, there's also a blank spot, because somebody's got to DH."
Leyland was relatively at ease Thursday during the Tigers' winter caravan. Detroit announced Martinez's injury Tuesday, so the team has had a chance to reflect on the news. He could miss the entire season.
Detroit won the AL Central by 15 games last year and reached the AL championship series behind Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Martinez. The team has been quiet this offseason, but now the Tigers must scramble a bit. Martinez hit .330 with 103 RBIs in 2011, and that production won't be easy to replace.
"I think we'll have somebody, either internally or externally, by opening day," Leyland said. "The only blessing to this whole thing is we've got 10 weeks to rectify the problem."
Martinez signed a $50 million, four-year contract with Detroit before last season, and Leyland couldn't wait to put him right behind Cabrera in the lineup. The two formed a powerful pair, but Cabrera — the slugging first baseman — downplayed the importance of having another big bat immediately after him in the order.
"We've got a great organization. We've got a great manager. I think they'll figure out what they're going to do," Cabrera said. "I don't worry about who's going to hit behind me, who's going to hit in front of me."
Martinez was signed to be the team's DH and also catch occasionally, but injury problems late last season made it hard for him to play the field. Detroit acquired Gerald Laird in the offseason to back up starting catcher Alex Avila, but now the switch-hitting Martinez's bat is out of the picture for the foreseeable future.
"I was about as shocked as everybody else was. It's an injury, it happens in this game a lot," Avila said. "A lot of teams every year go through injuries that they have to kind of get through as a team."
Leyland sounded open to a number of possible solutions, although he didn't want to discuss too many specifics. Because they're replacing a DH, the Tigers can be flexible, either acquiring someone for that spot or bringing someone in to play the field and moving somebody else to DH.
"It depends on who the guy is," Leyland said. "Is the guy really a full-time DH? Is he a part-time player, part-time DH? Is he a guy you can play in the field? Does it mean you can make some adjustments and give guys a little more rest?"
The Tigers re-signed outfielder Delmon Young on Tuesday after trading for him in August, and outfielder Brennan Boesch is back after hitting .283 with 16 home runs in 115 games last year. The 26-year-old Boesch hurt his right thumb and had to miss the end of the season — and Leyland doesn't seem eager to change his role much, in the field or in the batting order.
"I don't really want Boesch to be a DH," Leyland said. "Boesch is coming back off the thumb and everything and I don't want him to start worrying right now about, 'Oh my God, I'm behind Cabrera again, I've got to protect Cabrera.'"
Leyland expects pitching to be a strength. Verlander won the Cy Young Award and MVP last year, and Detroit will now have a full season of Doug Fister. The Tigers acquired Fister in the middle of last season, and he went 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA after joining Detroit.
"There's no question about it. We've got a good team," Leyland said. "We're going to be starting the season this year with Delmon Young and Fister. They're going to be here from the get-go this time. After we got them last year, we really went on a roll. Obviously, Victor was a big part of that as well, but we're pretty good."
-- Noah Trister
Zumaya says he still has the zoom in his right arm
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Joel Zumaya has painfully realized the potential hazard of his natural gift. Being able to throw the ball incredibly hard can come with a price.
So as the right-hander resumes his career with Minnesota, Zumaya will bring a different mentality to the mound. If he's healthy — he said Thursday he feels "great" — he'll still be relied on to strike opponents out in the late innings. But his breaking and off-speed pitches will be an important part of his repertoire. Not just the 100-mile-per-hour heat.
"I've grown up a little bit," said Zumaya, the former Detroit reliever who signed a one-year contract with the Twins this week for an $850,000 base salary plus as much as $900,000 in performance-based bonuses. "You can't just throw 100 by people right now. For me, 100 is overrated. There are quite a few athletes who throw 100, and hitters are timing it now."
Zumaya said he's worked extensively on his curveball and changeup this offseason, as part of his comeback from a broken elbow. That happened during a delivery to then-Twins outfielder Delmon Young, one of his close friends, from the mound at Target Field on June 28, 2010. That was the last day he pitched in a real game for the Tigers, and it felt like the joint "exploded," he said.
That was the latest significant injury to his right arm since an exceptional rookie year in 2006 that featured 97 strikeouts in 83 1-3 innings, a 1.94 ERA and an appearance in the World Series. He hasn't pitched more than 39 innings since then. He missed big chunks of the 2008 and 2009 seasons because of shoulder problems and was out of commission for much of the year before that with a middle finger strain.
Finally, in 2010, Zumaya was back in form, putting up eye-popping numbers on the in-stadium radar screens, posting a 2.58 ERA in 38 1-3 innings with 34 strikeouts and just 11 walks, the best ratio of his career. But then came that sickening sound from his elbow.
"It knocked me down to my knees. I haven't been knocked down to my knees since a high-school fight," Zumaya said on a conference call with reporters. "I had no idea if I was going to be able to pitch on the baseball field again."
He felt pain last spring and eventually needed a second surgery to reposition the screw that was placed in his arm and wasn't able to return in time to participate in 2011. Now, after extra time to heal, he said he's fully healthy. Zumaya passed his physical exam Wednesday.
"I just had an X-ray yesterday, and it looked remarkable," Zumaya said, adding: "Being out the whole year basically gave me the whole year I needed for this arm to get recuperated and healthy."
The Tigers offered him a minor league contract to make the team out of spring training, but he decided — "no hard feelings," he said — to take the best offer with the AL Central rival Twins. Zumaya threw 40 pitches for scouts from several teams last month in the Houston area at about 70 or 80 percent strength, he said.
"It's well-known that I can try to touch triple digits, but my thoughts were just going in there and displaying how my arm was, how I was feeling, how my body was doing and what I'm capable of doing," Zumaya said.
That capability includes, of course, reaching back and trying to blow one of those flaming fastballs by former teammate Miguel Cabrera or American League newbie Albert Pujols when he has to.
"I'm 27 years old. I still have a lot of gas in my tank," Zumaya said. "I'm going to turn it up a notch on those boys, but right now I think I can get away with 95 or 96, finding the strike zone, throwing a curveball and throwing a nice little changeup."
According to the advanced baseball research website fangraphs.com, Zumaya was averaging 99 mph with his fastball before his last injury. Roughly 80 percent of the pitches he's thrown in his career have been fastballs.
"There ain't no doubt in me that I'll touch triple digits again. Maybe in the summer when it's warm and I'm feeling good. Maybe against those Tigers," he said.
That would work for the Twins. They badly needed a power arm in the back of their bullpen after finishing last in the majors with a collective 4.51 relief ERA last year.
"Hopefully we can keep him on the mound," general manager Terry Ryan said. "Everybody knows he's had some problems injury-wise, but he is healthy now. ... He fits perfectly for us."
-- Dave Campbell
Indians' Carmona arrested for false identity
CLEVELAND (AP) — From year to year and game to game, the Cleveland Indians never knew what to expect from Fausto Carmona. On Thursday, he stunned them again.
Carmona, the Indians' opening-day starter last season, was arrested in the Dominican Republic for allegedly using a false identity. Officials in his native country are contesting his real name and birthdate.
Police spokesman Maximo Baez Aybar said Carmona was arrested in Santo Domingo outside the U.S. consulate, where he had gone to renew his visa. Carmona had played winter ball in the Dominican as he prepared to report to the Indians' training camp in Goodyear, Ariz., next month. At this point, his future with the club is uncertain.
Aybar said Carmona's real name is apparently Roberto Hernandez Heredia and he's 31, three years older than the pitcher claimed. The Indians list Carmona's birthday as Dec. 7, 1983, in their 2011 media guide.
"We were recently made aware of the situation that occurred today in the Dominican Republic and are currently in the process of gathering information," Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said. "We are not prepared to make any additional comment at this time."
Carmona's agent said he was caught off-guard by the arrest and that there are Dominican lawyers working on the player's behalf. He did not disclose the names of the lawyers.
"This took us by complete surprise," agent Jay Alou said. "What we have to do now is wait to find out the process that has to be done with the consulate with this new identity in order to see if he can get a new work visa."
Carmona's arrest is the second involving a major leaguer in four months in a false identity case. Miami Marlins reliever Leo Nunez was arrested in September. Last month, an apologetic Nunez said he falsified his identify when he was young so he could play professional baseball. Nunez's real name is Juan Carlos Oviedo and he's 29, a year older than listed in the Marlins' media guide.
Carmona's career in Cleveland has been one of extremes. After going 1-10 in 2006, the right-hander with a wicked slider came out of nowhere to win 19 games in 2007, shocking the Indians who had briefly experimented with him as a closer. Carmona, though, followed up with a disappointing 2008 season, and in 2009 the club sent him to the lower minors to work on his mechanics.
Carmona rebounded to win 13 games in 2010 in manager Manny Acta's first season. Although he went just 7-15 last season, Carmona stayed healthy, didn't miss a start and was expected to be part of the starting rotation this season. The Indians picked up his $7 million option for 2012 in October.
The Indians signed Carmona to a four-year contract in 2008. The club has options on him for 2013 at $9 million and 2014 at $12 million.
Cleveland signed Carmona as a free agent in 2000.
-- Dionisio Soldevila and Tom Withers
Indians add Accardo and Lewis
CLEVELAND (AP) — Injuries exposed the Cleveland Indians' lack of quality depth last season and led to their September swoon. They're looking for extra insurance this year.
The Indians added more experience on Thursday, agreeing to minor league contracts with reliever Jeremy Accardo and outfielder Fred Lewis. Both players received non-roster invitations to spring training and will have a chance to make the club.
One of general manager Chris Antonetti's goals this offseason was to improve the Indians' overall depth in the majors and upper minor leagues. He has given non-roster invitations to 17 players.
Accardo will compete for an opening in Cleveland's bullpen. The 30-year-old has appeared in 235 games with Baltimore, Toronto and San Francisco since 2005.
The right-hander had his best season in 2007 when Accardo was the Blue Jays' part-time closer and went 4-4 with 30 saves and a 2.14 ERA. If Accardo makes Cleveland's 40-man roster out of camp, he will make $825,000 with the chance to earn another $300,000 in performance bonuses.
Last season, Accardo pitched in 31 games for the Orioles and spent time with their Triple-A Norfolk affiliate.
The 31-year-old Lewis, a career .267 hitter, has played with San Francisco, Toronto and Cincinnati. He batted .230 with three homers and 19 RBIs in 81 games for the Reds last season. He began the year on the disabled list with a strained oblique.
In 2008, Lewis batted .282 with 11 triples and 40 RBIs for the Giants.
If put on the big league roster, he would have $725,000 with the opportunity to earn $500,000 in performance bonuses.
Antonettti said last week he still wants to find more offensive help for his team this winter. He believes the Indians, who fell apart down the stretch amid a slew of injuries, are primed to contend for the AL Central title in 2010.
Antonetti refused to talk about specific players but would like to add a proven hitter and the team is believed to be pursuing free agent first baseman Carlos Pena and Casey Kotchman.
-- Tom Withers
AP Source: A's close to deal with OF Gomes
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics and Jonny Gomes were working Thursday to finalize a deal that would provide the team with outfield depth, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said.
The person confirmed the pending contract on condition of anonymity because the club had yet to formally announce the acquisition of Gomes, who grew up in nearby Petaluma and is still loved in wine country. The San Francisco Chronicle was first to report the sides were close to a deal Thursday.
The 31-year-old Gomes batted .209 with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs last year for Cincinnati and Washington in his ninth major league season.
Oakland's starting outfield is slated as newly acquired Seth Smith in left, re-signed Coco Crisp in center and new acquisition Josh Reddick in right. Collin Cowgill, acquired from Arizona in December, also is in the mix off the bench.
The A's have transformed their roster this winter, with general manager Billy Beane trading away many of his top pitchers.
Last month, the A's sent starter Trevor Cahill to the Diamondbacks along with reliever Craig Breslow, and All-Star lefty Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals. Oakland also dealt All-Star closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney to the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 28.
Oakland is expected to announce in the coming days that it has agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander Bartolo Colon.
Beane and A's owner Lew Wolff hope that Commissioner Bud Selig will rule the franchise can relocate some 40 miles south to San Jose and build a new ballpark. But the San Francisco Giants hold the territorial rights to technology-rich Silicon Valley. Selig said at the recent owners meetings a resolution "is very much on the front burner."
He appointed a committee in March 2009 to study the situation.
-- Janie McCauley
Rays sign four players to minor league contracts
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Infielder Will Rhymes, outfielder Jesus Feliciano and pitchers Romulo Sanchez and Matt Torra have signed minor league contracts with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Rhymes was Detroit's opening day second baseman in 2011, when he split the season between the Tigers and Triple-A Toledo. He batted .235 in 29 major league games last year.
Feliciano batted .268 with 39 RBI for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Buffalo in the New York Mets organization in 2011.
Sanchez and Torra are right-handed pitchers. Sanchez spent last season with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japan Pacific League. Torra re-signed with Tampa Bay after going 5-1 with a 3.67 ERA in 11 starts for Triple-A Durham in 2011.
The Rays announced the signings on Thursday.
NL Capsules
Source: Braun appeal of positive drug test begins
NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Braun's appeal of his positive drug test began Thursday before baseball arbitrator Shyam Das.
The start of the National League MVP's appeal, first reported by the New York Daily News, was confirmed by a person familiar with the session who spoke on condition of anonymity because the proceeding was not to be made public.
Calls to Braun's agent, Nez Balelo, and Major League Baseball spokesman Pat Courtney were not returned.
When the positive drug test was first reported by ESPN.com last month, Braun had a spokesman issue a statement saying there were circumstances supporting "Ryan's complete innocence."
Under the joint drug agreement between baseball teams and the players' association, Braun will have to prove "the presence of a prohibited substance in his urine was not due to his fault or negligence."
As Braun tries to avoid a 50-game suspension, the burden is a heavy one to overcome. A baseball arbitrator has never ordered a suspension overturned following a grievance hearing.
The person did not know whether the hearing had concluded or whether it would extend into at least one more session. Typically in grievances, after the hearing the sides may submit written final arguments before the arbitrator rules.
MLB has not confirmed the positive test. Baseball's drug agreement says first positive tests are not made public until after the appeals process has been completed.
Technically, the arbitration is before a three-person panel that also includes a representative of management and the union. The independent member, Das, is the decisive vote in nearly all cases.
Braun is to receive his MVP Award on Saturday at the annual dinner of the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. While he is expected to speak to the crowd from the dais in a hotel ballroom, he is not expected to take questions from reporters.
Braun has known about since the positive test since late October, people familiar with the appeals process said last month. If suspended, Braun wouldn't be eligible to play for the NL Central champions until May 31 at Dodger Stadium, barring any postponements. He would miss the first 57 days of the major league season, losing about $1.87 million of his $6 million salary.
The 28-year-old the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year, hit .312 with 33 homers and 111 RBIs last season and led Milwaukee to the NL championship series, where the Brewers lost to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.
-- Ronald Blum
Aoki excited about move to major leagues
TOKYO (AP) — Even with a significant cut in salary, Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki is pleased to be a Milwaukee Brewer.
"I'm just happy to get the opportunity to play in the major leagues," Aoki said at a news conference on Friday. "It's something that has been a dream of mine for quite some time."
The Brewers signed Aoki on Tuesday to a two-year deal with a club option for 2014. The deal is reported to be worth $2.25 million plus incentives. Aoki made $4.2 million last season with the Yakult Swallows in Japan.
The 30-year-old outfielder hit over .300 in six of his seven full seasons and was a three-time batting champion in Japan's Central League. He was the league's 2005 rookie of the year and is a six-time golden glove award winner.
The Swallows accepted the Brewers' bid of $2.5 million under the posting system in December.
Japanese position players like Tsuyoshi Nishioka of the Minnesota Twins and former Tampa Bay infielder Akinori Iwamura have struggled in the major leagues and that may have affected Aoki's salary.
Aoki bats left-handed, throws right-handed and can play all three outfield positions. He says winning a job as regular member of the Brewers will be his top priority.
"Going into a new situation like this I don't think you can set specific goals," Aoki said. "I'll just do everything I can to win a regular job and help the team win."
Outfield depth could be critical for the Brewers, given that they may be without National League MVP Ryan Braun for the first 50 games of next season if he loses his appeal for testing positive for a banned substance.
Because the Brewers don't have a scout in Japan, Aoki had a 75-minute workout on Jan. 8 at the team's spring training facility in Arizona attended by Brewers' GM Doug Melvin.
"I was a bit nervous, but the team staff made me relaxed and it seems like a very friendly atmosphere," Aoki said. "I'm looking forward to spring training."
-- Jim Armstrong
Overall Capsules
Carter's health takes turn for worse
NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Carter's health has taken a turn for the worse. The 57-year-old Hall of Fame catcher, diagnosed last May with a malignant brain tumor, received results of his latest MRI exam Thursday, according to the online journal of his daughter, Kimmy Bloemers.
She writes: "I wish I could say that the results were good. ... There are now several new spots/tumors on my dad's brain. I write these words with tears because I am so sad for my dad."
"Dr. Jimmy Harris will be coming to my parent's house this evening to talk to the family about the next step," she wrote.
Carter had the MRIs Friday in North Palm Beach, Fla., and the results were sent to his doctors at Duke University for evaluation. A day earlier, he fell at a doctor's appointment and completely tore a rotator cuff, Bloemers wrote, adding that he also fell on Christmas Eve.
"It is very painful and needs surgery, but all dad can do right now is rehab to heal," she wrote.
L.A. judge signs off on McCourt divorce agreement
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles judge has ratified a binding agreement between outgoing Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his former wife Jamie McCourt in their divorce case.
Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon on Thursday signed off on the settlement reached in November that calls for Frank McCourt to pay his ex-wife $131 million by the end of April.
Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball agreed late last year that the Dodgers and the team's media rights would be sold. The team filed for bankruptcy protection in June after the league rejected a television contract with Fox.
Among those who have expressed interest in buying the Dodgers is a group that includes former manager Joe Torre and another group with ex-Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson.
