Baseball Capsules: Chavez agrees to minor league deal with Rangers
ARLINGTON — Outfielder Endy Chavez has agreed to a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers that includes an invitation to spring training.
Chavez is recovering from knee surgery last July and is not expected to be fully healthy for the start of the regular season. He played 54 games for Seattle last year before tearing the ACL in his right knee when he collided with shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt when both were chasing a popup in short left field on June 19.
Monday's deal gives the Rangers 15 non-roster players for spring training.
Chavez batted .273 and stole nine bases last season. He has played all three outfield spots in his nine major league seasons with Kansas City, Montreal, Washington, Philadelphia, the New York Mets and Seattle.
American League
Granderson fine with possible switch to left field
TAMPA, Fla. — Curtis Granderson would accept a shift to left field from the New York Yankees.
An AL All-Star center fielder with Detroit, Granderson was traded to the Yankees in December. New York manager Joe Girardi alerted him to a possible shift.
"He called and asked, 'How do you feel about that? Be honest with me. If you don't (like it), let me know,'" Granderson said Monday. "I said, 'I'm able to do that.'"
Granderson played left field in the minors before switching to center on a regular basis at Double-A. He worked out for the first time Monday at the Yankees minor league complex ahead of spring training workouts for position players next week.
"Just getting on the field again, getting back to work, that's the big thing," Granderson said. "I'm excited to get back and start the 2010 season."
New York is unsure where in the lineup Granderson will hit. He had a career-high 30 homers last season, and the right-field short porch at new Yankee Stadium should work to his advantage, much as it did for Johnny Damon last year.
"The power just kind of happened," Granderson said. "I still don't consider myself a power guy. Occasionally the ball happens to go over the fence. I hope guys aren't predicting me to do some ridiculous amount of numbers, because I'm not that big of a guy."
Granderson took batting practice in a group that included Derek Jeter, and also had an extensive bunting session with Gardner.
NOTES: RHP A.J. Burnett arrived and played catch in the outfield. ... RHPs Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes threw off bullpen mounds along with LHP Boone Logan.
Royals' Hochevar looks to avoid big innings
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Luke Hochevar had some memorable games and forgettable starts in 2009 for the Kansas City Royals.
He needed only 80 pitches in nine innings on June 12 to beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-1. He struck out 13 Texas Rangers and walked none in a July 25 victory. He logged his first career shutout on Sept. 18 against the Chicago White Sox, yielding three singles and only one that left the infield.
However, the shutout at Chicago was his only victory in his final 13 starts. He went 1-10 with an 8.21 earned run average the second half.
Hochevar, who was an early arrival for the Royals' volunteer spring training mini-camp, is trying not to dwell on how last season finished.
"Last year, I felt I was a lot better than my first year," Hochevar said. "There were a lot of bright spots in my season, a lot of games I pitched really well. Those are the ones I think about. I don't think about the ones I struggled or didn't go the way I wanted them."
Hochevar's final three starts certainly did not go his way. He yielded 21 earned runs on 24 hits, including five home runs, and six walks in 14 innings. He finished the year 7-13 with a 6.55 earned run average.
"Obviously, it's not where I want to be and where I'm going to be," Hochevar said. "It was really the last month and a half that didn't go the way I wanted it to."
Hochevar was the first player selected in the 2006 amateur draft, the same year the San Francisco Giants with the 10th pick chose Tim Lincecum, who has won the past two National League Cy Young awards. Royals fans can only dream of a rotation built around Lincecum and Zack Greinke, who won the 2009 American League Cy Young award, going 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA.
Hochevar's main problem is his penchant to give up the big inning. In 16 innings, he allowed three or more runs, including one seven-run inning and another of six runs.
"Last year I felt I was on the verge," Hochevar said. "It was just one inning that was biting me. But other than that, I was pitching good. The big inning is what hurt me. I'd pitch good enough for six innings, but the inning they scored they would scored three or more runs. Eliminating the big innings is going to be big for me."
Hochevar, a 26-year-old right-hander who went to Tennessee, said there is "no doubt" he could be a big winner this season if he can prevent the big inning.
"There are probably two or three situations in a game where you've got to make the right pitch and a good pitch," he said. "I was just making bad pitch selection choices in those situations. It was not about command or my approach. I was just making bad decisions with bad pitches."
While pitchers and catchers are not scheduled to report until Wednesday, right-handers Kyle Farnsworth and Juan Cruz are the only pitchers on the 40-man big league roster who have not yet shown up for the mini-camp.
National League
Cody Ross and Marlins go to salary arbitration
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida Marlins outfielder Cody Ross has gone to salary arbitration, asking for $4.45 million rather than the team's offer of $4.2 million.
Arbitrators James Oldham, Margaret Brogan and Howard Edelman are expected to issue a decision Tuesday, a day after hearing arguments.
Ross hit .290 with 24 homers and 90 RBIs last season, when he made $2.3 million.
Players and owners have split the two decisions this far, with Milwaukee outfielder Corey Hart winning ($4.8 million) and Tampa Bay outfielder B.J. Upton losing ($3 million).
Three hearings equals the record-tying low total of cases that went to arbitrators last year, when Florida's Dan Uggla and Washington's Shawn Hill won and Tampa Bay's Dioner Navarro lost.
Six more players are scheduled for hearings this week: Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar and catcher Jeff Mathis; Washington right-hander Brian Bruney and left-hander Sean Burnett; Houston left-hander Wandy Rodriguez and Chicago Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot.
Also, the Marlins said Monday they have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Jason Lane, who last played in the major leagues in 2007 with Houston and San Diego. He hit .253 with 13 homers and 47 RBIs last year for Toronto's Triple-A team at Las Vegas.
Taveras agrees to minor league deal with Nationals
WASHINGTON — Outfielder Willy Taveras has agreed to a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.
If added to the 40-man roster, Taveras would receive a contract for the $400,000 major league minimum, with Oakland responsible for the remainder of his $4 million salary.
The Athletics acquired Taveras on Feb. 1 from Cincinnati with infielder Adam Rosales for infielder Aaron Miles and a player to be named, then immediately designated Taveras for assignment. He was released Feb. 9.
Taveras hit .240 with one homer and 15 RBIs for Cincinnati last season and has a .276 average with eight homers, 124 RBIs and 194 steals in five major league seasons. He led the major leagues with 68 steals for Colorado two years ago.
Elsewhere
Florida Marlins hope to host 2015 All-Star game
NEW YORK — The Florida Marlins want to host baseball's All-Star game in 2015.
Marlins president David Samson discussed the team's perspective during Saturday's FanFest and repeated his remarks Monday during a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
"We lost the game before we had a ballpark. Now that there is a ballpark, it is certainly is our expectation that the All-Star game will be returned to Miami," Samson said Monday. "We look forward to that happening, and are very hopeful that it will be 2015."
The Marlins were awarded the 2000 All-Star game in July 1995, but then-NL president Len Coleman took it away in November 1998 and gave it to the Atlanta Braves, saying the league wanted the game in new ballparks.
A $515 million retractable-roof stadium on the former Orange Bowl site is slated to open for the 2012 season, when the team will be renamed the Miami Marlins.
Construction began last summer, and Samson said the ballpark is 22 percent complete. The team sold more than 40,000 individual tickets for this season at Saturday's event.
The Los Angeles Angels host this year's All-Star game and the Arizona Diamondbacks host in 2011. Baseball officials have said the 2012 host likely will be the Kansas City Royals, followed by the New York Mets in 2013.
The Minnesota Twins, who move into Target Field this year, hope to host in 2014. While 2014 is an American League year, the Chicago Cubs also have said they'd like to host that season to mark the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field.
-- Ronald Blum
MLB executive says he won't run for Mich. governor
LANSING, Mich. — A Major League Baseball executive says he won't seek the Democratic nomination for Michigan governor.
Robert Bowman, the chief executive of baseball's online and interactive media operations, said in a statement Monday that he could not commit to the race at this time.
Bowman works in New York but has a summer home in northern Michigan. He served as Michigan's state treasurer and is the president of the Michigan Education Trust.
Bowman formed an exploratory committee for a gubernatorial run last week.
-- Kathy Barks Hoffman
