MLB notebook: Harrison, Rangers finalize $55M, 5-year deal
BY JIMMY GOLEN Associated Press
Friday, January 18, 2013
1/18/13 at 5:50 AM
Matt Harrison has gone from a pitcher the Texas Rangers left off their postseason roster to one they believe can become one of the league's best left-handers.
The Rangers finalized a $55 million, five-year contract with the All-Star lefty Thursday. The deal includes a 2018 club option that could become guaranteed depending on the number of innings he pitches.
"This is a testament to all the hard work he puts in," said Thad Levine, the team's assistant general manager. "The talent shows up every time he pitches. ... The more we've gotten to know Matt Harrison, the more we believe in Matt Harrison. And we believe the best is yet to come."
Harrison was 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA and four complete games in 32 starts last year.
Jays' Reyes says trade was a surprise: Jose Reyes was in a hotel room in the Middle East when he received the surprising news: He had been traded from the downsizing Miami Marlins to the bulking-up Toronto Blue Jays.
"I went to Dubai on vacation with my wife," Reyes said Thursday in his first public comments about the Nov. 19 deal. "One day I got up at 6 in the morning and I see all these text messages saying 'You got traded.' That kind of surprised me a little bit."
Reyes left the New York Mets as a free agent after the 2011 to sign a $106 million, six-year contract with the Marlins, who boosted their payroll as they prepared to move into a new retractable-roof ballpark in downtown Miami. But after fading from contention en route to a last-place finish, the Marlins sold off their stars.
Source says Napoli, Red Sox agree to shorter deal: A person familiar with the negotiations says the Boston Red Sox and Mike Napoli have agreed to shorten their deal to a one-year contract worth $5 million.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the agreement was not yet final.
Boston and Napoli agreed Dec. 3 during the winter meetings to a $39 million, three-year contract, subject to a successful physical. But the Red Sox became concerned about Napoli's hip, and that agreement was never announced.
Napoli's new deal will allow him to earn an additional $8 million in bonuses, which would bring his 2013 income to $13 million, where it would have been under the original agreement.
Source says A-Rod's cartilage damage minimal: A person familiar with the diagnosis says Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was found to have relatively minimal cartilage damage in his left hip during surgery this week.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the team did not make that detail public.
Dr. Bryan Kelly of the Hospital for Special Surgery, who operated on A-Rod on Wednesday, said last week the extent of cartilage damage was a concern and could not be determined before the operation.
Kelly repaired a torn labrum and reshaped the bone to alleviate impingement.
