Major League Baseball roundup

(The Sports Xchange) - New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Friday that the team is "more than happy" to meet with Alex Rodriguez. According to the Boston Globe, Cashman said earlier reports that the Yankees turned down a meeting with the third baseman were not true. Reports last month said that the Yankees were working on legal arguments to void milestone home run bonuses for Rodriguez. The New York Daily News reported the Yankees would go after the bonuses -- worth up to $30 million -- as the two sides continue their frayed relationship. Rodriguez needs just six more home runs to tie Willie Mays' 660 and become eligible for a $6 million bonus. Rodriguez, 39, also would pocket $6 million apiece if he tied Babe Ruth (714 homers), Hank Aaron (755), Barry Bonds (762) and topped Bonds' record. - - - New baseball commissioner Rob Manfred cautioned Hall of Fame voters not to "surmise" that some players used performance-enhancing drugs during their careers. Manfred told ESPN.com that there should be credible evidence against a player to make a voter withhold support for a candidate. "The only piece of advice that I'm comfortable giving is that I think that everyone should keep in mind the difference between players who tested positive and were disciplined on the one hand, and players where somebody has surmised that they did something on the other," Manfred said. "And I think, based on what you read in the media, sometimes those lines get blurred. And I think it gets really important to keep that distinction in mind." - - - Toronto Blue Jays infielder Danny Valencia won his arbitration case. Valencia, 30, will be paid $1.675 million for the 2015 season, after the Blue Jays offered $1.2 million. Last season, his salary was $532,500. The Blue Jays acquired Valencia in a July trade with the Kansas City Royals. In 2014, he hit .258 with four home runs and 30 RBIs in 86 games. - - - A three-person panel sided with the Miami Marlins, awarding Mat Latos a $9.4 million salary for 2015. The right-hander sought $10.4 million. Latos, 27, pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in 2014, going 5-5 with a 3.25 ERA while making $7.25 million. He was limited to 16 starts last season because of knee and elbow injuries. - - - The Atlanta Braves traded former shortstop prospect Edward Salcedo to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league pitcher Bryton Trepagnier. The Braves gave Salcedo, 23, a $1.6 million signing bonus in 2010. - - - Geno Escalante, a catcher in the San Francisco Giants' minor League organization, was handed a 50-game suspension without pay resulting from a second positive test for a drug of abuse. (Editing by Andrew Both)