MLB roundup: Johnson to manage Nationals for one more season
Washington manager Davey Johnson and the Nationals have reached agreement on a one-year contract, and Johnson plans to retire as a manager following the 2013 season, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
Johnson will manage one last season and then become a special adviser to general manager Mike Rizzo in 2014, the Washington Post reported.
Johnson, who will turn 70 in January, is given much of the credit for the National's first National League East title this past season.
Johnson was recently named The Sporting News' NL Manager of the Year, and he is a finalist for the NL Manager of The Year Award, as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Johnson had said this week he still has some things to accomplish with the Nationals, who lost to the Cardinals in the NL Division Series. He wants to win the World Series in 2013.
He has led four different teams to the playoffs, and he was the Mets' manager when they won the 1986 World Series.
---Lee MacPhail, a longtime baseball executive and former American League president who followed in the footsteps of his father, died Thursday night at his home in Delray Beach, Fla. He was 95.
MacPhail had been the oldest living member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His father, Larry MacPhail, also is enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y., making them the only father and son to receive the honor.
During a 45-year career in baseball, Lee MacPhail served as general manager and president of the Baltimore Orioles and was the general manager of the New York Yankees before becoming the AL president from 1974 to 1983. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Veterans Committee.
--- All eight players who were extended one-year, $13.3 million qualifying offers from their current teams declined the contracts and became free agents at 5 p.m. ET Friday.
Under new terms of Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement, teams were permitted to make one-year qualifying offers for the average of the previous season's 125 top salaries, which is $13.3 million. If the player sign with another team, draft pick compensation is owed to his former team.
The eight players included Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, Braves outfielder Michael Bourn, Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher, Rays outfielder B.J. Upton, Yankees pitchers Rafael Soriano and Hiroki Kuroda, Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche and Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse.
---Jason Giambi is considering an offer from the Colorado Rockies to be their hitting coach.
The Rockies first baseman is trying to decide whether he wants to stop playing and move into coaching, the Denver Post reported.
Giambi, 41, was a finalist for the manager's job that went to former Rockies player Walt Weiss. The Post report indicated that Giambi impressed management during his interview for the managerial job.
---Mark McGwire is one of the most prolific power hitters in baseball history, but the former slugger wouldn't vote himself into the Baseball Hall of Fame and says he has no beef with keeping him out.
"No, not by the guidelines that they have now," McGwire said Friday on the Dan Patrick Show. "I'll never fight it. I totally respect the Hall of Fame. I have never fought. They have rules and restrictions, I totally abide by them."
McGwire, who was named the Los Angeles Dodgers' batting coach Thursday, ranks 10th on baseball's career home-run list with 583 and set a then-record in 1998 with 70 homers in a season while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.
He also admitted in 2010 that he took steroids at various times during a playing career that ended in 2001.
---The Detroit Tigers are not interested in pursuing Rafael Sorano and plan to give 21-year-old Bruce Rondon a chance at the closer's job, according to CBSSports.com.
---Fred Lewis has signed a one-year deal to play for the Hiroshima Carp in the Japanese Legue, according to NPB Tracker. The deal is worth $400,000 plus $150,000 in potential incentives and a team option for 2014.
Lewis, 32, has played for the Giants, Blue Jays, Reds, and Mets.
--The Tigers have offered pitcher Jeremy Bonderman a contract, FoxSports.com reported
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--The Baltimore Orioles have re-signed Lew Ford to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training.
He was dropped from the Orioles' 40-man roster last week and no other team claimed him off waivers.
---Yankees reliever Mario Rivera was on the mound for the first time since his season-ending injury for a commercial shot, MLB.com reported. He made about 25 throws for the spot.