News briefs: Indians reach tentative agreement with A. Boone

CLEVELAND -- Free agent third baseman Aaron Boone has reached a tentative agreement on a two-year contract with the Cleveland Indians, the Associated Press learned Friday.

Boone, whose 11th-inning homer in Game 7 of the ALCS last season put the New York Yankees in the World Series, hasn't played since injuring his left knee during a pickup basketball game in January.

The Indians, who outbid several other teams for Boone, plan to announce the signing this weekend if Boone passes his physical, according to two baseball sources who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

Indians general manager Mark Shapiro confirmed that the team was having contract talks with Boone's agent, Adam Katz.

Shapiro also said the 31-year-old infielder was in Cleveland for medical tests.

"We are in the midst of negotiations, which are progressing," Shapiro said before the Indians played Colorado.

Cleveland needs to make sure Boone's knee is sound before finalizing the deal.

Apparently, Boone has been cleared by doctors. The Indians have scheduled a news conference at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The club has learned not to take anything for granted when finalizing a contract. Last winter, the Indians nearly traded shortstop Omar Vizquel to Seattle, but the deal fell through when he failed his physical for the Mariners. Full story

Expos' decision to come after All-Star break

PHILADELPHIA -- Major league baseball is pushing back its decision on where to relocate the Montreal Expos until after the All-Star break.

Baseball officials, who postponed deciding the team's future home in both 2002 and 2003, had targeted the July 13 game in Houston as their goal.

"I'm confident a decision will not be made before or at the All-Star game," Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said Friday after speaking on a panel at the annual convention of the Associated Press Sports Editors. "It's our goal to have narrowed down our decision by the All-Star game and be focused in."

Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia appear to be the leading contenders to land the Expos, bought by the other 29 teams before the 2002 season. Other areas trying to land the team include Las Vegas; Monterrey, Mexico; Norfolk, Va.; Portland, Ore.; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Full story

Royals' Stinnett to undergo surgery

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Royals catcher Kelly Stinnett will have reconstructive elbow surgery and miss the rest of the season, the team said Friday.

Stinnett, a nine-year veteran, was hitting .305 with three home runs and seven RBI in 20 games for Kansas City.

He had been playing behind Benito Santiago before Santiago went on the disabled list June 18 with a broken hand.

Royals shuffle roster after Beltran trade

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals optioned pitcher Chris George to Triple-A Omaha and catcher Mike Tonis to Double-A Wichita in the wake of the three-team deal involving center fielder Carlos Beltran.

In addition, catcher Kelly Stinnett was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.

The Royals then recalled outfielder David DeJesus from Omaha.

Beltran went to Houston for pitcher Octavio Dotel and catcher John Buck, then the Royals traded Dotel and cash to Oakland for third baseman Mark Teahen and pitcher Mike Wood.

ChiSox place Schoeneweis on DL, recall Diaz

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox put left-hander Scott Schoeneweis on the 15-day disabled list Friday with an inflammed left elbow and recalled right-hander Felix Diaz from Triple-A Charlotte.

Schoeneweis is 5-6 with a 4.36 ERA in 14 starts and has lost four straight decisions.

Diaz made two starts for the White Sox Chicago earlier this season and was 0-1 with an 11.42 ERA. He will start Saturday's game against the Chicago Cubs.

Twins recall Romero, option Prieto

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins recalled left-handed reliever J.C. Romero from Triple-A Rochester on Friday, and optioned infielder Alex Prieto to Rochester.

Romero was sent to Rochester on June 12 after struggling with a 5.70 ERA in 32 appearances with the Twins. He started three games and had a 2.25 ERA with Rochester.

The Twins put Romero on pitch counts, and he threw only eight innings in his three starts. The lefty was outstanding in 2002, when he was 9-2 with 1.89 ERA, but has struggled since. His ERA ballooned to 5.00 last year.

Prieto saw limited duty with the Twins batting .250 in 13 games.

Pirates activate Davis, designate Mateo

CINCINNATI -- The Pittsburgh Pirates activated outfielder J.J. Davis from the 15-day disabled list Friday, and designated outfielder Ruben Mateo for assignment.

Davis was on the disabled list since May 19 with a sprained right pinkie. He hit .273 with seven homers and 15 RBI in 19 games with Triple-A Nashville in a rehabilitation assignment.

"I went down there and got my finger better and my swing back and my legs back under me," Davis said.

Davis hit .095 and drove in two runs in 16 games before his injury.

Mateo hit .242 with three homers and seven RBI in 19 games with the Pirates.

Devil Rays promote Gathright, designate Bautista

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays promoted outfielder Joey Gathright from Triple-A Durham and designated infielder-outfielder Jose Bautista for assignment Friday.

Gathright was hitting .335 with 25 stolen bases in 85 games for Durham and Double-A Montgomery this season. He was in the lineup Friday night against the Florida Marlins, playing center field and batting second in his major league debut.

Bautista was hitting .167 with no homers and one RBI in 12 games for the Devil Rays.

Mariners option Santiago, recall Thornton

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners sent shortstop Ramon Santiago to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday and recalled left-hander Matt Thornton from the Rainiers.

Santiago, acquired from Detroit last winter in the trade for Carlos Guillen, has been limited to 10 major league games this season. He was hitting .143 with four RBI.

Thornton was 6-4 with a 6.00 ERA at Tacoma. He's made 13 starts, pitching 63 innings with 56 walks and 54 strikeouts.

Marlins put Beckett on 15-day DL

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Florida Marlins right-hander Josh Beckett was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a strained back muscle.

Left-hander Michael Tejera was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque and scheduled to start Saturday at Tampa Bay.

Beckett is 4-4 with a 3.86 ERA. He left a game June 17 against the Chicago White Sox in the fourth inning after feeling a "pop" in his back. It was his first start since returning from the DL because of a blister on his right middle finger.

Tejera was 6-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 14 starts at Albuquerque

Orioles' Mora has solid, but brief return

BALTIMORE -- Melvin Mora enjoyed a productive, albeit brief, return to the Baltimore Orioles' starting lineup Friday night.

Mora played third base and batted second against the Atlanta Braves after missing six straight games with a sprained ligament in his left foot. He homered in his first at-bat, but left in the fifth inning after experiencing pain in the injured foot.

Before the game, Mora revealed that he's also been nursing a sore hamstring behind his right knee.

"I feel like 70 percent," he said.

After his home run, Mora gingerly circled the bases. He struck out in the third inning.

Mora started the day ranked second in the AL with a .354 batting average and was second with 54 runs scored.

He was replaced by David Newhan, who hit .500 while playing third base in Mora's absence. Before the game, Newhan said, "Melvin's the guy. That's my role, to fill in when he's not healthy, and as soon as he's healthy he's in the lineup. I didn't expect anything otherwise."

Negro League players get pension checks

NEW YORK -- Negro League veterans received pension checks from Major League Baseball's new charity this week.

The charity benefits 27 players, all of whom played in the Negro Leagues after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947. It will provide more than $1 million in benefits to the former players.

Checks were sent to players who were most in need, while the rest of the group will receive checks at the end of June.

Major League Baseball and the Baseball Assistance Team are handling the program.

Baseball set up a program in 1997 to provide pensions to Negro League players before 1948. The new program will assist players with four seasons of Negro League service after 1948.

Japan doubtful about World Cup

TOKYO -- Japan has reservations about playing in the first baseball World Cup partly because the March date proposed for the event would be too close to the start of its season, a high-ranking baseball official said Friday.

"There are a lot of uncertainties," said Kazuo Hasegawa, the executive secretary at the Japanese baseball commissioner's office. "At this point, it hasn't been decided if Japan can take part."

If major league baseball owners approve the plan and deals are reached with the players' association and the International Baseball Federation, the 16-nation tournament would take place from approximately March 4-21 next year.

The regular season in Japan usually starts in the final week of March or the first week of April, and players who take part in the World Cup would have less than 1½ weeks of exhibition games with their clubs. Officials from the major league commissioner's office prefer to have the tournament before their season rather than in November, after the World Series.

Griffey honored in pregame ceremony

CINCINNATI -- The best thing Ken Griffey Jr. discovered about hitting his 500th home run was that he was able to catch up on some sleep.

The Cincinnati Reds' center fielder wasn't getting much shuteye in the days leading up to last Sunday, when he hit a solo shot in St. Louis to become the 20th player in major league history to reach 500 homers.

"For the most part, I'm a worry wart," Griffey said before Friday night's game against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati's first at home since the historic homer. "I just worry about everything."

The Reds honored Griffey with a pregame ceremony that included a video montage of some of his most noteworthy home runs and other career highlights. Fireworks greeted the replay of No. 500.

Griffey gave the helmet he wore to a representative from the Hall of Fame, and his batting gloves to a representative from the Reds' Hall of Fame, which is scheduled to open later this season.

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