OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics have agreed to a one-year contract with left-hander Dallas Braden.

The team announced the move Tuesday.

Braden made three starts last season before being sidelined by a shoulder injury. He was 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA before going on the disabled list April 18. He had surgery to a repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder May 17.

The 28-year-old Braden is 26-36 with a 4.16 ERA in 94 career appearances during five seasons with Oakland. He pitched a perfect game against Tampa Bay on May 9, 2010.

The A’s have five players who remain eligible for arbitration: pitchers Andrew Bailey, Joey Devine, Gio Gonzalez and Brandon McCarthy; and outfielder Ryan Sweeney. Full Story

Saunders, Kuo, Scott join ranks of free agents

NEW YORK — Former All-Star pitchers Joe Saunders and Hong-Chih Kuo, and Baltimore outfielder Luke Scott became free agents after their teams declined to offer 2012 contracts.

Atlanta reliever Peter Moylan and St. Louis infielder Ryan Theriot also were among the 30 players set free when their teams failed to offer deals before the midnight EST deadline.

Skip Schumaker was let go in a technicality, then agreed to a $3 million, two-year contract with the Cardinals.

An All-Star for the Los Angeles Angels in 2008, Saunders was 12-13 with a 3.69 ERA last season for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Orioles near deal with lefty Wada

Tsuyoshi Wada is nearing a two-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, sources have confirmed to CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman.

The news was first reported by Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.

Wada, 30, is a left-hander who is said to be a soft-tosser cut in the Jamie Moyer mold. He went 17-8 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.81 WHIP in Japan last season. He did strike out 169 batters in 169 1/3 innings, so he must be crafty.

There’s already a logjam of potential starting pitchers for the Orioles. The starting five, as of now, appears to be Jeremy Guthrie, Zach Britton, Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz, but Tommy Hunter could easily figure into the mix.

Braves decline to make offer to Moylan

ATLANTA — The Braves are not offering a contract to right-hander Peter Moylan, who has been one of the team’s top relievers the last six years.

The 31-year-old Moylan has appeared in 80 or more games in three of the last five seasons. He missed most of last season because of back surgery before needing another surgery for a torn rotator cuff and labrum.

Moylan is 19-9 with a 2.60 ERA in his career.

The Braves also declined to offer a contract to utility infielder and pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad. He hit .223 with four homers and 13 RBI last season.

M’s sign 11 to minor-league deals

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have signed 11 players to minor-league contracts with invites to spring training, including infielder Luis Rodriguez and former San Francisco outfielder Darren Ford.

The Mariners announced their first wave of minor-league contracts. Along with Rodriguez and Ford, Seattle signed eight pitchers: Matt Fox, Steve Garrison, Jarrett Grube, Sean Henn, Josh Kinney, Jeff Marquez, Scott Patterson and Phillippe Valiquette. The Mariners also signed catcher Guillermo Quiroz.

Rodriguez played in 44 games at four positions last season for the Mariners. Ford played in 26 games with San Francisco. Garrison, Kinney and Marquez all got limited major league experience as well.

D-Backs sign righty Albaladejo

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Jonathan Albaladejo and added him to their 40-man roster.

Albaladejo pitched in Japan last season after appearing in 10 games for the New York Yankees in 2010.

The 29-year-old right-hander is 6-3 with a 4.15 ERA in four major league seasons with the Yankees and Washington Nationals.

Former Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland Athletics slugger Erubiel Durazo is in the midst of one of his best winter league seasons, playing with the Hermosillo Naranjeros of the Mexican Pacific League. Through his first 40 games, Durazo has hit seven home runs with 30 RBIs while batting .267 with an on-base percentage of .324.

Once a promising and powerful left-handed bat, Durazo’s career was slowed by an array of injuries. In his last full major league season in 2004, he hit .321 with 22 home runs and 88 RBIs for the A’s, earning him votes for American League MVP. His biggest highlight, however, came in 2001 when he hit a two-run homer off Tom Glavine in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series to help the Diamondbacks into the World Series. He was traded to Oakland in 2002.

Injuries kept Durazo to just 41 games in 2005, which led to his release by the A’s. He has since signed minor league contracts with the Rangers, Twins, A’s and Yankees, who released him in 2007. He has played in the Mexican summer league ever since.

At 37, Durazo said recently he would not mind returning to the majors and would consider an invitation to the Caribbean Series should his Naranjeros not win the MPL championship.

Peguero’s bat comes alive in the Dominican

Carlos Peguero, one of the Seattle Mariners’ outfield prospects, is currently leading the Dominican League in home runs, doubles and runs scored and is among the leaders in average and RBIs. Playing for the Cibao Gigantes, the left-handed hitting Peguero is batting .310 in 31 games with nine home runs and 24 RBIs to lead the Gigantes into playoff contention.

The Gigantes have also received a pleasant surprise from Erick Almonte, who eight years removed from his last major league game returned to the big leagues in 2011 as an outfielder with the Milwaukee Brewers. Almonte is batting .314 but his power numbers are way below pace with just six extra-base hits and only 16 RBIs in 124 at-bats.

Meanwhile, Yankees pitcher Hector Noesi continues to impress while pitching for the Licey Tigres as he earned Player of the Month honors in November with a 3-1 record and a 2.22 ERA over 28 1/3 innings.

Altuve tearing it up

Fresh off his first half season in the majors, Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is in the middle of a monster season with the Magallanes Navegantes in the Venezuelan league.

The 21-year-old Maracay native is hitting .378 with an on-base percentage of .409 through 38 games, good enough to be among the league leaders in average, at-bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, total bases, extra-base hits and slugging. Altuve is trying to make his case for the starting job with the Astros where he is projected to compete with Matt Downs.

Aviles to play the outfield in Puerto Rico

Aware that the Boston Red Sox have a gaping hole in right field, third baseman Mike Aviles will be joining the Ponce Leones this week to work on his outfield skills in hope that he can compete for the right field job in spring training.

Aviles, who hit .317 in 38 games with Boston last season, has experience in all four infield positions, but did not play the outfield in his first three seasons with the Kansas City Royals. He did play five games — one in left and four in right field — for the Red Sox.

Leones general manager Frankie Thon — the brother of former Astros infielder Dickie Thon — said Aviles should join the team this week and play for the remainder of the regular season.

(Reuters) – List of American League Cy Young Award winners following the naming of Detroit Tigers starter Justin Verlander as the 2011 winner.

2011 – Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

2010 – Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

2009 – Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals

2008 – Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians

2007 – CC Sabathia, Cleveland Indians

2006 – Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins

2005 – Bartolo Colon, Los Angeles Angels

2004 – Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins

2003 – Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays

2002 – Barry Zito, Oakland Athletics

2001 – Roger Clemens, New York Yankees

2000 – Pedro Martinez, Boston Red Sox

1999 – Pedro Martinez, Boston Red Sox

1998 – Roger Clemens, Toronto Blue Jays

1997 – Roger Clemens, Toronto Blue Jays

1996 – Pat Hentgen, Toronto Blue Jays

1995 – Randy Johnson, Seattle Mariners

1994 – David Cone, Kansas City Royals

1993 – Jack McDowell, Chicago White Sox

1992 – Dennis Eckersley, Oakland Athletics

1991 – Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox

1990 – Bob Welch, Oakland Athletics

1989 – Bret Saberhagen, Kansas City Royals

1988 – Frank Viola, Minnesota Twins

1987 – Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox

1986 – Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox

1985 – Bret Saberhagen, Kansas City Royals

1984 – Willie Hernandez, Detroit Tigers

1983 – LaMarr Hoyt, Chicago White Sox

1982 – Pete Vuckovich, Milwaukee Brewers

1981 – Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee Brewers

1980 – Steve Stone, Baltimore Orioles

1979 – Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles

1978 – Ron Guidry, New York Yankees

1977 – Sparky Lyle, New York Yankees

1976 – Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles

1975 – Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles

1974 – Catfish Hunter, Oakland Athletics

1973 – Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles

1972 – Gaylord Perry, Cleveland Indians

1971 – Vida Blue, Oakland Athletics

1970 – Jim Perry, Minnesota Twins

1969 – Mike Cuellar, Baltimore Orioles

Denny McLain, Detroit Tigers

1968 – Denny McLain, Detroit Tigers

1967 – Jim Lonborg, Boston Red Sox

One award for both National and American Leagues

1966 – Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)

1965 – Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)

1964 – Dean Chance, Los Angeles Angels (AL)

1963 – Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)

1962 – Don Drysdale, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)

1961 – Whitey Ford, New York Yankees (AL)

1960 – Vernon Law, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)

1959 – Early Wynn, Chicago White Sox (AL)

1958 – Bob Turley, New York Yankees (AL)

1957 – Warren Spahn, Milwaukee Braves (NL)

1956 – Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers (NL)

(Compiled by Frank Pingue; Editing by Julian Linden)

When the Red Sox hired Terry Francona, he was a 44-year-old former major-league player with experience both as a major-league manager and as a major-league bench coach. He’d managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000 — a tenure that ended disastrously — and he’d worked as a bench coach for the Texas Rangers in 2002 and the Oakland Athletics in 2003. He’d also had a unique experience in a pressure-cooker setting when he managed Michael Jordan with the Double-A Birmingham Barons in 1994.

No matter how it ends, there is no denying that the Terry Francona era was wildly successful for the Red Sox. The team won two World Series titles and won 86 or more games in each of his eight seasons.

Might a similar candidate land the job? Previous success at managerial stops, in that case, would not be a prerequisite; Francona did not have success in Philadelphia at all.

“He admitted he made mistakes,” Epstein said when he introduced his new manager in 2003. “It was his first time around as a manager, and he’s learned from what he did. We talked quite a bit about philosophies of pitching, and we’re comfortable with what Terry believes.”

What candidates out there look like Francona looked back then?

Here’s a list of possible successors:

Trey Hillman, Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach. An intriguing early possible front-runner, the 48-year-old Hillman was fired after three seasons at the helm of the Kansas City Royals.

John Farrell, Toronto manager. The Red Sox pitching coach for four seasons under Francona, Farrell looked like the manager-in-waiting until he took the job at the helm of the Blue Jays.

Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay manager. It seems like a longshot, but why not make a run at the all-but-certain American League Manager of the Year?

John Russell, Baltimore third-base coach. The 50-year-old Russell was fired after failing to win as a manager in Pittsburgh, but he’s not the only one to befall that fate — meaning he has something in common with Hillman. He was popular with his players, less so with fans.

Joel Skinner, Oakland bench coach. The interim manager of the Indians in 2002, Skinner worked for seven seasons on the Indians’ coaching staff under Eric Wedge before moving to the Athletics this season.

Alan Trammell, Arizona bench coach. A bench coach under Lou Pinella in Chicago for four seasons, the former All-Star shortstop managed the Detroit Tigers to disastrous results — including a 119-loss season — from 2003-05.

Don Wakamatsu, Toronto bench coach. For two years the manager of the Seattle Mariners, the 48-year-old Wakamatsu worked with John Farrell this season and has worked as bench coach of the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics — just like Francona did.

Here are some long-shot candidates:

Dave Clark, Houston third-base coach.

Dino Ebel, Los Angeles Angels third-base coach.

Chip Hale, New York Mets third-base coach.

DeMarlo Hale, Red Sox bench coach.

Glenn Hoffman, San Diego third-base coach.

Torey Lovullo, Toronto first-base coach and former manager of the PawSox.

Dave Martinez, Tampa Bay bench coach.

Bo Porter, Nationals bench coach.

Juan Samuel, Philadelphia third-base coach.

Rob Thomson, New York Yankees third-base coach.

Robby Thompson, Seattle bench coach.

bmacpherson@providencejournal.com

NEW YORK —
The Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics will open next season in Japan with a two-game series at the Tokyo Dome on March 28 and 29.

Seattle and Oakland had been scheduled to play there in March 2003, but the series was scrapped because of the threat of war in Iraq. The A’s will be the home team in both games, the commissioner’s office said Wednesday. The series could feature a pair of Japanese stars, the Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki and Oakland’s Hideki Matsui, who is eligible for free agency.

This will be the fourth Japan opener, following the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs (2000), the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay (2004), and Boston and Oakland (2008).

Major League Baseball and the players’ association said the series will be dedicated to assisting rebuilding in Japan following this year’s earthquake.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Oakland Athletics and Seattle
Mariners will open the 2012 Major League Baseball season on
March 28-29 in Tokyo, the first season-opener in Japan since
2008.

The two-game series, which will take place at the Tokyo
Dome, was announced today in a release from MLB and the Major
League Baseball Players Association.

It will be the fourth time the season has opened in Tokyo.
The last time was when the Athletics and Boston Red Sox opened
the 2008 season there.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Rob Gloster at
rgloster@bloomberg.net