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Sports Briefs: Grabow signs 2-year contract for $7.5 million
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Published: November 21, 2009
Updated: 11/21/2009 01:00 am
Pitcher John Grabow became the first of the 171 free agents to reach agreement on a new deal, getting a $7.5 million, two-year contract yesterday from the Chicago Cubs.
Grabow, a 31-year-old left-hander, combined to go 3-0 with a 3.36 ERA last season in a career-high 75 relief appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cubs.
He pitched 30 games and had a 3.24 ERA for the Cubs after he was acquired on July 30 along with left-hander Tom Gorzelanny from the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitchers Jose Ascanio and Kevin Hart, and minor league infielder Josh Harrison.
Selected by the Pirates in the third round of the 1997 amateur draft, Grabow is 20-15 with six saves and a 4.03 ERA in 420 major league relief appearances with the Pirates and Cubs.
As one of the Cubs most experienced relievers, Grabow said he has no preference what his role might be.
Grabow said he'd been pitching with bone chips in his elbow for about three years, but it hasn't been a major issue.
More baseball
■ The Washington Nationals have hired former Seattle Mariners manager John McLaren as bench coach, Jim Lett as bullpen coach and Dan Radison as first-base coach.
The team also announced that hitting coach Rick Eckstein, pitching coach Steve McCatty and third-base coach Pat Listach will keep their jobs on manager Jim Riggleman's staff in 2010.
Riggleman was McLaren's bench coach with Seattle at the start of 2008, then replaced him as the team's skipper when McLaren was fired during the season.
McLaren was a special assignment scout for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009.
■ The Cleveland Indians have added pitchers Kelvin De La Cruz of Class AA Mahoning Valley and Jeanmar Gomez of Class AA Akron and five other minor leaguers to their 40-man roster.
The other additions announced were infielder-outfielder Jordan Brown and infielders Jason Donald and Wes Hodges of Class AAA Columbus, and infielder Carlos Rivero and outfielder Nick Weglarz of Akron.
De La Cruz went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two starts at Class A Kinston and missed the rest of the regular season with a strained left elbow. He made three starts for the Arizona Rookie League club in Goodyear, Ariz.
Gomez, a 21-year-old righty, went 12-6 with a 3.30 ERA in 26 starts at Kinston and Akron.
■ Major League Baseball has the perfect gift to bust a budget in a recession.
A 20-DVD set of World Series films can be bought for $2,299, and it contains authenticated autographs of 12 Hall of Famers, including Yogi Berra, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt.
A limited edition run of 100 sets was put together by Major League Baseball Productions, A&E Home Entertainment and Mounted Memories, the companies said yesterday.
Recruiting
■ A
ustin Blake of Reagan and Jonathan Holt of West Forsyth have signed to play baseball at East Carolina, Coach Billy Godwin of ECU announced yesterday.
Blake, who will move from the infield to the outfield in college, hit .400 last season with eight home runs and 33 RBIs. "Austin is a special offensive player…," Godwin said. "He will be making a transition from the infield in high school to the outfield at ECU…."
Holt, who plays the outfield and first base, batted .380 with two home runs and 15 RBIs as a junior. "Jonathan will be a very good hitter at our level," Godwin said. "He has the ability to hit for power and average."
■ Cal Hardee, an infielder from Watauga, has signed to play baseball at Appalachian State, Coach Chris Pollard of ASU announced. Hardee hit .356 last season, with two home runs, 18 RBIs and 19 runs scored. He is the son of Pete Hardee, ASU's leader for wins in a season and the baseball coach at Watauga.
Miscellaneous
■ Fernando Salvador, the lead Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor at 24/7 Fitness & Martial Arts in Winston-Salem, won a silver medal in his weight class earlier this month at the World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Long Beach, Calif.
■ The French Football Federation has rejected an appeal from its Irish counterpart to ask FIFA to allow a replay of the contentious World Cup qualifier between the countries. The FFF said it "understands the disappointment and the bitterness of the Irish players" but that FIFA's decision not to allow a replay is final.
FIFA rejected Ireland's request for a replay yesterday, but the Irish FA then appealed directly to the FFF to ask the governing body to change its mind. Thierry Henry, whose hand ball set up the deciding goal that sent France to the World Cup on Wednesday, said a replay would be the fairest solution.
■ Greensboro College has been informed by the NCAA that it must forfeit two wins from the recently completed 2009 football season because it used an ineligible player. The Pride's win against Guilford and its victory at Washington & Lee are now losses by forfeit.
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