In U.S. District court, Barry Bonds pleads not guilty to five felony charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Four years ago, the sworn testimony to a grand jury given by the new home run king, in which he denied using performance-enhancing drugs, is now being challenged by the federal government
The Pittsburgh Pirates deal veteran reliever Salomon Torres (10th on the team’s games pitched leaderboard at the time) to the Milwaukee Brewers for Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts, two minor leaguers. Torres, a resident of the Pittsburgh suburbs, says he is considering retirement rather than reporting, but will decide to stay active for one more year. He will have a solid year as Milwaukee’s closer while Salas will only pitch 13 games for the Pirates, with a 8.47 ERA, and Roberts won’t reach the majors.
Barry Bonds pleads not guilty to five charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in federal hearings regarding the BALCO investigation.
The Rule V Draft is held. Tim Lahey goes first to the Tampa Bay Rays, followed by Evan Meek to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brian Barton, expected to go first, slips to #10. Former major leaguers taken include R.A. Dickey, Travis Blackley and Jose Capellan.
The Los Angeles Dodgers sign free agent outfielder Andruw Jones for $36 million over two years. Jones had led the 2005 NL with 51 home runs but is coming off a disappointing 88 OPS+ in 2007. Jones will hit just 3 home runs and bat .158 for the Dodgers and be released after the season.
Jose Guillen and Jay Gibbons are suspended by Major League Baseball for steroid use, following the results of George Mitchell’s investigation. No penalty is given to Troy Glaus, Scott Schoeneweis, Rick Ankiel and Gary Matthews Jr., who have also been found to be users by the Mitchell investigation.
2007 – The Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers pull off a blockbuster deal. Florida sends 3B Miguel Cabrera (an All-Star in four of his five seasons) and two-time All-Star P Dontrelle Willis for prospects Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller and Dallas Trahern. The Marlins also get Mike Rabelo, Eulogio De La Cruz and Burke Badenhop in the deal. Maybin and Miller had been Detroit’s first-round picks in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
Dick Williams, who managed in Boston, Oakland, California, Montreal, San Diego, and Seattle, is elected into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Along with Bill McKechnie, another Hall of Famer, the fiery skipper is the only other manager to appear in the World Series with three different teams (1967 Red Sox, 1972-73 A’s, and 1984 Padres).
The Mets trade highly-touted prospect Lastings Milledge to the Nationals in exchange for fly chaser Ryan Church and catcher Brian Schneider. Although the transaction helps New York fill its immediate needs behind the plate and in the outfield, the trade appears to favor Washington due to Milledge’s perceived potential.
The Rays sign reliever Troy Percival (3-0, 1.80) to an $8 million, two-year deal. The 38 year-old right-hander, who came out of retirement last season to make 34 appearances for the Cardinals, is a major upgrade to Tampa Bay’s beleaguered bullpen.