2010 – The Rangers get some bad news as All-Star OF Josh Hamilton, whose 2009 season was curtailed by a string of injuries after a breakthrough 2008 campaign, leaves the first workout of spring training with a bruised left shoulder. Hamilton injures himself diving to catch a pop-up. However, he will recover to become the American League MVP.
A Kansas man, who sat six rows behind the third-base dugout, files a lawsuit against the Royals as a result of being hit in the eye by a hot dog thrown by Sluggerrr, the team’s mascot. The suit is seeking $25,000 in damages for injuries caused by the flying frank, which includes a detached retina and the development of cataracts in the left eye.
Major League Baseball announces that it will begin testing minor leaguers for human growth hormone this season. The illegal performance-enhancing substance has long been considered undetectable by conventional doping tests, but its presence has recently been isolated through a blood test, which will be used for this purpose.
The Atlanta Braves sign 18-year-old Dominican shortstop Edward Salcedo to a contract. Considered as one of the top talents available on the international market, the youngster receives a signing bonus of $1.6 million. Although expected to begin his professional career with the Class-A Rome Braves, he will be assigned to the Rookie-level DSL Braves instead. Salcedo first signed with the Cleveland Indians in 2007, but the contract was voided when it was discovered that he was underage. He will fail to develop as a star, however.
2010 – The Yankees sign veteran Korean P Chan Ho Park to a one-year contract. Park pitched against the Yanks for the Phillies in last year’s World Series.
Free agent OF Johnny Damon reportedly signs a one-year, $8 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.
The Mets sign veteran C Rod Barajas to a contract, joining a crowded catching corps that also includes Henry Blanco, Omir Santos and top prospect Josh Thole.
The Cleveland Indians shake up their front office: they announce that GM Mark Shapiro will become team President at the end of the season, when his assistant Chris Antonetti becomes General Manager. Current President Paul Dolan, the son of owner Larry Dolan, will become Chairman and CEO in his father’s place. Antonetti, like newly-appointed Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, began his career as an intern with the Montreal Expos. He joined the former franchise in 1997, before moving to the Indians in 1999, where he has held a number of front office positions.
The Dodgers offer former Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagné a minor league contract. One of LA’s most popular players in the 2000s, Gagné saw his career hit the skids following elbow and back surgeries in 2005 and 2006, then was named in the Mitchell Report in 2007. Last season, he pitched for the Québec Capitales of the independent Can-Am Association, but he will fail in his attempt to return to the big leagues.
The Indians bring back 1B Russell Branyan, whom they originally drafted in 1994 and who played for the team until 2002. Coming off his best year in the majors, in which he slugged 31 homers for Seattle, Branyan missed the last month of the season with an ailing back and his health remains a concern.
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