Nats sign LHP Gonzalez
Gio Gonzalez agreed to a contract extension with the Washington Nationals on Sunday, just three weeks after the lefthander was acquired in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. The deal runs though the 2016 season and includes options for two more years. Gonzalez had filed for arbitration on Friday.
The 26-year-old Gonzalez went 16-12 last season - a career high for wins - with a 3.12 ERA in 32 starts and was selected to his first All-Star Game. He has reached 200 innings the past two seasons.
He was acquired in a six-player deal with Oakland on Dec. 23, giving Washington a promising rotation that includes righthanders Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann. After finishing last in the NL East in three consecutive seasons, Washington went 80-81 and wound up in third place in 2011.
Gonzalez is 38-32 with a 3.93 ERA in 95 games over four seasons with Oakland.
A's sign Colon for a year
The Oakland Athletics and righthander Bartolo Colon have reached agreement on a one-year deal that will bolster the team's depleted rotation, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Sunday.
Colon's contract is pending a physical, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to the source, the deal is worth nearly $2 million, and could include a signing bonus.
The 38-year-old Colon, a former A's nemesis during his four-year stint with the AL West rival Angels from 2004-07, went 8-10 in 29 appearances and 26 starts last season for the New York Yankees in his 14th big league season. He won the 2005 AL Cy Young Award.
Wrigley Field goes LED
Change is coming to Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs have announced that they will add a 75-foot LED board and deck, called the Budweiser Patio, to the right-field bleachers at Wrigley. The board will have the capability to display the usual game information (such as pitch count, and player photos and stats) but will not have video replay because of its size.
The changes will not involve any of Wrigley's landmark features, such as the ivy or the original scoreboard. Wrigley, the second-oldest ballpark in the majors, is one of the last parks to still use a hand-turned scoreboard. The original scoreboard and bleachers were built in 1937.
