Trade helps Angels, Mariners
THE LOS ANGELES Angels traded power hitter Kendrys Morales to the Seattle Mariners for lefthander Jason Vargas. The 29-year-old Morales became expendable after the Angels agreed to a deal last week with free-agent slugger Josh Hamilton. The Angels had been looking for a pitcher after losing Zack Greinke and Dan Haren to free agency and trading Ervin Santana.
THE LOS ANGELES Angels traded power hitter Kendrys Morales to the Seattle Mariners for lefthander Jason Vargas.
The 29-year-old Morales became expendable after the Angels agreed to a deal last week with free-agent slugger Josh Hamilton. The Angels had been looking for a pitcher after losing Zack Greinke and Dan Haren to free agency and trading Ervin Santana.
Morales hit .273 with 22 home runs and 73 RBI last season. Vargas led Seattle in wins last season, going 14-11 with a 3.85 ERA.
Noteworthy *
The New York Yankees and Ichiro Suzuki finalized a $13 million, 2-year contract that keeps the 10-time All-Star in the Bronx.
In other news, the New York Post reported that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the club is continuing talks with veteran free agent Raul Ibanez about returning to the team next season. The 40-year-old Ibanez hit .240 with 19 home runs last year.
* Jeff Francis completed a $1.5 million, 1-year contract to remain with the Colorado Rockies. The 31-year-old lefthander was 6-7 with a 5.58 ERA last season.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks hired Steve Sax as their first base coach. The 52-year-old Sax was a five-time All-Star second baseman. He and Arizona manager Kirk Gibson were teammates on the Los Angeles Dodgers.