With the Yankees on the verge of signing Hideki Irabu, acting Commissioner Bud Selig said the major leagues will investigate whether New York tampered with the pitcher before it owned his rights.
“It is incumbent on major league baseball, by virtue of its treaty with Japanese baseball, to ascertain that all dealings with Mr. Irabu were conducted fairly and within the rules of the agreement,” Selig said Friday.
Irabu’s rights were traded in January from the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League to the San Diego Padres. After Irabu refused to deal with the Padres, San Diego dealt his rights to the Yankees on April 22 for $3 million in a deal that included several minor-leaguers exchanging teams.
Irabu and the Yankees were said to be close to an agreement on a four-year contract worth about $13 million. The deal would include a signing bonus of about $7.5 million, but Irabu’s 1997 salary would be at or near the major-league minimum of $150,000.
Marines spokesman Yuji Horimoto said in Japan that his team asked for the investigation.
“We don’t have any intention to break a deal” between the Padres and the Yankees, Horimoto said.
“This is purely an action taken based on an agreement between Japanese and U.S. baseball commissioners’ offices so such questions can be clarified whenever they arise,” Horimoto said.
Many baseball executives have said they thought the Yankees attempted to negotiate with Irabu while his rights were held by the Marines or the Padres.
Under the deal with San Diego, the Yankees have until May 31 to sign the pitcher or his rights revert to the Padres.
Jays call up Sierra: The Toronto Blue Jays, hoping to add punch to the American League’s lightest-hitting lineup, brought veteran outfielder Ruben Sierra up from the minor leagues.
The Blue Jays purchased his contract from Triple-A Syracuse less than two weeks after signing him to the minor-league pact and 16 days after he was released by the Cincinnati Reds.
The 31-year-old switch-hitter batted just .219 with one homer and five RBIs in eight games with Syracuse. The Reds cut loose Sierra on May 6 after he hit .244 with two homers and seven RBIs in 25 games.
Cincinnati acquired him from Detroit last October for two minor-leaguers but assumed just $600,000 of Sierra’s $6.5 million salary for 1997.
Sierra’s last productive season was 1995, when he combined to hit .263 with 19 homers and 86 RBIs in 126 games for the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees.
Langston on DL: The Anaheim Angels placed veteran left-hander Mark Langston on the 15-day disabled list with stiffness in his pitching elbow. Langston, 36, is scheduled to undergo exploratory surgery Tuesday. There is no timetable set for his return.
To fill Langston’s spot on the roster, the Angels recalled pitcher Matt Perisho from Double-A Midland. The left-hander, 21, was 5-2 with a 2.96 ERA in 10 starts for Midland. He is expected to make his major-league debut Monday when the Angels take on the Tigers in Detroit.
Dierker’s father dies: Houston manager Larry Dierker left the team following the death of his father, and bench coach Bill Virdon took over for the three-game series against the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
ERA-saver: A scoring change was made regarding a play in Thursday night’s game between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. Bernard Gilkey’s single in the third inning was changed to an error by Phillies third baseman Scott Rolen. Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling, who had been charged with nine earned runs, will only be charged with one earned run. His earned run average, which was 4.13, dropped to 3.18.
Japan-bound: The Colorado Rockies sold the contract of utility player Darnell Coles to the Hanshin Tigers of the Central League in Japan. Coles, 34, started only one game and hit .318 with a homer and two RBIs in 21 games with the Rockies. He was a non-roster invitee to spring training after being with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Central League in 1996.
