Maddon, Rays said to agree on contract extension

Joe Maddon insisted all along that he wasn’t interested in managing any other team than Tampa Bay. And apparently the Rays feel the same about Maddon. A person familiar with the deal said Tuesday that the Rays and Maddon had agreed on a three-year contract extension after the manager led the Rays to the playoffs three of the past four seasons. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the team had not yet made an official announcement. The Rays have scheduled a news conference at Tropicana Field to make a “special announcement” on Wednesday. The Rays are 495-477, have won two AL East titles and made the playoffs three times in six seasons under the 58-year-old Maddon. They made their only World Series appearance in 2008 and lost to the Texas Rangers in the divisional round the past two years. Maddon had one year remaining on a three-year extension he signed in May 2009. The day after the Rays bowed out of the playoffs in October he said he was confident that he would remain with Tampa Bay for years to come, stressing that he had no desire in potentially winding up somewhere else after the 2012 season. Discussions on a new contract began in December, and the deal was finalized Tuesday. Maddon was hired as the fourth manager in franchise history in November 2005 and has helped transform the budget-conscious Rays from a perennial loser into a club that’s proven that despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the game they can compete consistently in the AL East with the big-spending New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The Rays won arguably baseball’s toughest division in 2008 and 2010. They took advantage of Boston’s historic collapse to overcome a nine-game deficit in September to earn the AL wild-card on the final night of last season. Under Maddon’s guidance, the Rays have averaged 90 wins over the past four seasons. The stretch follows one in which Tampa Bay averaged 90-plus losses the previous four years. Before Maddon’s arrival from the Los Angeles Angels, where he was Mike Scioscia’s bench coach, the Rays were 518-775 under the team’s first three managers. Fukudome, White Sox agree to $1m deal Four years later, the Chicago White Sox finally signed Kosuke Fukudome — and for a fraction of the price he cost the Cubs. The Japanese outfielder agreed on Tuesday to a one-year contract that guarantees $1 million. He will get a $500,000 salary this year, and the White Sox have a $3.5 million option for 2013 with a $500,000 buyout. Now 34, Fukudome joined the Cubs for the 2008 season with a $48 million, four-year contract. “We were aggressive,” White Sox assistant general manager Rick Hahn said. “For reasons that I think he fairly clearly outlined at the time, he decided to go with the opportunity on the North Side over ours.” With the Cubs, Fukudome could remain in right field. The White Sox had Jermaine Dye in place at the time. An MLB All-Star in 2008, Fukudome was traded from the Cubs to Cleveland last July 28 for outfielder Abner Abreu and pitcher Carlton Smith. Fukudome hit .262 with eight homers, 27 doubles and 35 RBIs last season. He has a .260 average in the majors with 42 homers and 191 RBIs. Chicago views Fukudome as a left-handed hitter who can play center and right. “We’re not looking for this guy to come in and completely change his approach,” Hahn said. “We just want him to be the player he’s proven to be over the last four years.” Match-fixing allegations trouble Korean baseball In Seoul,  South Korean baseball’s governing body says professional clubs are questioning their players amid growing allegations of match-fixing. The questioning comes after media reports said a broker told prosecutors that match-fixing had taken place in baseball. The broker was arrested last week with several former and current volleyball players for alleged match-fixing in that sport. The Korea Baseball Organization said Wednesday that a pitcher said he had turned down a match-fixing offer by the operator of an illegal betting site. But it said there was no evidence that other players were approached or involved in match-fixing. Prosecutors declined to comment on the allegations.