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MLB notebook: Yankees 1B Bird to miss 6-8 weeks after ankle surgery

[March 27, 2018] New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird will undergo ankle surgery on Tuesday that will sideline him from six to eight weeks, the club announced Monday.

Bird will have a small broken bone spur removed, according to the team.

Bird was scratched from Saturday's spring training game against the Atlanta Braves due to soreness in the foot. He underwent MRI and CT exams without any structural damage being found before the spur was diagnosed during a Monday appointment with foot specialist Dr. Martin O'Malley.

Bird injured the ankle by fouling a ball off of it during the final spring training game before the 2017 season. He later underwent surgery in July and played in just 48 games. He batted .190 with nine home runs and 28 RBIs last season.

--Former San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker is back with the organization as a special adviser to CEO Larry Baer, the team announced.

Baker served as the Giants' manager from 1993 to 2002, when the team opted to not renew his contract despite coming off a Game 7 loss in the World Series. He was named National League Manager of the Year three times during his tenure with the Giants and led the club to an 840-715 record across 10 seasons.

Baker notably had a tense relationship with former Giants owner Peter Magowan toward the end of his managerial tenure. The 68-year-old is coming off a two-season stint as manager of the Washington Nationals, leading the team to back-to-back NL East titles.

--Chicago White Sox groundskeeper Nevest Coleman reported for work, but it was anything but a normal start to the week.

It was his first day on the job since 1994 -- and first since spending 23 years in prison for crimes he did not commit.

In November, Coleman was released from prison and his conviction vacated after DNA evidence exonerated him of a rape and murder he was convicted of committing in 1994. According to the Chicago Tribune, a judge granted Coleman a certificate of release last month, which opened the door for him to return to his job after the White Sox offered him an interview.

--Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers is day to day after exiting a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs with a right knee contusion suffered in a home-plate collision with catcher Victor Caratini.

The incident took place in the bottom of the second inning. Devers, racing home after Caratini made a throwing error, collided with the backstop upon scoring and fell to ground in pain. The 21-year-old was able to get up on his own and walk back to the dugout before being removed.

Devers, slated to be the Red Sox's starting third baseman, impressed when he hit .284 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs in 58 games as a rookie last season. The phenom added two home runs in four games in Boston's American League Division Series loss to the Houston Astros.

--Starting pitchers Drew Pomeranz (forearm), Eduardo Rodriguez (right knee surgery) and Steven Wright (knee) were placed on the 10-day disabled list by the Red Sox.

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The moves create a void in the rotation behind the front three of Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello, who'll open the first three games of a four-game series with Tampa Bay this week. Hector Velazquez will pitch the series finale Sunday and be followed by Brian Johnson, who will face the Miami Marlins on Monday.

Sale, who took a line drive off the hip in a spring training game Saturday, threw a bullpen session and is still in line to start Opening Day, manager Alex Cora told reporters.

--Tim Tebow will open his season at Double-A Binghamton, according to the New York Post. The New York Mets reassigned the struggling outfielder to their minor league camp two weeks ago after he went 1-for-18 with 11 strikeouts in major league spring training.

The former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback split last season between low Class-A Columbia (S.C.) and high Class-A Port St. Lucie (Fla.) and batted .226 with eight homers and 52 RBIs.

With a step up to Double-A, Tebow will face more difficult pitching with the Rumble Ponies.

--Shortstop Ketel Marte agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $24 million with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to multiple reports.

The Diamondbacks also built in two option years that could transform the contract into a seven-year, $46 million deal.

Marte, a 24-year-old switch-hitter acquired in the Taijuan Walker-Jean Segura trade with the Seattle Mariners, debuted with the D-backs in June 2017 and hit five home runs in 255 plate appearances.

--The Texas Rangers have re-signed veteran right-hander Bartolo Colon to a minor league contract.

Texas also re-signed veteran infielder Trevor Plouffe to a minor league deal. Both Colon and Plouffe were assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.

Colon was released on Saturday, and it was clear the Rangers were working on a way to retain his services. After Texas announced Colon's release, the 44-year-old right-hander was working out in his Rangers' uniform, and his locker remained in the clubhouse. Colon had a 3.00 ERA in 18 innings over five starts this spring.

--Retired MLB star Albert Belle was arrested at a spring training game in Arizona on two counts of indecent exposure, one count of DUI and one count of extreme DUI, according to multiple reports.

Belle was booked and released on Sunday by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, the Baltimore Sun reported.

While details on the charges are still emerging, the extreme DUI charge is used when someone registers a .15 or higher on a BAC test within two hours of operating a vehicle.

--Field Level Media

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