Off the wire

BASEBALL Twins finalize deals

The Minnesota Twins have signed right-hander Mike Pelfrey and catcher Kurt Suzuki. The contracts were finalized Monday. Pelfrey agreed more than a week ago to an $11 million, two-year deal. Suzuki agreed Friday to a $2.75 million, one-year deal. Pelfrey went 5-13 with a 5.19 ERA in 29 starts last season, his first after elbow ligament replacement surgery on his elbow. He’ll return to the rotation with Kevin Correia, with Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes now at the top. One spot will be open in spring training. Suzuki, 30, will back up prospect Josmil Pinto, with Joe Mauer moving to first base and Ryan Doumit traded to Atlanta. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Twins sent outfielder Darin Mastroianni outright to Class AAA Rochester.

The Chicago Cubs have claimed pitcher Brett Marshall off waivers from the New York Yankees. Marshall, 23, made his major league debut last season, making three relief appearances over two stints with the Yankees and allowing six earned runs in 12 innings. The right-hander spent most of last year with Class AAA Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre, going 7-10 with a 5.13 ERA in 25 starts. A sixth-round draft pick by the Yankees in 2008, Marshall is 36-32 with a 4.07 ERA in 115 minor league appearances and 113 starts. The Cubs announced the move Monday.

The Chicago White Sox said they have claimed left-handed pitcher Eric Surkamp off waivers from the San Francisco Giants and lost infielder Brent Morel to the Toronto Blue Jays. Surkamp, 26, a sixth-round pick by the Giants in the 2008 amateur draft, went 0-1with a 23.63 ERA in one spot start for San Francisco last season that lasted only 2 2/3 innings on July 23 against his hometown Cincinnati Reds. He was 7-1 with a 2.80 ERA between Class A San Jose and Class AAA Fresno. He sat out the 2012 season because of an elbow injury. Morel appeared in 12 games forChicago last season and hit .200. He has a .229 average in 194 games. The moves announced Monday put Chicago’s 40-man roster at 40.

The Texas Rangers have received outfielder Alex Castellanos on a waiver claim from Boston. The Red Sox acquired Castellanos, 27, in a trade with the Los Angeles on Oct. 23. He was designated for assignment Dec. 12 when Boston re-signed free agent Mike Napoli. Castellanos spent most of last season with Class AAA Albuquerque, hitting .257 with 19 home runs and 61 RBIs. He is a career .171 hitter in the majors in 24 games, all with the Dodgers. With Monday’s move, the Rangers have a full 40-man roster.

BASKETBALL Wade ruled out

Dwyane Wade was ruled out for the Miami Heat’s game against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night because of mild knee soreness. The Heat have been giving Wade sporadic breaks this season in an effort to not overly tax his legs. Coach Erik Spoelstra says Wade arrived at the arena Monday night ready and expecting to play, but that the team decided it was best to give him the game off. Ray Allen was in the starting lineup in Wade’s place. It’s been a whirlwind few days for Wade, who got engaged to Gabrielle Union on Saturday and was selected Monday as the Eastern Conference’s player of the week. He averaged 26.3 points on 60 percent shooting in a 3-0 week for Miami.

Houston guard James Harden missed his second consecutive game for the Rockets against the Dallas Mavericks, but Jeremy Lin played after missing time with back spasms. Harden, who leads the team in scoring with 23.9 points a game, sat out Monday night with a sprained left ankle. Lin has missed four games recently with back spasms. The Rockets are also without guard Patrick Beverley (Arkansas Razorbacks), who has a right hand injury and center Omer Asik, who has missed the last nine games with a right thigh bruise.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters, the team’s second leading scorer, missed his third consecutive game because of tendinitis in his right wrist. Waiters, who is averaging 14.9 points, hasn’t played since Dec. 17 when he scored 25 in a loss to Portland. The second-year shooting guard, who also missed games Friday and Saturday, is wearing a splint on his wrist. Coach Mike Brown said before Monday’s game against Detroit that rookies Matthew Dellavedova and Sergey Karasev would get more minutes until Waiters returns. Waiters, taken with the No. 4 pick in the 2012 draft, has been the subject of trade rumors for most of the season. He has been coming off the bench for the last month since C.J. Miles was moved into the starting lineup.

The NBA has fined Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes for failing to leave the court in a timely manner after he was ejected in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against Minnesota. The league announced the $25,000 penalty on Monday. Barnes was thrown out with 56.8 seconds left in the quarter after he was whistled for a flagrant 2 foul against Kevin Love on a drive to the basket. The Clippers went on to a 120-116 overtime victory. Barnes’ foul was downgraded to a flagrant 1 after it was reviewed by the league.

TENNIS Olaso receives ban

The Tennis Integrity Unit said Spanish player Guillermo Olaso has been banned from the sport for five years and fined $25,000 for match-fixing. Olaso was found guilty of three corruption offenses in 2010, including directly or indirectly seeking to “contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any event.” He was also found guilty of two counts of failing to report approaches to provide inside information or influence the outcome of any aspect of a match. The TIU said the 236th-ranked player won’t have to serve the final 18 months of his ban if he has repaid the $25,000 fine by then and has attended anti-corruption and rehabilitation programs.

GOLF Ko splits with coach

Teenage golf star Lydia Ko has split with the only coach she has had since she took up the sport as a 5-year-old. Ko, 16, told Television New Zealand on Monday that she was sad to have ended her partnership with Guy Wilson, whom she called a great coach and friend. But she said she and her family had decided it would be impossible to continue the relationship because she will be based in the United States and he in New Zealand. Wilson, who worked with Ko for 11 years, issued a statement saying he was “incredibly disappointed” the partnership is over. Michael Yim, her agent at IMG, said Monday that Ko worked with various teachers at the Leadbetter Academy in Florida before going to Taiwan for the Swinging Skirts tournament, an event she won two weeks ago in her second start as a professional. Kim said Ko plans to meet with other teachers before deciding on a full-time coach. Ko has won five professional tournaments - four as an amateur - while coached by Wilson, who said it had “been an honor to help develop Lydia into the No. 4 golfer in the world.” Born in South Korea and raised in New Zealand, Ko won the Women’s Canadian Open at 15 last year to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and successfully defended the title this year.

HOCKEY Hertl to have surgery

San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl will undergo right knee surgery next week, sidelining the rookie star for more than a month. General Manager Doug Wilson said Monday that the team will know more about how much time Hertl will miss following the surgery. Hertl was hurt last Thursday in a knee-on-knee collision with Los Angeles’ Dustin Brown. Brown received a major penalty and game misconduct for the hit on Hertl. Hertl leads all rookies with 15 goals and 25 points so far this season.