MLB Notes

San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller
San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller

PADRES

GM Preller suspended

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MLB Photos via Getty Images

Drew Pomeranz

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AP Photo

Tim Tebow

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MLB Photos via Getty Images

Billy Butler

BOSTON — Major League Baseball suspended San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller for 30 days without pay, an unprecedented punishment for what an official said was a failure to disclose medical information when pitcher Drew Pomeranz was traded to the Red Sox in July.

The official, who had been briefed on the decision to suspend Preller, spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

The commissioner’s office announced the discipline on Thursday but did not elaborate on what Preller did wrong. Red Sox owner John Henry confirmed to the Boston Herald that the commissioner’s office was investigating whether all medical records were provided before the trade; the team declined to comment on Thursday.

It’s not the first time Preller has run afoul of the commissioner’s office: As an assistant with the Texas Rangers, he was suspended for a month for violating baseball’s international signing rules.

While baseball has suspended owners, including George Steinbrenner of the Yankees and Marge Schott of the Reds, for transgressions ranging from racism to gambling and other skullduggery deemed not in the best interest of baseball, it was believed to be the first time a general manager had been benched for hiding medical information from a trade partner.

It’s not the only instance this summer a trade by Preller has been affected by a medical issue: A deadline deal that sent pitcher Colin Rea to Miami was effectively reversed after Rea was unable to make it through his first start with the Marlins because of an elbow injury.

The Padres traded Pomeranz to Boston on July 14 for right-handed prospect Anderson Espinoza. An All-Star in San Diego, Pomeranz has been inconsistent in Boston with a 2-5 record and 4.60 ERA in 13 starts since the July 14 trade.

YANKEES

DH Butler signed

BOSTON — The New York Yankees have signed free agent designated hitter Billy Butler and put him right into the starting lineup to begin a key four-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

Butler was hitting fifth Thursday night at Fenway Park against the AL East leaders.

Butler, 30, was released by the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. He had one full season remaining on his $30 million, three-year contract.

Butler hit .276 with 4 home runs and 31 RBI in 85 games for the A’s. Last month, he was put on the concussion disabled list after a clubhouse skirmish with teammate Danny Valencia.

An All-Star in 2012 with Kansas City, the righty-hitting Butler could see a lot of action soon as the Yankees are expected to face mainly lefties in their next five games.

METS

Tebow: OK in minors

The public baseball workout Tim Tebow held last month earned him an audience with officials from several teams. They all asked him the same question and issued the same warning.

Minor league baseball would be a grind, far removed from ornate football facilities at Florida or the NFL. He would ride buses for hours and dress in dusty, cramped clubhouses. Did he understand? Could he handle it?

“I think it’s funny,” Tebow said Thursday afternoon in a telephone conversation. “I was like, first of all, what you need to understand is I have taken so many long jitney rides in the Philippines and Thailand and so many countries. I have taken so many bucket baths in third-world countries and had times when there’s no running water, there’s no electricity. I’ll be all right. I can handle that. I will be totally fine.”

Tebow paused to laugh. “Yeah, I will be just fine. Sometime this summer, I was in the Philippines for three weeks. It’s not like we had the chance to take a shower every night. I’ll be okay.”

The reminder of his well-chronicled outreach further underscored the uniqueness of dropping Tim Tebow — Heisman winner, failed NFL quarterback, shout-show fodder, mission-trip taker — into the lower rungs of the New York Mets’ farm system. The experiment will begin Monday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where Tebow will pull on a baseball uniform for the first time since high school, when he starred at Nease High in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., for the first day of instructional league.

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