Gaston to return next season as Toronto manager

TORONTO — Cito Gaston will return as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays next year.

“Cito’s definitely going to be back,” general manager J.P. Ricciardi said Thursday. “He’s done a good job. We’re six games over .500 since he took over. We’ve got a long way to go offensively, but he’s really laid the groundwork for some of the right stuff offensively. The guys like playing for him.”

The Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons on June 20 and gave the job to Gaston for the rest of this season. When they made the move, Ricciardi said he would sit down with Gaston after the season to discuss his status for 2009.

Going into Thursday night’s game against Oakland, the Blue Jays were 23-17 since Gaston took over — the fourth-best record in baseball during that span. Toronto was in fourth place in the AL East at 58-56.

“I think we’re real close,” said Gaston, who managed the Blue Jays to consecutive World Series titles in 1992-93. “We’ve just got to get some guys back who are on the DL and maybe if we can add here and there, I think we certainly have a chance. I’d like to be a part of it. That’s great.”

The 64-year-old Gaston is Toronto’s first two-time manager and the fourth-oldest skipper in the majors. He joined the Blue Jays as a batting coach in 1981 and became manager for the first time in 1989, replacing Jimy Williams. Toronto fired Gaston in the final week of the 1997 season.

Notes

RANGERS: Texas placed outfielder David Murphy on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right knee. Murphy, who leads AL rookies with 74 RBI and 114 hits, is expected to miss two to four weeks. An MRI on his injured knee revealed a sprained posterior cruciate ligament. Texas also purchased the contract of outfielder Jason Ellison from Class AAA Oklahoma before its game against the New York Yankees and transferred left-hander A.J. Murray to the 60-day disabled list. Murray has been out since June 4 with a strained left rotator cuff.

YANKEES: New York slugger Hideki Matsui began a running program for his sore left knee, and injured pitcher Joba Chamberlain will join him at the team’s spring training facility. After hitting 10 home runs on 58 pitches during his second consecutive day of batting practice on the field, Matsui ran about 90 feet six times in the outfield. Also headed to Tampa is Chamberlain, on the 15-day disabled list with rotator cuff tendinitis in his pitching shoulder. New York manager Joe Girardi said the right-hander will do exercises and receive treatment in Florida.
RED SOX: Boston minor league pitcher Victor De La Cruz was suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The commissioner’s office said De La Cruz tested positive for the steroid Stanozolol. His penalty took effect immediately. A 19-year-old right-hander, De La Cruz is 3-0 with three saves and a 1.25 ERA in 11 relief appearances for Boston’s Dominican Summer League team. He has 37 strikeouts and 12 walks in 36 innings.
BRAVES: Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Braves chairman Terry McGuirk and Skip Caray’s longtime broadcast partner Pete Van Wieren are among those scheduled to speak at a tribute to Caray at Turner Field on Tuesday morning. Caray, 68, died Sunday. He was the son of well-known Cubs Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray and a member of the Braves broadcast team for 33 years. Caray’s last game in the broadcast booth was July 31. He called in sick last Friday. Various health problems had limited Caray to calling just home games this season.

PHILLIES: Lefty reliever Scott Eyre was acquired by Philadelphia from the Chicago Cubs for a minor league pitcher. The Phillies sent right-hander Brian Schlitter to Chicago in the trade between NL division leaders. Eyre was 2-0 with a 7.15 ERA in 19 games over two stints with the Cubs. The 36-year-old was designated for assignment earlier this week.
DODGERS: Brad Penny is expected to come off the 15-day disabled list to start the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game at San Francisco tonight. Manager Joe Torre said the right-hander likely would be limited to around 90 pitches. Penny has been on the DL since June 17, retroactive to June 15, with right shoulder tendinitis and bursitis. The 30-year-old made his lone rehabilitation start on Sunday, allowing two runs and six hits in four innings for Class AAA Las Vegas.

NATIONALS: Washington put outfielder Elijah Dukes on the 15-day disabled list with a right calf strain and recalled right-handed pitcher Garrett Mock from Class AAA Columbus. Dukes was previously on the DL twice this season with injuries to his right hamstring and knee. He is batting .264 with six homers and 23 RBI in 54 games.