LOS ANGELES — Greg Maddux is headed back to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
San Diego and Los Angeles agreed to a trade that puts the 353-game winner in a pennant race again, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity Monday night because no announcement had been made.
It was unclear what the last-place Padres would receive in return for the 42-year-old Maddux, who will join a Dodgers team tied with Arizona atop the NL West. The right-hander is 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA in 26 starts for San Diego this year.
The trade was expected to be announced today.
The deal was first reported by the Los Angeles Times on its Web site.
Maddux was 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA in 12 starts for the Dodgers in 2006 after they acquired him from the Chicago Cubs at the non-waiver trade deadline. Los Angeles reached the postseason that year as the NL’s wild-card team.
RAYS: B.J. Upton, benched three times in the past two weeks for failing to hustle, was caught jogging on the bases again Monday night and thrown out at second on what should have been a routine double.
This time, Rays manager Joe Maddon left his center fielder in the game after his latest base running gaffe.
The speedy Upton hit a fourth-inning drive to left against the Los Angeles Angels and broke into a trot out of the batter’s box, apparently thinking it would be a home run. Instead, the ball hit the fence on a hop.
Upton casually rounded first and jogged toward second with Angels first baseman Mark Teixeira following up the line to meet left fielder Juan Rivera’s throw to an uncovered base. Teixeira fielded the ball on a hop and made the tag just before a surprised Upton touched the bag.
ATHLETICS: Oakland ace Justin Duchscherer left Monday’s game against the Minnesota Twins in the third inning with right hip pain. Duchscherer threw 36 pitches and Oakland was leading 1-0 when he left with two outs.
The All-Star right-hander was on the DL with a strained right biceps in early April and was 0-3 with a 5.34 ERA over his previous five starts.
Duchscherer entered Monday’s start 10-8 with a 2.59 ERA. He was replaced by Kirk Saarloos, who was called up from Class AAA Sacramento before the game.
BRAVES: Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine is scheduled to be examined Wednesday by Dr. James Andrews in Alabama, a visit that is expected to determine whether the pitcher’s stellar career is over.
Glavine, out for the rest of the season with a torn flexor tendon, reiterated Monday what he said after going on the disabled list last week: Andrews’ diagnosis will likely determine his fate in baseball.
If Andrews determines he needs elbow ligament replacement surgery to continue pitching, Glavine would retire. Spending nearly 12 months rehabilitating from the Tommy John procedure is all but out of the question for the 42-year-old left-hander.
If Andrews suggests he only needs surgery on the tendon, Glavine would undergo the operation almost immediately with the hope that he could pitch next year for Atlanta.
BREWERS: Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun left the game Monday night against the Astros with tightness in his lower back — the same injury that kept him out of six games recently. Braun appeared to be in pain after swinging and missing in his final at-bat in the sixth. He walked gingerly back to the dugout after the strikeout. Gabe Kapler replaced Braun.
INDIANS: Cleveland designated hitter Travis Hafner, sidelined with a strained right shoulder, had two hits in his first rehab appearance for Class AAA Buffalo. Hafner, playing for the first time in nearly three months, doubled to lead off the second inning and singled with one out in the fifth. He also lined out to second base in the fourth. The Bisons beat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 5-1.
ORIOLES: Baltimore shook up its rotation, sending slumping starters Garrett Olson and Dennis Sarfate to the bullpen. Olson lasted only 11/3 innings in Sunday’s 16-8 victory over the Tigers, allowing four hits and five runs. Sarfate, 4-3 with a 5.35 ERA in 49 appearances, was moved from the bullpen to the rotation July 30 after Radhames Liz was sent to Class AAA Norfolk. Sarfate made four starts, going 0-2 with 10.34 ERA.
RANGERS: Texas All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a sports hernia, and could be headed for season-ending surgery.
Kinsler, who was leading the majors with 165 hits and 102 runs, had an MRI on Monday that revealed the problem on the left side of his groin. He will be examined by a specialist in Dallas, probably today.
RED SOX: Boston pitcher Curt Schilling says he’s leaning “very heavily” toward retirement and is waiting until spring training approaches to see if he wants to try to pitch again.
The Red Sox right-hander, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on June 23, said in his most recent blog entry that his shoulder “is getting better fast” and “I’ve still got a rather lengthy amount of time before I decide anything.”
Still, he said on 38pitches.com that “the pendulum is swinging very heavily in the direction of it just being over. I’ve never sat around and not gotten ready to head to Florida, well not in 23 or so years anyway, so to me that will likely be the last real test for me and whether or not I want to put the time and effort into getting after it one more time.”
Dr. Craig Morgan, who performed the surgery, estimated a few hours after it ended that Schilling could be throwing a ball in four months and throwing from a mound within seven months, by late January.
Schilling, a six-time All-Star, is signed only for 2008 at $8 million.
He finished last season, his 20th, ranked 14th on the career strikeout list with 3,116. His career record is 216-146 with a 3.46 ERA. He is 11-2 in postseason play and was co-MVP of the 2001 World Series with Randy Johnson for Arizona.
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