Reyes makes cut for charity
Along with a new uniform, Jose Reyes has a new, close-cropped look.
The All-Star shortstop had his dreadlocks trimmed during a nationally televised haircut Friday on the MLB Network.
“A little bit lighter. It’s going to take me a couple of days to get used to it,” Reyes said.
He left the New York Mets in December for a $106 million, six-year contract with the Miami Marlins. Reyes’ new team has a rule prohibiting hair below the helmet line.
“It’s going to be a little bit emotional because I spent three years with this hair. But at the same time, I understand this rule of my new team,” Reyes said before the cutting started. “I’m a team player, so I have to cut it off.”
A man who would identify himself only as Jordan from Jordan’s Barber Shop in the Bronx performed the haircut at the MLB Network studios in Secaucus, N.J. Network spokeswoman Lorraine Fisher said the trim will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida, which planned to auction the hair on eBay.
“One thing that I do, I wash my hair once a month,” Reyes said. “Every time I went to shower, I put a plastic bag on my hair, and David Wright (is) always making fun of me because of that. I don’t get my hair wet.”
Other players who have had to cut their hair to comply with team rules include Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon when they joined the New York Yankees.
Dodgers want claim to be thrown out
The Los Angeles Dodgers have asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in Wilmington, Del., to disallow claims against the team filed by Bryan Stow, the San Francisco Giants fan nearly beaten to death outside Dodger Stadium last spring.
Stow and his family sued the Dodgers in California state court, then filed the claim with the federal court in July, weeks after owner Frank McCourt put the team in bankruptcy.
The Dodgers filed a motion with the bankruptcy court Friday and said “Stow cannot prove any link between the additional security related steps that Stow contends the debtors should have taken and his injuries.”
Clearing the bases
The Dodgers have agreed to terms with right-handed reliever Todd Coffey on a $1.3 million, one-year contract with a club option for 2013. Coffey was 5-1 with a 3.62 ERA in 69 games with Washington last season. … First baseman Dan Johnson, whose dramatic home run on the final night of the regular season helped Tampa Bay reach last year’s playoffs, has agreed to a minor league contract with the White Sox. He batted .119 with two homers for the Rays last year and was the International League MVP in 2010. … Pitcher Shaun Marcum and the Brewers have agreed to a one-year contract worth $7,725,000, just ahead of the scheduled start of their salary arbitration hearing. … Reliever Matt Belisle and the Rockies have agreed to a two-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2014 and adds an additional $4.35 million. …Right-hander Matt Garza has agreed to a $9.5 million, one-year contract with the Cubs, just before the scheduled start of a salary arbitration hearing.