La Russa to aid Arizona
Tony La Russa is back in the big leagues, though he won’t be filling out lineup cards anytime soon.
The Arizona Diamondbacks hired La Russa as their chief baseball officer Saturday, hoping the Hall of Fame manager can help turn around the team after one of the worst starts in franchise history.
La Russa will report to Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall and oversee the entire baseball operations department. He will work with general manager Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson in shaping the future of the Diamondbacks, who are 17-28 after an 18-7 victory Saturday night over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
La Russa most recently worked for Major League Baseball as a special assistant to Commissioner Bud Selig.
Fielder streak ends
Texas Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder is sitting out at least two days because of a stiff neck, ending his consecutive games streak at 547.
Fielder received an injection on Saturday morning. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said he hopes Fielder will be ready to play Tuesday night at home against Seattle.
Franco plays at 55
Julio Franco is going to try to get a few more hits at age 55.
Franco is joining the Fort Worth Cats of the independent United League as a player-coach for their first homestand.
Franco played parts of 23 seasons in the major leagues until age 49.
Fan hurt at Fenway
Officials said police and state inspectors are examining whether one or both doors of an elevator at Boston’s Fenway Park opened before a 22-year-old woman plunged two stories down an elevator shaft after a game late Friday following a Red Sox loss to the Detroit Tigers.
A hospital spokesman said no information would be released about the woman’s condition.
Clearing the bases
Texas left-hander Martin Perez says he will have season-ending reconstructive elbow surgery on Monday. … San Diego Padres right-hander Andrew Cashner was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of soreness in his pitching elbow. … The Boston Red Sox have placed third baseman Will Middlebrooks on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right index finger and recalled infielder Brock Holt from Triple-A Pawtucket. … Milwaukee leadoff hitter Carlos Gomez was a late scratch from the Brewers’ lineup Saturday because of lower back tightness.