Mondesi debuts with Angels
Raul Mondesi returned to the big leagues Sunday as the newest member of the Anaheim Angels.
Mondesi, who left the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this month and had his contract terminated, signed a $1.75 million deal for the remainder of the season. He was immediately put into the injury-depleted starting lineup as the designated hitter, batting sixth. He went 0 for 2 with a walk in Anaheim’s 11-2 loss.
“Now everything is getting better, so I decided to sign like 10 days ago. I said I wanted to go back and finish strong,” Mondesi said Sunday.
The Pirates cited breach of contract in ending all dealings with Mondesi on May 19. He’d left the team May 7 to return to his native Dominican Republic and fight a lawsuit.
“My mind is so much better. Two or three weeks ago I was thinking too much and sometimes got a headache a little bit. Now everything is fine,” he said.
At the time he left the Pirates, Mondesi said he was fearful for his family’s safety while he contests a lawsuit by former major leaguer Mario Guerrero.
In his suit, Guerrero said Mondesi promised him 1 percent of his major league earnings for helping develop his skills.
A Dominican court ruled in February that Mondesi owes Guerrero about $640,000, and Mondesi is appealing. The next hearing is scheduled for June 19.
Mondesi said Sunday he’s confident he’ll win the appeal.
“He doesn’t have much of a chance. I never signed a paper and he says I said to him I got to give you 1 percent. Seventeen years ago and I was like 15 years old,” Mondesi said.
Mondesi also disputes when he and Guerrero first met.
Mondesi batted .283 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 26 games with the Pirates. He is a career .276 hitter with 266 homers and 229 stolen bases.
White Sox players to decide on Rauch
White Sox general manager Kenny Williams will talk with players before determining the future of pitcher Jon Rauch, who left the clubhouse before the end of the game.
The 6-foot-11 Rauch was sent back to Triple-A Charlotte after his dismal performance Saturday – he gave up five runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Rauch left the clubhouse before the end of the 5-1 loss to Anaheim, drawing criticism from Williams and several White Sox teammates.
After the game on Saturday, Williams said through a club spokesman that Rauch may never pitch for the White Sox again. Rauch offered apologies and called it a miscommunication.
“He left me a message and spoke to Don Cooper and Rick Hahn, saying there was a misunderstanding. I don’t know what the misunderstanding can be – it’s a long-standing rule that you stick around until the end of the ballgame,” Williams said Sunday.
Prior pitches well in rehab start
Chicago ace Mark Prior struck out 10 and allowed three hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings while making a rehab start for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.
Prior, who is recovering from an inflamed right Achilles’ tendon and sore right elbow, has been on the disabled list all season.
If it’s decided he’s ready to return to the big leagues, Prior would pitch at Wrigley Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates next weekend.
Around the horn
The Montreal Expos placed outfielder Carl Everett on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle and activated right-hander Tony Armas Jr. … Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett was forced out of his start against the New York Mets on Sunday because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand – the same injury that sent him to the disabled list three times in 2002.