Westbrook stays put
Instead of testing the free-agent waters, Jake Westbrook decided to stay on the shores of Lake Erie.
Westbrook, eligible for free agency after this season, signed a three-year, $33 million contract extension through 2010 on Friday with the Cleveland Indians, who locked up a key starter.
If he had opted to play out the season, Westbrook may have been able to get a longer-term deal elsewhere. But from the outset, his goal was to stay with the Indians, who traded for him in 2000.
“It was very tempting, but it came down to how comfortable I am and what’s best for me and my family,” he said. “This is where I wanted to be.”
The 29-year-old Westbrook has been one of the American League’s most reliable pitchers the past three seasons, winning 44 games. Since 2004, only Westbrook, teammate Cliff Lee, Minnesota’s Johan Santana and Detroit’s Kenny Rogers have won at least 14 games in each season.
The right-hander has a 56-53 career record with a 4.40 ERA and was an All-Star in 2004.
Around the league
The Texas Rangers activated closer Eric Gagne from the disabled list and placed starter Jamey Wright on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. Gagne, a right-hander signed in the off-season, made three appearances including two starts for the Rangers’ Double-A Frisco RoughRiders. He was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA and retired all three batters he faced in his last outing Tuesday.
•Yankees right-hander Carl Pavano was scratched from his scheduled start today because of tightness in his forearm. Pavano was pushed back to Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium as a precaution. … California-based sports agent Gus Dominguez, 48, has been convicted in Key West, Fla., of smuggling five Cuban baseball players into the United States in 2004. … Yankee Chien-Ming Wang is scheduled to pitch today in an extended spring training game, his first action since injuring his right hamstring while running on March 23.
•Aramis Ramirez, one of the Chicago Cubs’ hottest hitters during the first eight games, has tendinitis in his right wrist and missed Friday’s game with Cincinnati. Ramirez is batting .406 with a homer and five RBIs. … Toronto placed outfielder Reed Johnson on the 15-day disabled list because of soreness in his back and No. 5 hitter Troy Glaus will be out for a few days because of a bone spur in his left heel and a hamstring problem. … Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks allowed two earned runs in six innings for Triple-A Tucson in what may be his final minor league rehabilitation outing.