In brief: Writers vote to get out of the bonus business

Baseball players no longer would receive bonuses for winning the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young or rookie awards bestowed by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America under a rule passed Wednesday.

Starting in 2013, players with such bonus clauses in their contracts will be banned from receiving votes for any BBWAA awards. The lag time is designed to give agents and teams an opportunity to adapt to the ban; only a handful of players are already under contract for 2013.

Hall of Fame voting is not affected, nor are manager of the year or non-BBWAA awards such as the World Series MVP or Gold Glove.

“When we first started giving out these awards it was just to honor somebody. You got a trophy, there was no monetary reward that went with it,” BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell said. “I honestly don’t think people vote with that in mind. But the attachment of a bonus to these awards creates a perception that we’re trying to make these guys rich.”

The vote was 41-21 on the rule, which was brought up by the Associated Press two years ago. “The Tigers and Marlins completed their blockbuster trade, an eight-player swap that sent All-Stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from Florida to Detroit.

The Marlins received a package of six players, including two highly rated prospects: left-hander Andrew Miller and outfielder Cameron Maybin. The teams reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday, with the deal subject to both sides being satisfied after exchanging medical records.

“Minnesota general manager Bill Smith maintained that Johan Santana could wind up with a surprise team in 2008: the Twins themselves.

Smith said he didn’t feel obligated to trade the two-time Cy Young Award winner just because he could walk away for nothing at the end of next season. Instead, Minnesota could try to keep him and make another attempt to re-sign him.

“Pitcher Aaron Cook and the Colorado Rockies were near an agreement on a three-year contract worth $30 million.

“Free-agent reliever David Riske agreed to a $13 million, three-year contract with Milwaukee.

“The Nationals completed their trade for right-hander Tyler Clippard, getting him from the Yankees for Jonathan Albaladejo after both players cleared physicals.

Research

Supplements tainted

One quarter of dietary supplements purchased in a recent sampling contained traces of steroids and 11.5 percent had banned stimulants, according to a study to determine whether supplements sold across the United States are really clean.

The study was overseen by Informed-Choice, a nonprofit coalition of dietary supplements, and conducted by a British company, HFL.

HFL bought best-selling brands of a variety of supplements made by companies that were not believed to screen for banned substances as part of their routine quality control process. The study does not reveal the names of the brands or their manufacturers.

Of the 52 supplements that could be analyzed for steroids, 13 showed up with steroid contamination.

Miscellany

Dorsey wins Lombardi

LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey won the Lombardi Award as the nation’s top college lineman or linebacker.

“Chris Long of Virginia won the Ted Hendricks award as the nation’s best defensive end, receiving more than 60 percent of the votes after racking up an ACC-best 14 sacks.

“The University of Colorado has agreed to pay two women $2.85 million to settle a lawsuit alleging they were sexually assaulted by football players and recruits, officials said.

“Olympic downhill skiing champion Antoine Deneriaz, 31, of France, announced his retirement.

“David “Chip” Reese, whose plans for a Stanford University business school degree were sidetracked by his success at high-stakes poker, died in his sleep in Las Vegas. He was 56.