Baseball: Dodgers’ Little quits, opens door for Torre

Grady Little resigned as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, paving the way for former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre to take the job.

Little said it was a move he considered for some time, and he told general manager Ned Colletti of his decision Tuesday. First, Little called it “a mutual resignation.” Later, he said it was his choice to leave with a year remaining on his contract.

“I’ve got my own personal reasons,” Little said on a conference call.

When asked if reports that the Dodgers were speaking with Torre influenced his decision, Little replied firmly: “No.”

Torre and his former bench coach with the New York Yankees, Don Mattingly, have discussed the possibility of joining the Dodgers together, according to a person with knowledge of those talks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the manager’s job was still open in Los Angeles.

“We haven’t hired anybody,” Colletti said. “We’re talking to some people, that’s all I’m going to tell you. We’ll talk about where we go from here at a later date.”

Girardi will manage Yankees

Joe Girardi thought back to when he replaced Mike Stanley as the Yankees’ catcher in 1996, Joe Torre’s first season as manager.

“I remember walking into spring training, the first day, and people saying, ‘Boy, you’ve got big shoes to fill,’ ” Girardi said. “I thought, well, I wear a size 13.”

He heard the same thing about replacing Torre, who left a formidable imprint during 12 seasons as manager, but that didn’t stop Girardi. He agreed to a three-year $7.8 million contract and a mandate to deliver World Series championship No. 27.

“I expect to be playing in the fall classic next October. I think that’s everyone’s expectation,” Girardi said.

Clearing the bases

The Brewers said they’ve declined a $9 million option for outfielder Geoff Jenkins, parting ways with the veteran who has played his entire career in Milwaukee. Also, former All-Star catcher Ted Simmons was hired as bench coach for Milwaukee, with Dale Sveum returning to his role as third-base coach. Sveum replaces Nick Leyva, who was let go at the end of the season. … John Shelby was hired as Baltimore Orioles first-base coach. He spent the past two seasons as first-base coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates. … Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker completed his staff by hiring Chris Speier as his bench coach. … The Houston Astros re-signed catcher Brad Ausmus to a $2 million, one-year contract. … Free-agent minor league pitcher Luther Hackman, 33, was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. … Former major leaguer Jose Offerman was granted probation in Hartford, Conn., and ordered to get anger management treatment for a bat-wielding attack during a minor league game that injured two opposing players.