Rivera has blood clot

Mariano Rivera has a blood clot in his right calf, the latest health problem for the longtime New York Yankees closer who tore a ligament in his right knee last week while shagging fly balls.

Rivera is on blood-thinning medication intended to dissolve the clot and said Wednesday he is OK, though he was scared when he received the diagnosis. He needs to spend at least a week or two strengthening his knee before he has surgery to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament – but he said that would have been the case regardless of the blood clot.

Strengthening the knee now will put him in a better position when he begins his rehabilitation program after the operation. He must stop taking the blood thinners 24 hours before the surgery, he said.

The 42-year-old Rivera, baseball’s career saves leader with 608, said he can guarantee he will work hard and do “whatever it takes” to return next season. But if his leg doesn’t come back strong enough, then he will take it as a sign that it’s time to retire.

“If it’s my call, I don’t want to leave the game the way it happened. … My will and my desire is to stay,” Rivera said, adding that he was leaning toward pitching in 2013 even before the injury. “The traveling, I hate it. And the game, I love it.”

Clearing the bases

Chris Sale will undergo an MRI exam on his left elbow, less than a week after White Sox manager Robin Ventura named him his closer to cut down on his workload and perhaps reduce soreness he has experienced for weeks. Sale began the season in Chicago’s rotation. He went 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA in five starts before he moved into the closer’s role. … The Toronto Blue Jays demoted struggling closer Francisco Cordero, a day after he surrendered a game-ending grand slam to Brandon Inge in a 7-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Cordero, who has 329 career saves, has blown his last three opportunities and has only converted two of five chances this season. … The New York Mets put catcher Josh Thole on the seven-day disabled list because of a concussion and promoted former Mariners catcher Rob Johnson from Triple-A Buffalo. … The Colorado Rockies called up left-handed pitcher Christian Friedrich from Triple-A Colorado Springs. He started Wednesday at San Diego. … Former major league outfielder Rosendo “Rusty” Torres, 63, is accused of sexually abusing an 8-year-old while working as a baseball coach for a Long Island, N.Y., town, police said. Torres started in the major leagues in 1971 and played for five teams. He hit .212 and had 35 home runs and 126 RBI in a career that ended in 1980.