Category: MLB

Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn is willing to continue contract discussions during the season, but he doesn’t want the talks to go on all summer.

Dunn, who can be a free agent after the season, tells MLB.com there’s no hard deadline to complete an extension. He earlier said he wanted to get a deal done by opening day.

"There is progress being made, but I don’t want any distractions during the season. When (the trade deadline) comes around, my name gets thrown around. I hate that," the Web site quotes Dunn as saying.

"If we are close to getting something done and it drags on for a couple of weeks into the season, OK. But I don’t want it to drag on until the All-Star break or things like that. We’ll just pick it up again (after the season)."

Washington general manager Mike Rizzo tells the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network that he and Dunn’s agent, Greg Genske, have been talking since the start of spring training. Rizzo also is fine with negotiations extending into the season.

"I hate to put any date restrictions on anything, because I don’t want to rush anything. I don’t want him to feel rushed, and we don’t want to feel rushed," Rizzo told the network’s Web site. "If there’s a deal to be done here, we certainly have both sides that are willing participants."

Dunn is in the final season of a two-year, $20 million contract. He is due to make $12 million this year.

Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran told the New York Daily News that his surgically repaired knee is improving, but added that the real test will come when he begins baseball-related activity.

Beltran won’t start running until April and won’t do full-time baseball activities until mid-April; therefore, the newspaper speculated, the center fielder won’t return to the Mets’ lineup until at least early May.

Meanwhile, the New York Post reported manager Jerry Manuel asked right fielder Jeff Francoeur to steal more bases last season when he was acquired from the Braves. Francoeur, however, said he didn’t know how because stealing wasn’t a big part of Atlanta’s offensive strategy. In five seasons, he has 15 steals. Manuel wants Francoeur to do more running this season.

 By Stan McNeal

Sporting News’ Stan McNeal visited Braves and Astros camps Friday:

Heyward does it again

Jason Heyward continues to keep auto insurers busy. In batting practice Friday, the 20-year-old uber-prospect hit another car with one of his mammoth home runs. This was quite a precision shot. Heyward dodged the protective nets in right field and landed this homer smack in the middle of a rearview mirror of Braves’ media relations director Brad Hainje. The mirror was smashed, but no harm was done to the part that contains the mirror.

Heyward — some are calling him the "Say Hey Kid" — has been the hit of spring training, as much for his batting practice shows as for an overall game that is far ahead of most his age. He has walked nine times and struck out only three. He is hitting .440, runs the bases well, plays good defense and goes about his business like a veteran.

So how many more cars will he have to bruise before the Braves announce he will open the season as their right fielder?

"He’s left me some messages," Braves general manager Frank Wren said, "But we haven’t talked yet."

The decision will not hinge on finances, Wren said. "It’s about being competitive," he insisted.

Finances, however, are worth considering. It is about service time. After six seasons, players are eligible to become free agents. If Heyward is in the majors all of 2010, that counts as one season. If the Braves send him to the minors for just a couple of weeks, however, Heyward then would not accrue the 172 days needed for a full season of service time and would have to wait another year to become a free agent.

If you think that is forecasting a bit too far ahead, Wren won’t disagree. "Who’s smart enough to know what’s going to happen in the next six years?" he asked.

Who’s smart enough to know what will happen in the next six weeks? As Wren pointed out, "What if we send him down and he hits .150 because he’s trying so hard to get up here. How would we bring him up then?"

Jair Jurrjens is getting closer

The Braves’ 24-year-old ace says he is "80 percent," no make it "90 percent" ready to start the season. He has made two spring training starts — the first was rained out — since being delayed by shoulder pain in February. The feeling in his shoulder was more than scary. "It was pain," he said. "I couldn’t play catch at 60 feet."

He still feels occasional "tightness" but is not expected to miss any more starts, in spring or the regular season.

Lance Berkman is, too, slowly

Six days after left knee surgery, Astros first baseman Lance Berkman is looking like he is a month away from returning. He was walking gingerly through the Astros’ clubhouse Friday morning — but not limping. Doctors want him to walk normally, even if that means walking very slowly. "I want to pick up the pace and drag it," he said.

The knee remains swollen and he has been limited to a little work on the stationary bike. "Range of motion stuff," he said.

Berkman said the swelling went down noticeably in the first 24 hours after surgery but has not subsided any further in the past three or four days.

He said surgery was the right option because he didn’t want to be limited throughout the season.

Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.

Once again, the A’s will have the smallest payroll and the biggest young arms in the American League. This offseason, Oakland added veteran Ben Sheets to the rotation and gave up on oft-injured Eric Chavez returning as its starting third baseman. There is depth in the rotation and the outfield, and more talented young players are on the way. The bottom line should be familiar, however: a fourth-place finish in the AL West.

Led by Rajai Davis, the A’s plan to run more this year.

Three questions

1. Where will the offense come from?
Not from the home run. After having success with small ball in the second half last season, the A’s—led by Rajai Davis—will be running from the start of 2010. "We don’t have a ton of power," manager Bob Geren said. "We’ll pay a lot of attention to the little things—moving a runner over, getting a run in with less than two outs." Geren said Oakland got used to competing in low-scoring games last year. "We have to learn how to win those close games," he said.

Oakland also hopes two of its new starters—Coco Crisp in center and Kevin Kouzmanoff at third—will give the club a lift in the speed and power departments, respectively. Neither, however, is an offensive force. Crisp has a career .331 on-base percentage, and Kouzmanoff has only 59 homers over the past three seasons (though Petco Park was his home park).

2. How deep is the rotation?
If Justin Duchscherer is healthy, the A’s will have enough starters to field two four-man rotations. Sheets and Duchscherer are the only 30-somethings in the group. The rest come from all corners of the country but have a couple of things in common: "Youth and talent," Geren said. Brett Anderson, 22, is the lone lock among them after making 30 starts with a 4.06 ERA last season as a rookie.

Dallas Braden, 26, will make the rotation as long as he is recovered from a season-ending foot injury in 2009. Trevor Cahill, 22, posted a 4.63 ERA in 32 starts in 2009. Gio Gonzalez, 24, has looked good in camp and is competing with Vin Mazzaro and Josh Outman. "The depth is going to make a big difference," Geren says. "If somebody has a setback, we have a lot more quality in our organization."

3. What can Chavez contribute?
After all the injuries he has endured, 20 homers and 400 at-bats would be a bonus. After another winter of rehabbing, Chavez reported to spring training as healthy as he has been since having two back and three shoulder surgeries in the past two years. Hoping that reduced playing time will help him last a full season, the A’s plan to use Chavez as a utility player. Chavez has been working at third, first and shortstop.

"Eric feels strong and is open to the idea of being a part-time player and playing other positions," Geren says, adding something he has said more than once regarding Oakland’s longest-tenured player. "We’re optimistic but time will tell how he does."

Projected lineup
1. LF Rajai Davis: .360 OBP, 41 SBs after April arrival.
2. CF Coco Crisp: Coming back from 2 shoulder surgeries.
3. C Kurt Suzuki: Led AL catchers with 83 RBIs in ’09.
4. DH Jack Cust: At least 25 HRs, 93 BBs past 3 seasons.
5. 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff: 9 HRs at Petco last season; 9 on road.
6. RF Ryan Sweeney: .348 OBP but just 6 HRs in ’09.
7. 2B Mark Ellis: .663 OPS at home last season; .751 on road.
8. 1B Daric Barton: Could lose playing time to Chavez.
9. SS Cliff Pennington: Must hold off Adam Rosales for job.

Projected rotation
1. RHP Ben Sheets: Missed all of ’09; has made 30 starts once since ’05.
2. LHP Dallas Braden: BB/9 has improved past two seasons.
3. RHP Justin Duchscherer: Missed ’09 with injuries, depression.
4. LHP Brett Anderson: Allowed .313 AVG vs. lefties in ’09.
5. RHP Trevor Cahill: 27 HRs in 178 2/3 IP last season.

Projected closer
RHP Andrew Bailey: AL rookie of the year had 1.86 ERA, second among AL closers.

Grades

Offense: C. Once the A’s started running last season, they started scoring. Only the Angels, Yankees and Red Sox scored more runs than Oakland in the second half. Crisp brings more speed, but a team-wide lack of power and a pitcher-friendly ballpark likely will result in another average offensive attack.

Pitching: B. Oakland’s staff will earn an "A" if Sheets and Duchscherer are healthy and effective after their season-long layoffs, and if a couple of the young starters continue to develop. The A’s bullpen led the AL with a 3.46 ERA last season and returns intact. As a bonus, reliever Joey Devine should return early in the season from Tommy John surgery.

Bench: B. Chavez, though not an everyday player, still could be the club’s best power threat. Gabe Gross and Travis Buck add depth to the outfield, as Rosales does to the infield. Backup catcher Landon Powell provides a bit of pop.

Manager: B. Geren has yet to have a winning season with 76, 75, and 75 wins in his three seasons as Oakland’s manager. But he does a nice job of bringing along the club’s young talent, of which there is plenty.

Sporting News prediction: Given the youth of their pitching staff last season, the A’s actually overachieved by winning 75 games. They will be improved and could push .500. But Seattle and Texas will be better, too, so another last-place finish is likely.

Coming Monday: Dodgers preview

Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.

News surfaced Wednesday that Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington had tested positive for cocaine during the 2009 season. Team president Nolan Ryan joined ESPN Radio Dallas to talk about Washington’s situation and how the team has handled it.

To listen to Nolan Ryan on ESPN Radio in Dallas, go to Sports Radio Interviews.

Texas Rangers team president Nolan Ryan says the organization treated manager Ron Washington’s positive cocaine test as they would any other employee’s.

Why didn’t the Rangers fire Washington immediately upon learning of the news of his cocaine use?

Ryan: We had a lot of discussions about what the appropriate thing to do was, and in the end we decided to treat Ron the way we do the rest of our employees, that if they have a problem we try to give them the benefit of treatment, get them diagnosed. Major League Baseball has a very strong program on that, so we chose to pursue that and have him go through MLB’s program.

We felt like the way that the club was playing and was responding to Ron, and the way he was growing as a manager, we felt like we wanted to give him an opportunity to continue to manage, and he assured us it was a one-time situation.

Was his initial reaction to fire Washington?

Ryan: I obviously was in total shock by it. Thoughts of that nature had never crossed my mind. Then I was angry that the organization was put in that position. Then I was concerned about what type of problem he had.

He was forthright with us. He came forward. He seemed to be very emotional about it, about the mistake he made, the impact it had, and how he had let everyone down. So I felt like that was sincere, and I felt like we, the organization, should give him an opportunity to try to right himself and try to build off of this, and to grow as a team off it.

How did Ryan hear the news?

Ryan: When [Washington] found out he was scheduled for a drug test, he called Major League Baseball and told them that he was going to test positive, explained to them how he had gotten himself into this situation. Then, after a game one night, he told [Rangers GM] Jon Daniels, he called me on the phone. I wasn’t in the clubhouse. He called me on the phone and broke down, was very emotional about it, how he let us down, how disappointed he was that he did what he did and the impact it would have on our organization. Then he offered to resign. So we took all those things into consideration.

Does Ryan still trust Washington?

Ryan: Yeah, I trust him. I’m a trusting person. I take people at their word. He has done everything Major League Baseball has asked him to do in terms of the testing program, and is willing to continue to be tested. And I think he’s been very up front about that.

He knows he made a mistake, and if he can help other people not make those mistakes, he’d be willing to do that. I think our team is supportive of him. They certainly appear that way to me and so I’d like to think as a team and an organization we can grow from this experience.

Is it likely that a man Washington’s age could have just decided to try cocaine once?

Ryan: That’s a question that’s been presented. I don’t know the answer to that. Drugs were never an issue in my life. I never tried them, I didn’t want anything to do with them. I had teammates that dealt in that and had problems with it — and continue to have problems in their lives with it.

So we know what it can do, what it’s done, and we know where it is in our society and the problems that come with it. A lot of those people wish they’d never tried it, the hold it has on their life now. But I can’t answer that because I really don’t know. It seems unusual.

What would he say to angry season ticket holders who don’t want to take their children to watch a team managed by a drug user?

Ryan: Those are obviously thoughts that we’ve had, discussions we’ve had. And obviously, each individual will make their own determination about how they feel about this and what their thoughts are on it. I understand that.

We as an organization, we have a policy in place where when we have employees that have an issue, we try to be supportive of them, try to get them the proper professional help and try to be understanding of these things. So we chose to do that with Ron. And we hope as an organization we help Ron as a person, help him understand the issues that he has and the challenges that he has, and also hope that he’s able to take this experience and help other people, and that his players respond to him and support him. We feel like he’s growing as a manager and is doing a good job for us.

So I understand people are critical of the decision we made, but I felt like we made it for the right reasons. Everybody has issues in their life — how you deal with them and how you handle them has a lot to do with who you are and what you do. So we feel like this was the right decision for us.

How and why did this leak out now, so many months after the fact?

Ryan: How something like this leaks out, you’re not sure. It could be a disgruntled employee.

Because of the confidentiality of the Major League Baseball drug testing program, we did not share it with people. We kept it quiet. But when you deal with as many people as baseball deals with, you don’t know if something like this leaks, where it might leak out from.

We knew it was possible that this might leak out and we would have to deal with it on a later date. And that’s where we are today.

More from SRI
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Signed as a free agent this offseason, new Mariners third baseman/second baseman Chone Figgins recently spoke with Sporting News’ Stan McNeal about his new team:

I’m a routine-type person, so being able to stay on the same side of the country and stay in the same division was a big consideration. So was the direction the Mariners are going. The Angels still have a tough team, but the plan is for us to finish on top.

Having me hit second behind Ichiro will be a perfect fit. When you have a guy capable of hitting .400 every year, he should get up a guaranteed five times a game. I’m more of a taker, so I’ll be able to watch some pitches and let him run.

If the pitcher throws me strikes, next thing you know we’ll have guys on first and third with the big guys coming up. There’s not a lot of room for error with Ichiro leading off and then someone like me — who’s capable of doing so much stuff — going the other way, dropping a bunt, hitting through the hole — in the 2 hole.

I won’t put pressure on myself because of the contract because I put pressure on myself anyway. I’ve never worried about the money side or tried to impress people. I’m a career .291 hitter, but if I hit .280, walk 80 to 90 times, score 100 runs and we win the division, that’s a great season.

This story first appeared in Sporting News magazine. If you are not receiving the magazine, subscribe today, or pick up a copy, available at most Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.

After a dreadful 101-loss season in 2008, the Mariners were the majors’ most improved team in 2009, jumping from 61 wins to 85 wins. This offseason, Seattle added an All-Star infielder and another ace, raising expectations even higher. The formula this season will be defense, pitching and run prevention, but Seattle will have to score more. "Defense is important. If the other team doesn’t score, you don’t lose," first baseman Casey Kotchman said. "But just like every team, we’re going to have to score some runs to win."

After Cliff Lee (pictured) and Felix Hernandez, do the M’s have enough pitching?

Three questions

1. Is the rotation deep enough after the co-aces?
It is rare that a team adds a bona fide No. 1 starter to a rotation featuring arguably the best young pitcher in the game, yet still must deal with questions about its starting five. Cliff Lee won the AL Cy Young award in 2008 with the Indians, delivered both of the Phillies’ World Series wins in 2009 and should flourish in pitcher-friendly Safeco Field (in a contract year). Felix Hernandez tied for the major league lead with 19 wins last season and set career bests with a 2.49 ERA, 217 strikeouts and 238 2/3 innings pitched.

Behind them, however, things get murky. No. 3 starter Ian Snell went 5-2 with a 4.20 ERA in 12 starts for Seattle last season — after posting a 5.36 ERA with the Pirates. Ryan Rowland-Smith (3.74 ERA in 15 starts) and Doug Fister (4.20 ERA in 10 starts) were impressive, but remain unproven over a full season. The wild card is Erik Bedard, who could provide a huge boost once he is fully recovered from shoulder surgery. He isn’t expected back until at least June.

2. Will there be enough offense?
Seattle finished last in the AL and 28th in the majors in runs scored last season (just four more runs than the 30th-ranked Pirates). However, the team’s offensive deficiency was somewhat masked by its 35-20 record in one-run games. The Mariners finished in the middle of the pack in homers, but they lost their leading home run hitter, Russell Branyan, in free agency. Table setters Ichiro Suzuki (.386 on-base percentage in 2009) and Chone Figgins (.395) will get on base, but will anyone drive them in?

The solution to the Mariners’ problem could be the Cubs’ biggest problem from last season: Milton Bradley. Just two seasons ago as a Ranger, Bradley set career highs with 77 RBIs and 22 homers while leading the AL with a .436 on-base percentage. A healthy season from Ken Griffey Jr. also would be welcome, and continued development from Franklin Gutierrez can be expected.

3. Where will Chone Figgins play?
When signed, Figgins was penciled in at third base. However, he has worked extensively at second this spring, with Jose Lopez getting a look at third. The thinking is that Lopez will do less defensive damage at the hot corner, and Figgins’ versatility could make the change possible.

"We’re very comfortable if we decide to go back (to Lopez at second) at the end, that will be a much easier transition. He’s worked hard, looks good in our workout sessions, hands are good, good throwing arm," general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "Figgins is very quick, very agile athletic, done some nice things at second. We’ve seen good out of both."

Projected lineup
1. RF Ichiro Suzuki: MLB-record 9 straight 200-hit seasons.
2. 3B Chone Figgins: 4th in MLB in times on base (285) in ’09.
3. LF Milton Bradley: .871 career OPS in AL; .775 in NL.
4. DH Ken Griffey Jr.: Career-worst .214 AVG last season.
5. 2B Jose Lopez: .303 career OBP; led team with 96 RBIs in ’09.
6. CF Franklin Gutierrez: .335 AVG vs. lefties last season.
7. 1B Casey Kotchman: .999 fielding percentage since ’05 leads all MLB 1B.
8. SS Jack Wilson: .214 AVG after June 30 last season.
9. C Rob Johnson: Must hold off Adam Moore for job.

Projected rotation
1. RHP Felix Hernandez: 6-0, 1.52 ERA in final 7 regular season starts in ’09.
2. LHP Cliff Lee: 2-4, 6.13 ERA in final 7 regular season starts in ’09.
3. RHP Ian Snell: Averaged 5.2 BBs per 9 IP last season.
4. LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith: 2.70 ERA at home; 5.22 on road last season.
5. RHP Doug Fister: 11 HRS allowed in 61 IP in ’09.

Projected closer
RHP David Aardsma: All 38 career saves came in ’09.

Grades

Offense: C. The need for more power and more run production remains glaring. The team should improve upon its next-to-last finish in the majors in on-base percentage (.314) last season with Figgins and Bradley aboard. But getting on base is much different than crossing home plate.

Pitching: B. Lee and King Felix are arguably the majors’ best 1-2 rotation punch, but the Nos. 3-5 spots remain question marks. The bullpen’s 3.83 ERA ranked third in the AL last season, but David Aardsma must follow up his strong first season as closer.

Bench: A. The bench will be deep, so much so that veteran pinch hitter Mike Sweeney might not make the cut. Ryan Garko can back up at first, and rookie third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo has hit well enough this spring to provide another bench bat. Ryan Langerhans is a solid fourth outfielder, and Eric Byrnes also is in outfield mix.

Manager: B. It is tough to argue with a rookie manager who delivers a 24-game improvement, as Don Wakamatsu did last season. After only one season as a major league manager, Wakamatsu has proven to be a strong fit for a team that emphasizes defense, pitching and strong fundamental play.

Sporting News prediction: Seattle will put plenty of pressure on the Angels but will fall just short of a postseason berth, mainly because of their lack of pop.

Coming Friday: A’s preview.

Chris Bahr is a senior editor for Sporting News. E-mail him at cbahr@sportingnews.com.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Spring training stats can be as deceiving as Tim Lincecum’s changeup and can throw you off like an Adam Wainwright curveball. But they still keep coming at you like Carl Crawford going from first to third.

It isn’t just the limited sample size, either. As the numbers add up, you still can’t be sure what they are worth. Even scouts can be fooled by what they see in spring. The other day, a scout told me that he once followed Brad Penny for an entire spring. For an entire month, Penny’s fastball maxed out right at 85 mph. But as soon as the games started to count, Penny was "91-93 and hitting his spots just like he always is."

Tigers ace Justin Verlander gave up homers to Ryan Howard and prospect Domonic Brown (who cleared the yard with his) in a 3 1/3-inning outing Tuesday and afterward said, "I was really pleased today. My changeup and breaking ball were a lot better and my fastball had more life."

He wasn’t just making excuses, either. Verlander explained Howard’s homer: "I’ve been having trouble getting fastballs in to lefties. I knew this was my last inning and I wanted to take the opportunity to work on getting in to lefties. So I threw a lot of fastballs in to him, and he made the adjustment. He realized what I was doing. He got his foot down and barreled one."

Of course, you know where this is heading: spring training numbers, good and bad. Despite their potential for deception, spring stats are still as good a barometer as any to evaluate performances in the spring. And any position player battling for a job would rather see crooked numbers instead of zeroes beside his name in the box score.

Slow starts

Kevin Millwood has lived up to his reputation as a lousy spring pitcher.

Ben Sheets, SP, A’s
So this is what $10 million gets you: 17 hits and 15 earned runs through 4 1/3 innings (three starts). Yes, Sheets’ health is what is important and he says he feels good. But even Sheets would like some results. After he failed to retire a hitter in his Monday start, he told reporters, "People have had bad springs before, but this is just taking it to a whole new level."

Kevin Millwood, SP, Orioles
Baltimore’s new No. 1 starter is living up to his reputation as a lousy pitcher in spring training. After two starts: 16 hits, 11 runs in 3 1/2 innings. "I use this time to get ready," he said after his first start. "I try to get my pitches to a level where they’re ready for Game 1 (of the regular season). And if I go out and get beat around a little bit working on something, I don’t care. I’m just trying to get better."

To limit his exposure to AL rivals, the Orioles had Millwood pitch to some of their minor leaguers Tuesday. He fared better, throwing four scoreless innings before giving up three runs.

Chone Figgins, 3B/2B, Mariners
He was Seattle’s No. 1 target on the free agent market, and he has one hit in 16 at-bats thus far. He does, however, have eight walks — and his strong on-base percentage is why the Mariners coveted him.

Big beginnings

Mike Stanton, OF, Marlins
A prospect often mentioned in the same sentence as Jason Heyward, Stanton wasn’t expected to make Florida’s 25-man roster. After hitting three homers in his first five games, however, the 20-year-old at least is forcing the Marlins’ brass to consider if he is ready.

Domonic Brown, OF, Phillies
If you saw the outfield prospect Tuesday, you know why the Phillies held onto him through the Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay trades. Brown knocked a full-count fastball from Verlander completely out of the Phillies’ spring training park, homered to center off Phil Coke (with the assist of a fan who caught the ball headed for the top of the wall), beat out an infield hit and walked, raising his batting average to .417 and his OBP to .464. His reward: He was sent to minor league camp after the game.

Tyler Colvin is tearing up the Cactus League.

Tyler Colvin, OF Cubs
After beefing up in the offseason, the former first-round pick is gorging on spring training pitchers. Colvin, 24, is 16-for-30 in Cactus League play and is making a strong bid to break spring training as an extra outfielder.

Adam Rosales, IF, A’s
When it acquired him from the Reds, Oakland planned to make Rosales a utility player. But with a .450 batting average after nine games, he is pushing Cliff Pennington (4-for-14) for the starting shortstop spot. That is, of course, if you go by the numbers.

Spring training postscript

At 8 this morning, several dozen fans were lined up outside of the Phillies’ park in Clearwater. A couple of hundred tickets for the afternoon game against the Yankees went on sale at 9. This wasn’t just a Yankees thing, either. A security worker outside said it is like that every day this time of the month. And many of the fans arrived well before 8 for the 1:05 p.m. start.

Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine in July of 2009. In his first public admission, Washington apologized Wednesday for his behavior, eight months after he told

Washington was subjected to increased drug testing after his positive test. He has passed all of the subsequent tests.

"I made a huge mistake and it almost caused me to lose everything I have worked for all of my life," Washington said at a news conference Wednesday. "I am not here to make excuses. There are none."

Washington reportedly called the commissioner’s office before the test results were revealed and warned MLB officials that the results might come back positive.

Washington’s statement: Read it here | Addition details from Washington’s news conference

MLB managers, coaches and other clubhouse personnel have been subject to drug testing since 2008, when baseball adopted the measure as one of George Mitchell’s recommendations in his report on peformance-enhancing drug use in the sport, according to the SI.com report. 

The Rangers accepted his apology when Washington explained that it was a one-time transgression.

"He came forward and said he would resign," Ryan said. "He understood the consequences. We had a lot of discussions and a lot of soul searching on it.

In three seasons as Rangers’ manager, Washington is 241-245. He had his first winning season (87-75) in 2009.