Cubs to hire Padres bench coach Rick Renteria as their manager

The Chicago Cubs are set to hire San Diego Padres bench coach Rick Renteria as their manager, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the hiring has not been announced. The team was expected to make it official on Thursday.

The move ends a long search that began with the last-place Cubs targeting New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi, only to be denied a shot when he decided to stay put.

Instead, the Cubs are hoping Renteria can help develop their young players and lead them to their first championship since 1908. He replaces Dale Sveum, who was fired after two seasons.

The Cubs went 66-96 this season and finished at the bottom of the NL Central.

A former major league infielder, Renteria spent the last six years on the Padres’ staff and had been their bench coach since 2011. Before that, he coached and managed in the San Diego and Florida Marlins organizations.

Renteria also managed Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in March.

The Cubs were 127-197 under Sveum and finished in last place for the first time in seven years.

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Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig won’t be prosecuted for an incident in April in which he was arrested for driving 97 mph in a 50-mph zone in Chattanooga, Tenn. Charges of speeding, reckless driving and driving of proof without insurance were dismissed by Hamilton County Judge David Bales.

Puig provided the court with proof that on the night in question, he and the vehicle he was driving were insured. As for the other charges, they were dismissed at the recommendation of prosecutor Neal Pinkston, who noted the community service Puig performed in Los Angeles. Pinkston also pointed out that Puig didn’t have a prior record.

Puig was playing for the Dodgers’ double-A affiliate when he was arrested.

Pinkston said Puig didn’t receive special treatment and that others facing similar charges often get the same opportunities to clear their names.

— Dylan Hernandez

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Police said Colorado Rockies co-owner Charlie Monfort had an alcohol concentration level more than three times the legal limit when he was pulled over for speeding Monday in Windsor, Colo.

The Greeley Tribune reported that Monfort submitted to a breath test and recorded a breath alcohol concentration level of 0.284.

According to an arrest affidavit, Monfort first told police that he had two beers and wouldn’t be under the legal limit of 0.08. But then he said he had more than two.

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Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke and Angels outfielder Mike Trout won Silver Slugger awards as the top offensive players at their position. Voting is done by major league managers and coaches.

Greinke, a first-time winner, batted .328 (19 for 58), with three doubles and four runs batted in. Trout hit .323 with 27 home runs and 97 RBIs. He is the first player in American League history to win the Silver Slugger Award in each of his first two full major league seasons.

Etc.

New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler is expected to miss four to six weeks because of a broken bone in his right leg.

The team said tests showed no ligament or nerve damage and surgery is not required. Chandler left in the first quarter of a 102-97 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday. He has a small fracture in the fibula in his lower leg.

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Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders injured a thumb in an off-court incident that is being investigated by Milwaukee police.

“We are aware of an incident from Saturday evening,” the Bucks said in a statement. “The matter is under investigation and Larry Sanders is cooperating fully. At this time we will have no further comment.”

Sanders sat out the game Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Milwaukee forward Caron Butler was fined $15,000 by the NBA for making an obscene gesture during the Bucks’ game in Boston on Friday night. Butler made the gesture with 3:54 left in the Bucks’ victory.

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Just nine months after returning from a career-threatening knee injury, Rafael Nadal clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the third time by beating Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Nadal, who beat Wawrinka for the 12th time in as many matches, can’t be overtaken by No. 2 Novak Djokovic. It’s the first time since 2010 that the Spaniard, who returned from a seven-month injury layoff in February, ends the year as the top-ranked player.

Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the year-end tournament because of his straight-sets victory over his Swiss opponent.

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Providence freshman basketball players Brandon Austin and Rodney Bullock have been suspended from game action indefinitely for what the school described as “not upholding their responsibilities as student-athletes.”