Chicago White Sox catcher Ron Karkovice underwent...

Chicago White Sox catcher Ron Karkovice underwent surgery on his right knee and is out for the year. . . . Jim Riggleman’s contract to manage the Chicago Cubs was extended through the 1998 season. . . . The second, fifth and seventh players selected in baseball’s amateur draft last June were declared free agents by the sport’s ruling executive council because of a contract technicality. First baseman Travis Lee, selected by Minnesota after Pittsburgh took pitcher Kris Benson with the top pick, can negotiate with any team starting Monday. So can right-hander John Patterson, drafted No. 5 by Montreal, and right-hander Matt White, taken seventh by San Francisco. . . . Jason Williams, the starting shortstop and leadoff hitter on the U.S. Olympic team, signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds. . . . Pirate owner Kevin McClatchy, moving to prove he has sufficient cash to run the team long term, bought out disgruntled investor Frank Fuhrer’s $5-million stake. . . . The New York Mets evacuated their rooms early Tuesday when a fire broke out at Houston’s Westin Galleria Hotel. No one was injured in the two-alarm fire.