Rodriguez, Salary Traded to the Cubs

The fire sale in Montreal continued Friday when the Expos traded popular slugger Henry Rodriguez and his $2.3-million salary to the Chicago Cubs for right-handed pitcher Miguel Batista.

Rodriguez, 30, agreed to a $2.7-million, one-year contract with the Cubs that gives him the chance to make $500,000 more in bonuses if he has 550 plate appearances.

He was the seventh veteran to leave the Expos in recent weeks, following Pedro Martinez, who was introduced in Boston on Friday as baseball’s highest-paid player at $75 million for six seasons; Mike Lansing; David Segui; Doug Strange; Dave Veres and Darrin Fletcher.

Switch-hitting first baseman Segui and Seattle agreed on a two-year, $4.75-million contract.

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Joe Carter, who spent the last seven seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, agreed to a one-year, $3.3-million contract with the Baltimore Orioles. . . . Looking for a backup outfielder, the New York Mets acquired Rich Becker from the Minnesota Twins for Alex Ochoa. . . . Catcher Mike Matheny and the Milwaukee Brewers agreed to an $800,000 contract, nearly four times his $210,000 salary last season. . . . Bip Roberts, who spent most of last season in Kansas City before being traded to Cleveland, agreed to a one-year, $2.3-million contract with the Detroit Tigers that gives him an option for 1999. . . . Left-handed pitcher Kirk Rueter agreed to a three-year, $8.5-million contract with San Francisco.

Golf

Jay Sigel’s 10-foot birdie putt on the sixth playoff hole gave him and Gil Morgan a victory over Jack Kiefer and Bob Duval in the Senior PGA division of the Diners Club Matches at La Quinta.

Tom Lehman and Duffy Waldorf, the two-time defending champions of the PGA division, defeated Jim Furyk and Lee Janzen, 3 and 1, despite Furyk’s hole in one at the 188-yard 11th hole.

In LPGA play, Nancy Lopez parred the 395-yard 18th hole and she and Laura Davies beat Karrie Webb and Kelly Robbins, 1-up.

Skiing

Former world aerials champion Nikki Stone of Westborough, Mass., ignored blizzard conditions to finish with 181.24 points for the eighth win of her career, and veteran Britt Swartley of Blue Bell, Pa., led four U.S. men in the top 10 with his first victory and 248.46 points at Tignes, France.

An eight-inch snowfall wiped out a women’s World Cup giant slalom at Val D’Isere, France.

Olympics

Athletes training in U.S. Olympic Committee residence programs face no-notice, around-the-clock drug tests under a plan announced Friday. Eager to avoid a recurrence of a recent drug-abuse case among teenage weightlifters, the USOC said about 200 athletes could expect knocks on their dormitory doors early next year.

Soccer

China and North Korea became the first two qualifiers for the 1999 Women’s World Cup, which will be held in the United States. . . . Nigeria’s soccer association is awaiting government approval to hire former Mexico and U.S. coach Bora Milutinovic as its coach. . . . Carlos Alberto Parreira, who coached Brazil to the 1994 World Cup trophy, will coach Saudi Arabia at next year’s World Cup after signing a contract believed to be worth up to $3 million.

Miscellany

Defending champion Kristi Yamaguchi blew away the field on the first night of the women’s competition in the World Professional Figure Skating Championships, scoring 99.0 out of a possible 100 points at Washington.

Two-time defending champion Kurt Browning edged Rudy Galindo to take the lead in the men’s competition.

Hometown favorite Erik Morales retained his World Boxing Council super-bantamweight title in Tijuana when challenger John Lowey of Ireland was unable to continue after the seventh round because a broken right hand.

Florida State baseball player J.D. Drew, Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning and Tim Duncan, a former Wake Forest basketball player now with the San Antonio Spurs, are among the 10 finalists for the 1997 Sullivan Award, given by the Amateur Athletic Union to the nation’s top amateur athlete.

Retired Fresno State football coach Jim Sweeney has been accused of calling his former secretary a “Prozac Queen,” asking her to show more cleavage and forcing her to carry money to players and coaches in complaints filed by Vickie Gould, 52, who is seeking $2.5 million in damages.