Devereaux Comes Back to Dodgers

Outfielder Mike Devereaux, who began his professional career in the Dodger organization, agreed Friday to a minor league contract with the team.

Devereaux, 34, hit .208 in 29 games for the Texas Rangers last season.

He has played in parts of 11 big league seasons with the Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves and Rangers and has a career batting average of .254 with 105 home runs and 479 runs batted in.

Devereaux appeared in 49 games with the Dodgers during the 1987 and 1988 seasons before being traded to the Orioles for pitcher Mike Morgan on March 12, 1989.

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Dusty Baker, who managed the San Francisco Giants to the National League West title in 1997, was rewarded by the organization with a two-year contract extension through the 2000 season.

Baker, 49, was named the 1997 manager of the year by the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America after taking a team that was expected to finish in the division cellar to a 90-72 record.

Baker has a 383-362 mark with the Giants.

Details of the contract were not revealed.

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Major league baseball sued Minnesota Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III, seeking to block his antitrust investigation into the possible move of the Minnesota Twins to North Carolina.

In a nine-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, the commissioner’s office, the National League and the group headed by North Carolina businessman Don Beaver asked for an injunction against the investigation and a declaration that investigative demands served on baseball by Humphrey are invalid and unenforceable.

“It is well established that state antitrust laws are inapplicable to professional baseball,” the court papers stated.

In addition, the Milwaukee Brewers and the American League filed separate similar actions in federal court. The Twins filed suit in Ramsey County District Court.

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Outfielder James Mouton and right-hander Dan Miceli avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to one-year deals with the San Diego Padres. . . . Outfielder Cliff Floyd agreed to a $500,000, one-year contract with the Florida Marlins. . . . Dave Veres, acquired by Colorado from Montreal after last season, agreed to a $1-million, one-year contract with the Rockies. . . . Houston Astro shortstop Tim Bogar agreed to a $725,000, one-year contract. . . . The Detroit Tigers signed outfielder Pete Incaviglia to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. . . . The New York Yankees agreed to a $290,000, one-year contract with pitcher Willie Banks.

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Toronto Blue Jay first baseman Carlos Delgado will undergo shoulder surgery Monday and is expected to sit out spring training and at least the first four weeks of the 1998 season.

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Minnesota Twin designated hitter Paul Molitor is recovering from hernia surgery and should be ready for the start of spring training.

Molitor, 41, suffered a double hernia in a home-plate collision last April in Kansas City.