Indians Acquire Joey Cora

Adding another second baseman to bolster a playoff run, the Cleveland Indians acquired Joey Cora from the Seattle Mariners on Monday in a trade for David Bell.

Cora, 33, an all-star last season, has appeared in the playoffs two of the last three years since joining the Mariners in 1995. Cora became the Indians’ 15th second baseman since they traded Carlos Baerga to the Mets in 1996.

“We’re bringing a guy over who I think is going to help spark this ballclub,” said John Hart, the Indians’ general manager.

Cora was batting .283 with six homers and 13 stolen bases for the Mariners. Bell, 26, claimed on waivers from St. Louis on April 14, batted .262 with 21 doubles and 10 home runs in 107 games with the Indians.

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The Colorado Rockies have reached an agreement with Dante Bichette on a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through 2001. The terms of the outfielder’s deal were not disclosed.

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The Chicago Cubs put outfielder Henry Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list because of a sprained right ankle. Rodriguez hurt his ankle against Houston on Aug. 23 sliding into second base.

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The San Diego Padres acquired outfielder John Vander Wal from Colorado for a player to be named. To make room on the roster, the Padres optioned infielder Ed Giovanola to triple-A Las Vegas. . . . The Boston Red Sox acquired infielder Chris Snopek from the Chicago White Sox for minor league outfielder Corey Jenkins. . . . The Kansas City Royals acquired catcher Tim Spehr from the New York Mets for an undisclosed amount of cash.