Ten Diamondbacks Agree to Deferrals

Ten of the highest-paid Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to defer large chunks of their salary in the next few years to help out the financially strapped franchise.

The agreements will lift the franchise out of its cash-flow difficulties for the next several years, with a savings of $16 million in the coming year alone, managing general partner Jerry Colangelo said.

“This is not a money story,” Colangelo said. “What this is is a human interest story about the character of a bunch of guys who were willing to make sacrifices.”

The 10 who agreed to Colangelo’s request are Randy Johnson, Matt Williams, Todd Stottlemyre, Brian Anderson, Curt Schilling, Jay Bell, Tony Womack, Steve Finley, Luis Gonzalez and Armando Reynoso. They represent five starting position players and the entire five-man starting pitching rotation.

“This is so far different than the norm,” Colangelo said, referring to the image of today’s professional athlete as greedy and selfish. “I think it goes back to the people we selected. We really did try to pick some people with character. It was so heartwarming to me to see how it was received.”

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Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox believes his $9.9-million salary is unjust.

“He’s a little upset,” teammate Ray Durham said at Chicago’s training camp in Tucson. “All around baseball guys are upset about their contracts. It filters down. A lot of guys are wanting new deals because of the deals that are out there.”

Thomas used to be one of baseball’s highest-paid players. Then, Alex Rodriguez got a $252-million, 10-year contract from the Texas Rangers in December.

Now, Thomas isn’t even in the top 30.

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David Wells, whose attempt to gain an extension from the Toronto Blue Jays led to a trade to the White Sox, finally reported, a week past the voluntary date but well before Tuesday’s mandatory date.

The Blue Jays have asked the commissioner’s office to review the trade that brought him to the White Sox for injured Mike Sirotka, with the Blue Jays asking that the deal be reworked.

“That’s out of my hands. I’m here now and I’m not going to even worry about it,” Wells said.

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Those extra days of home cooking in the Dominican Republic showed when a beefier Pedro Martinez arrived at the Boston Red Sox training camp. The right-hander appeared to be about 10 pounds heavier than the 170 listed in the team roster. “Rice, beans, vegetables and some chicken,” he said. “I wanted to feel stronger.” . . . At Winter Haven, Fla., Juan Gonzalez worked out with the Cleveland Indians for the first time and quickly suffered an injury. Gonzalez, signed as a free agent this winter to help replace Manny Ramirez, was hit on the right elbow by a foul ball off the bat of Russell Branyon during the team’s first full-squad workout.