Agents Rid Themselves of Big Hurt

The fallout from Frank Thomas’ boycott goes on.

Thomas’ agents quit Wednesday night in response to his six-day boycott of the Chicago White Sox spring camp.

“It was an unfair situation for them,” Thomas said Thursday. “They’d just came aboard, weren’t abreast about everything. . . . They had nothing to do with what went on last week. That was a personal decision.”

Thomas, runner-up for the American League MVP last season, left camp March 21 because he was unhappy with some of the terms of his contract, particularly the “diminished skills” clause.

In a statement, agents Scott Sanderson and Mike Moye said they were quitting because they had a difference of opinion with Thomas.

“From the beginning of our involvement with Frank this off-season, we have consistently advised him to honor his contract, perform to the best of his abilities on the field and address any issues he might have with the White Sox privately,” the agents said.

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The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to find out today whether they’ll get anything more from the White Sox in the trade for injured Mike Sirotka.

Sirotka’s injured left shoulder, the center of the disputed deal that involved David Wells, is making improvement, a test showed Thursday, but Sirotka is still unable to throw and the Blue Jays are not sure when he might be able to pitch.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks exercised a $12-million option to retain Randy Johnson for the 2003 season, when he will be 39 years old.

Johnson, winner of the Cy Young Award in both of his seasons with Arizona, signed a $52.4-million, four-year contract before the 1999 season.

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Jeromy Burnitz and the Milwaukee Brewers agreed to a $20-million, two-year contract extension through 2003. . . . Eight days after Boston Manager Jimy Williams said he would switch Manny Ramirez to left field, he announced that Ramirez was uncomfortable there and would return to right. . . . Atlanta shortstop Rafael Furcal, the NL rookie of the year, agreed to a $355,000, one-year contract. . . . Left-hander Bruce Chen agreed to a one-year contract with Philadelphia. . . . Reliever Jeff Tam agreed to a two-year contract with Oakland, with club options for 2003 and 2004.