Yankee Payroll Is $150 Million

The New York Yankees became the first major league team with a $150-million payroll when they renewed the contract of second baseman Alfonso Soriano at $800,000 on Tuesday.

New York’s payroll is $150,360,993 for 24 players likely to be on the opening-day roster plus pitcher Jon Lieber, who will be on the disabled list.

Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman made the announcement after meeting with Soriano, who made $630,000 last season.

Cashman said the renewal makes Soriano the highest-paid player with two-to-three years of major league service who wasn’t eligible for arbitration or didn’t have a multiyear deal.

Soriano batted .300 with 39 homers, 41 steals and 102 runs batted in in 156 games last year, his second full major league season.

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Players’ union head Donald Fehr thinks the federal government may change the rules for using ephedra within a month.

Ephedra was linked by a Florida medical examiner to the death of Baltimore pitcher Steve Bechler on Feb. 17, a day after he collapsed because of heatstroke.

“There are new warning labels out -- specific warning labels -- that we will be disseminating to players,” Fehr said. “As a general rule, something is either safe enough to be sold, and adults have to make responsible decision, or if it isn’t the government ought to prohibit it.”

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Forty-seven umpires issued a statement opposing the computer evaluation system proposed by the commissioner’s office.

Owners used the Questec system on a trial basis last year to evaluate how umpires called balls and strikes and last month proposed to use it to evaluate umpires again this season.

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David Wells won’t waive the no-trade clause in his contract if the Yankees attempt to deal him after embarrassing revelations in his new book.

“I can say yes, but I’m not a fool. I’m not waiving it,” he said. “I don’t want to go anywhere else.”

Wells has a no-trade clause in the $7-million, two-year contract he agreed to with the Yankees before the 2002 season.

Wells would not say if the clause came up in recent conversions with Manager Joe Torre or Cashman.

“What we talked about was our business,” Wells said.

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The father of Yankee pitcher Jose Contreras is recovering from surgery for an intestinal obstruction at a Cuban hospital.

Florentino Contreras, 80, was hospitalized Monday after feeling stomach pains.

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Rob Ramsay made an impressive return to the mound, pitching a perfect inning for San Diego in his first game since having a cancerous brain tumor removed in 2002.

The 29-year-old left-hander needed only five pitches to retire the San Francisco Giants in order in the seventh of a 10-10 tie in 10 innings at Scottsdale, Ariz.

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Major League Baseball announced that new Chicago Cub Manager Dusty Baker will manage the National League at this year’s All-Star game, to be played July 15 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Because he changed teams, some wondered whether Baker, who guided the San Francisco Giants to the NL pennant last season, would still lead the NL squad.

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Milwaukee minor league pitcher Augustine Ozorede died last weekend in a car accident outside of his home in Ilorin, Nigeria. The 18-year-old right-hander signed with the Brewers in May as a free agent.