Angels sign three to minor league contracts

The Angels on Friday signed veteran outfielder Ryan Langerhans and longtime minor leaguers Eric Hurley, a right-handed pitcher, and Robinzon Diaz, a catcher, to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training.

Langerhans, 31, spent parts of the last three seasons with the Seattle Mariners, hitting .200 with a .326 on-base percentage, nine home runs and 20 runs batted in.

Hurley, 26, played six seasons in the Texas Rangers organization, compiling a 42-33 record, 4.17 earned-run average, 580 strikeouts and 233 walks in 665 innings. He has appeared in only five big league games, all starts for the Rangers in 2008, going 1-2 with a 5.47 ERA, and he sat out the entire 2009 and 2010 seasons because of shoulder injuries.

Diaz, 28, has a .298 average, .333 on-base percentage, 26 homers and 343 RBIs in 10 minor league seasons, including 2011 in the Rangers’ organization. He has a .281 average in 44 big league games, with Toronto and Pittsburgh in 2008 and 2009.

— Mike DiGiovanna

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The Cincinnati Reds acquired left-handed reliever Sean Marshall from the Chicago Cubs on Friday for young left-handed starter Travis Wood and two other players.

It was the second time in a week that the Reds gave up several prospects for pitching help. They earlier sent four players, including Edinson Volquez, to San Diego for starter Mat Latos.

The 29-year-old, 6-foot-7 Marshall was 6-6 with a 2.26 ERA last season. He had five saves. The Reds have been in talks to try to re-sign closer Francisco Cordero, who became a free agent after last season.

The 24-year-old Wood made 35 starts for the Reds over two seasons. He finished 6-6 with a 4.84 ERA in 2011, with a stint in Triple-A after struggling early in the year.

The Cubs also get 24-year-old outfielder Dave Sappelt, who batted .243 in 38 games with the Reds, and 19-year-old infield prospect Ronald Torreyes, who batted .356 in 67 games for Class A Dayton.

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The Boston Red Sox have hired Bob McClure as pitching coach and moved Tim Bogar to bench coach.

The Red Sox said Friday Alex Ochoa will be first base coach on manager Bobby Valentine’s staff and Jerry Royster will be the third base coach. Bogar and Ochoa both played under Valentine with the New York Mets.

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The Athletics and Nationals have completed a six-player trade that sends All-Star pitcher Gio Gonzalez from Oakland to Washington.

The deal was announced Friday after the players involved passed physicals.

The Nationals get Gonzalez and minor league right-hander Robert Gilliam in exchange for four players, including three top prospects: catcher Derek Norris, right-handers A.J. Cole and Brad Peacock, and left-hander Tommy Milone.

The 26-year-old Gonzalez went 16-12 last season — a career high for wins — with a 3.12 ERA in 32 starts and was selected to his first All-Star game. He has reached 200 innings the past two seasons.

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Illinois will be without its leading running back and a backup wide receiver when it plays UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Senior tailback Jason Ford and redshirt freshman receiver Jake Kumerow are academically ineligible to play under NCAA rules.

Ford leads the Illini with 600 rushing yards on 155 carries. He ranks 16th on Illinois’ career rushing list with 1,962 yards and is second with 26 touchdowns.

With fullback Jay Prosch unavailable after contracting a staph infection, the team’s backfield will be thin against UCLA on Dec. 31 in San Francisco.

The Illini will rely on backups Troy Pollard, a senior with 462 yards on 62 carries this season, and freshman Donovonn Young, who carried 75 times for 422 yards and six touchdowns.

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Alexandru Ceachir, a tackle from Santa Monica College, has signed to play at UCLA.

Ceachir, who is 6 feet 5, 200 pounds, was born in Moldova and came to Santa Monica College in 2010. He was named first-team American Pacific Conference this past season.

— Chris Foster

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The 18-year-old son of former NFL quarterback Erik Kramer died of a heroin overdose, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said. Thousand Oaks High School backup quarterback Griffen Kramer was found dead in his Agoura Hills home on Oct. 30.

The Ventura County Star said a toxicological report shows the teenager died of acute morphine heroin toxicity.

Friends told investigators that Kramer began foaming at the mouth while consuming heroin with them. Authorities said one of his friends took him home and laid him down so he could sleep it off. Kramer was found dead the next morning.

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Nearly two dozen former NFL players are suing the league over severe and permanent brain damage they say is linked to concussions suffered on the job. The complaint filed Thursday in Miami follows a similar one in Atlanta earlier this week. It is the latest in a series of recent lawsuits against the NFL by ex-players.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of ex-Miami Dolphins teammates Patrick Surtain, Oronde Gadsden and 19 other players. It accuses the NFL of deliberately omitting or concealing years of evidence linking concussions to long-term neurological problems.

The NFL denies the charges and says player safety has long been a priority.