White Sox trade Aardsma to Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox obtained reliever David Aardsma from the White Sox for Willy Mota and Miguel Socolovich on Monday in a trade involving three right-handed pitchers.
Aardsma started last season with the White Sox and went 2-1 with a 6.40 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 32½ innings over 25 relief outings. In the second half of the season at Triple-A Charlotte, Aardsma, 26, was 3-2 with a 4.33 ERA with 15 saves in 18 appearances. He's made 81 relief appearances with the White Sox, Cubs and San Francisco Giants, compiling a record of 6-1 with a 5.16 ERA.
Mota had 17 relief outings last year at Class A Lowell, going 5-3 with a 2.60 ERA and 1 save. Socolovich pitched last year for two Class-A teams, Greenville and Lowell. He was 2-2 with a 6.65 ERA in 11 games with Greenville and 5-4 with a 3.56 ERA in 14 games with Lowell.
Knoblauch agrees to talk: Chuck Knoblauch is heading to Capitol Hill. Knoblauch, a four-time all-star who played with Roger Clemens on the New York Yankees, agreed to speak to a House committee investigating drug use in baseball after initially failing to respond to an invitation to testify.
His silence prompted the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to issue a subpoena last week, but federal marshals were not able to track down Knoblauch right away. The 1991 AL Rookie of the Year eventually did make contact, and his twice-postponed meeting with committee staff for a deposition or transcribed interview will be Friday.
That session is preparation for the panel's hearing Feb. 13, when Knoblauch is among five scheduled witnesses, including Clemens and his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee.
Clemens' agent releases report:
Roger Clemens' agent released an 18,000-word statistical report Monday to rebut allegations the pitcher's career rebounded about the time he was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.
"Clemens' longevity was due to his ability to adjust his style of pitching as he got older, incorporating his very effective split-finger fastball to offset the decrease in the speed of his regular fastball caused by aging," said the report, created by Randy Hendricks and two associates at his firm.
Clemens' former trainer, Brian McNamee, claimed in last month's Mitchell Report on drugs in baseball that he injected the pitcher with steroids and human growth hormone at least 16 times in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens vehemently denies the allegations.