Dodgers’ Gonzalez to take 2-week break
First baseman won’t swing bat as elbow tendinitis heals.
Adrian Gonzalez is taking a two-week break from hitting to heal tendinitis in the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman’s right elbow.
Gonzalez still hopes to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic next month, he said Friday after reporting to camp in Glendale, Ariz.
Gonzalez, 34, said he pursued his usual varied offseason workout program, including weightlifting and boxing exercises. It left him with a case of tennis elbow, or inflammation on the outside of the elbow after forearm tendons are overused.
“I don’t play tennis,” Gonzalez laughed.
The hitting break is purely a precaution, and Gonzalez said the injury isn’t thought to be serious. He initially felt the pain in December, but kept working out until the brink of spring training.
“There’s no pain when I’m just doing normal things, but I just feel it when I squeeze something — the bat or the glove,” said Gonzalez, who throws with his left hand. “I’d say it’s about 90 percent (healthy), but you want to get that last 10 percent.”
Gonzalez hit .285 with 18 homers and 90 RBIs last season, and he played every postseason game during the Dodgers’ run to the NL Championship Series.
Rangers: Third baseman Adrian Beltre, 37, reported to spring training with a strained left calf muscle that will sideline him about three weeks and keep him out of the opening round of the World Baseball Classic.
Yankees: Tyler Austin fouled a ball off his left foot early this week during a prespring training workout, and manager Joe Girardi said an MRI found a small bone break. Austin will be in a boot for three weeks and won’t start baseball activities for six weeks.
Marlins: Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria told a federal jury Friday in Miami that he lied to federal investigators in 2012 about knowing a key figure in an alleged Cuban ballplayer smuggling network linked to Florida sports agent Bartolo Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada, who are accused of conspiracy and alien smuggling.
Royals: The toxicology report on pitcher Yordano Ventura won’t be released to the public following his death last month in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic. The findings only will be released to Ventura’s family and attorneys.
Giants: Infielder Aaron Hill agreed to a minor league contract and would get a $2 million, one-year deal if he is added to the 40-man roster.
■ Right fielder Hunter Pence is going through all baseball activities except for hitting after he injured a side muscle during a workout in Houston before arriving to spring training.
Nationals: Second baseman Daniel Murphy thinks Tim Tebow has some ability with a bat — he just needs more work. Murphy said he recently spent time working on batting with Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback who now is pursuing a baseball career. Tebow is expected to be in minor league camp with the Mets next month. “I think that the power is real. What he needs is at-bats,” Murphy said. “He needs 500, 600 plate appearances to try to make adjustments on the fly.”
Noteworthy: Nick Swisher says he has retired. Slowed by knee injuries the past several years, Swisher, 36, played in 55 games last season for the Yankees’ Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre team, then ended his season in July when his second child was born. Swisher hit .249 with 245 homers and 803 RBIs in 12 major leagues seasons.