MLB Briefs BLUE JAYS WILL RETIRE NO. 32

TORONTO» Roy Halladay’s No. 32 will be retired by the Blue Jays before their opener against the Yankees on March 29.

Denver native and Arvada West High graduate Halladay died at age 40 on Nov. 7 when the plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.

Toronto will wear a No. 32 patch on its uniforms this season. Roberto Alomar’s No. 12 is the only other player whose number was retired by the Blue Jays.

“Through Roy’s values, pride, work ethic, and perseverance, he epitomized what it means to be a Blue Jay,” team president Mark Shapiro said in a statement Monday.

Halladay spent 12 of his 16 major-league seasons with Toronto and went 148-75 for the Blue Jays with six all-star selections.

Arbitrations closing.

PHOENIX» Toronto’s Marcus Stroman and Tampa Bay’s Jake Odorizzi went to hearings to begin the final week of what could be the busiest salary arbitration season since 1990.

Players lead 7-6 with decisions pending until late this week for Stroman, Odorizzi and Cleveland pitcher Trevor Bauer. Seven more hearings are scheduled.

New York roommates.

FLA.» Giancarlo PORT ST. LUCIE, Stanton and AJ Ramos, former teammates with the Marlins and still close friends, are looking into living together this season now that both play in New York — Stanton for the Yankees, Ramos for the Mets.

No media allowed.

YORK» The Major NEW

League Baseball Players Association is keeping media out of its free-agent training camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Loaiza busted for drugs.

DIEGO» Former all-star SAN pitcher Esteban Loaiza, 46, was arrested on suspicion of trafficking drugs after packages containing 44 pounds of suspected cocaine worth an estimated $500,000 were found at a home he rented in Southern California.

Moon dies at age 87.

TEXAS» Wally Moon, BRYAN, the 1954 NL rookie of the year for the Cardinals who played on three World Series-winning teams with the Dodgers, has died. He was 87.