Bonds makes it dear ‘I’m a HoF’

Tanner needs surgery

WASHINGTON, Feb 21, (RTRS): Miami Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds, baseball’s home run king, made it clear “I’m a Hall of Famer” at an introductory news conference Saturday.

Bonds, in his familiar No 25, wore a major league uniform for the first time in nine years this week -- aside from a weeklong stint as a guest instructor with the San Francisco Giants two springs ago.

Bonds, 51 said it felt “natural” to return to the fields and batting cages of spring training as he joined new manager Don Mattingly’s coaching staff.

He last played in the majors in 2007, unable to find a team to sign him due to a cloud of reports regarding his longtime use of performance-enhancing drugs.

In this year’s Hall of Fame voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America, Bonds got 44.3 percent of the votes cast, leaving him nearly 31 percent short for admission but his highest vote total in his fourth year on the ballot.

Texas Rangers right-handed relief pitcher Tanner Scheppers is expected to miss at least the first half of this season because he needs surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Scheppers will have the operation on Wednesday. He experienced swelling in the knee after a bullpen session during the week.

Scheppers went 4-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 42 appearances in 2015. He started last season in the minors after an ankle sprain slowed him down in spring training. After earning the start on Opening Day for the Rangers in 2014, he was limited to 23 innings that season because of an elbow injury.

The San Diego Padres signed veteran right-handed reliever Casey Janssen to a minor league contract.

Janssen has pitched for nine seasons in the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals.