Vina, Tigers Agree to a Two-Year Deal

The Detroit Tigers filled one of their many needs Wednesday when slick-fielding second baseman Fernando Vina agreed to a $6-million, two-year contract.

Vina, 34, won Gold Gloves in 2001 and 2002 with the St. Louis Cardinals and has a .284 career batting average. His strikeouts-to-at-bats ratio is among the lowest in baseball. In 4,125 at-bats, Vina has struck out only 283 times, or once every 14.6 at-bats.

But he sat out much of last season with a hamstring injury and hit .251 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 61 games.

St. Louis declined his $4.5-million option for 2004, opting to give him a $1-million buyout.

Vina still must pass a physical.

“We’re encouraged where things are with Fernando Vina,” Tiger President Dave Dombrowski said. “I can’t say much more because there’s another step or two that we’re still working on.”

Vina, an All-Star with Milwaukee in 1998, joins a team coming off a dismal season. The Tigers set an American League record with 119 losses, one short of the major league post-1900 record.

*

Third baseman Vinny Castilla agreed to a one-year, $2.1-million contract with the Colorado Rockies, putting him back in the place where he once starred.

Castilla, one of the franchise’s most popular players, played on Colorado’s expansion team in 1993 and was one of the cornerstones of its “Blake Street Bombers” days.

A two-time All-Star in Colorado, Castilla hit .309 with 32 homers and 90 RBIs in 1995 -- the Rockies’ lone playoff season. With the Atlanta Braves last season, Castilla hit .277 with 22 home runs and 76 RBIs.

*

The Texas Rangers found a replacement for Rafael Palmeiro, agreeing to $1-million, one-year contract with Brad Fullmer.

Fullmer spent the last two seasons with the Angels. After helping them win the World Series in 2002, he played only 63 games last season because of a knee injury that required surgery July 1. He was released Oct. 15.

*

The Montreal Expos say they’re close to signing an agreement to move 22 games to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a second straight season.

The games would be played over three homestands, all before the All-Star break, the Expos said in a statement.

*

The Chicago White Sox requested waivers on Brian Daubach to grant his unconditional release. Daubach hit .230 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 81 games with the White Sox last season.... Outfielder Daryle Ward and right-handed reliever Juan Acevedo agreed to minor league contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ward hit .183 with no homers in 52 games last season with the Dodgers.... Manager Ned Yost was given a contract extension through 2005 by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Miscellany

Promoter Don King agreed to pay former champion Terry Norris $7.5 million just as a jury in New York was debating the boxer’s claim that King stole money from him, Norris’ attorney said.

King agreed to pay $3 million by next week and the remainder within 15 months, said attorney Judd Burstein, who said the settlement might encourage other fighters to sue the promoter.

“I think this is the beginning of the end for Don King,” Burstein said.

“A lot of people now realize he can be held accountable for what he’s done.”

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is also suing King in New York, claiming King stole more than $100 million while promoting his fights after his release from prison in 1995.

That case has yet to go to trial.

King could not immediately be reached for comment.

*

The New York Racing Assn. is expected to pay millions of dollars in fines and adopt anti-corruption reforms to avoid a federal fraud prosecution, law enforcement sources said.

Authorities planned to announce the settlement today at a news conference, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Prosecutors also will unseal an indictment against six people, including former NYRA managers, alleging conspiracy, tax evasion and other charges, the sources said. The defendants would be prosecuted in federal court.

Investigators allege that NYRA managers ignored rampant corruption among track tellers. The tellers, they say, ran money laundering, gambling or loan-sharking schemes using their access to NYRA and bettors’ money in their cash boxes.

An NYRA spokesman, Glenn Mathes, confirmed NYRA’s board of trustees met Wednesday behind closed doors, but declined to discuss whether trustees signed off on the deal.

*

Two writers from The Times, Randy Harvey and T.J. Simers, are among the three finalists for California honors in the annual nomination balloting for the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Assn., announced this week. Simers is a columnist and Harvey a senior assistant sports editor and frequent writer.

The third state nominee is Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, a former Times columnist.

Broadcast nominees from the state are radio host Lee Hamilton of San Diego, Jim Hill of Channel 2 and Vin Scully of the Dodgers.

National writing nominees are Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated, also a former Times columnist, and Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe; broadcast nominees are Joe Buck of Fox and Al Michaels of ABC.

*

Occidental hired Denny Barrett as it new baseball coach to succeed Jeff Henderson, who resigned in September. Barrett spent the last two years as coach at Bakersfield Garces Memorial and takes over a program that has gone 13-50 over the last two seasons.

*

The Las Vegas Rattlers of the American Basketball Assn. have signed Joe “Jellybean” Bryant (father of Kobe Bryant) as head coach and rap artist Percy “Master P” Miller as a player. The Rattlers take on the Long Beach Jam on Dec. 16 at the Long Beach Pyramid.