Dusty Baker is out as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, three days after his team lost the National League wild-card game to Pittsburgh.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that the Reds will announce Friday that Baker will be replaced. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there had not yet been an official announcement. It was not immediately clear whether Baker was fired or chose to step down.
The 64-year-old Baker had one season left on a two-year contract he signed last October.
Baker guided the Reds into the playoffs three of the last four years, but they never advanced.
Cincinnati went 90-72 this season and finished third in the NL Central behind St. Louis and the Pirates. The Reds lost their final five games of the regular season and cost themselves a chance to host the wild-card playoff, which they dropped 6-2 at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
Baker has managed 20 years in the majors with San Francisco, the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati. His teams have won five division titles and he is a three-time NL Manager of the Year (see full story).
Yankees: Rodriguez files suit against MLB
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez sued Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig, accusing them of pursuing "vigilante justice" as part of a "witch hunt" designed to smear the character of the Yankees star and cost him tens of millions of dollars.
MLB
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for what it alleges was a relentless campaign by the league and Selig to "destroy the reputation and career of Alex Rodriguez."
The suit was filed during the first week of hearings in the grievance by the Major League Baseball Players Association to overturn the 211-game suspension of Rodriguez imposed by MLB on Aug. 5 for alleged violations of baseball's drug agreement and labor contract. The suspension stemmed from baseball's investigation of the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic, headed by Anthony Bosch.
A decision on the grievance by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz is not likely for several months (see full story).
Cardinals: Pujols sues Clark over steroid comments
ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols sued Jack Clark on Friday over comments on a local radio show accusing the three-time NL MVP of using steroids.
The lawsuit between former Cardinals stars was filed in Circuit Court in St. Louis County, where Clark lives. It seeks unspecified damages that would be donated to charity, and asks for a determination and declaration that Clark's statements are false.
The petition says Pujols' "character and reputation are impeccable and beyond reproach" and cites his charitable work with the Pujols Family Foundation, while calling Clark "a struggling radio talk show host" who was chasing ratings in the first week his new show was on the air.
Pujols, a nine-time All-Star, played for the Cardinals from 2001-11, then left to sign a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
"My lawyers have told me that the upcoming legal fight will not be an easy one, and that in cases like this even a liar can sometimes be protected under the law," Pujols said in a statement. "I have never shied away from standing up for the truth, and I believe that the principles at stake are too important to sit back and do nothing" (see full story).
Mets: Harvey to have surgery, miss 2014
NEW YORK -- Mets ace Matt Harvey will have surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his right elbow, an operation that will sideline him for the 2014 season.
The 24-year-old, who started the All-Star game for the National League was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament on Aug. 26 but said he wanted to try to rehab the elbow and avoid surgery.
The Mets said Friday that Dr. James Andrews will operate during October.
Projected recuperation time for elbow ligament operations is about a year.
The No. 7 pick of the 2010 amateur draft, Harvey went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 178 1-3 innings (see full story).