BOSTON – Former Boston Red Sox catcher Bill Haselman was named the team’s bullpen coach on Thursday, replacing Euclides Rojas.

Haselman served as interim first-base coach last season while Lynn Jones was sidelined with an eye injury. Rojas was let go after two seasons as the team’s bullpen coach.

Haselman also played for Texas, Seattle and Detroit in his 13-year major-league career and became a major-league scout and instructor with the Red Sox last April. He joined the major league team May 7 as a replacement for Jones.

He played in 783 games, hitting .259 with 47 home runs and 210 RBIs. He also was behind the plate for Roger Clemens’ 20-strikeout game Sept. 18, 1996 at Detroit.

The Red Sox have also agreed to a minor-league contract with right-hander Josias Manzanillo.

Manzanillo, who was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox in 1983 and appeared in one game for the team in 1991, will get paid $350,000 if he makes the major-league roster, $60,000 if he plays in the minors, and can earn up to another $50,000 in performance incentives.

Manzanillo, 37, was 3-3 with one save and a 6.12 ERA in 26 appearances with the Florida Marlins last season. He is 13-15 with six saves and a 4.71 ERA in 267 appearances in his major-league career with the Red Sox, Milwaukee, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Florida.

White Sox agree to deal with Pierzynski

CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox got the veteran catcher they’ve been lacking Thursday, agreeing to a $2.25 million, one-year deal with A.J. Pierzynski.

Pierzynski is one of the better offensive catchers in the league, a career .294 hitter who has batted above .300 twice and was an All-Star in 2003. Over the last four years, he ranks second among all catchers with 127 doubles, third with a .293 average and seventh with a .438 slugging percentage.

Pierzynski’s numbers took a dip last year, after he was traded to the San Francisco Giants from the Minnesota Twins in the offseason. Though he had a career-high 77 RBIs and tied his career best with 11 homers, his .272 average was his lowest in four full seasons in the majors. His slugging (.410) and on-base (.319) percentages also were lows.

He had a .999 fielding percentage, and threw out 15 baserunners. He has a .994 career fielding percentage.

The Giants put Pierzynski on waivers last month after signing Mike Matheny. But Giants general manager Brian Sabean praised Pierzynski, saying the catcher had done his job “under difficult circumstances.”

Pierzynski has gotten a bad rap in both leagues, irritating umpires, coaches, opposing hitters and even his own teammates at times. In May, Pierzynski was on the defensive after three pitchers anonymously criticized his work ethic and claimed he was bad-mouthing Giants’ hitters to opponents while behind the plate.

“Is the bad blood over? Yeah,” he said at the time. “I take pride in my team. I want my teammates to respect me.”

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire came to his defense, saying the Giants just needed to get to know their new catcher. San Francisco manager Felipe Alou was unwavering in his support of Pierzynski, and he seemed to fit in as the season went on.

Pierzynski is not eligible for free agency until after the 2006 season, so he could end up staying in Chicago for two years.

Grudzielanek agrees to deal with Cardinals

ST. LOUIS – Free-agent second baseman Mark Grudzielanek agreed Thursday to a $1 million, one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Grudzielanek, who can earn up to $500,000 in performance bonuses, will replace Tony Womack, who played one season batting leadoff for the Cardinals before signing last month with the New York Yankees.

St. Louis signed David Eckstein to replace shortstop Edgar Renteria, who signed with Boston. Eckstein, who helped Anaheim win the 2002 World Series, got a $10.25 million, three-year deal.

Grudzielanek, 34, batted .307 with six home runs and 23 RBI in 81 games for the Chicago Cubs last season despite missing more than two months because of an inflamed Achilles’ tendon.

In 1,299 games over his 10-year major league career, Grudzielanek has a .287 batting average with 66 home runs and 443 RBIs. He led the NL in doubles (54) in 1999 with the Dodgers.

“We’ve been trying to identify infielders to handle a variety of roles for us,” Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said. “Grudzielanek offers us versatility with both the bat and in the field. He’s a proven veteran who should fit nicely into our everyday lineup.”

Grudzielanek has played for Montreal (1995-98), Los Angeles (1998-2002) and the Chicago Cubs (2003-04).

Arizona talks with Green end without extension

PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shawn Green failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension by the Thursday deadline, leaving the tentative trade in jeopardy of falling through.

The Dodgers had granted the Diamondbacks a 48-hour window, until 10 a.m. MST, on Thursday to negotiate with Green.

“The window has expired. There is no agreement,” major league baseball spokesman Pat Courtney said in New York.

Neither Diamondbacks general partner Ken Kendrick nor Green’s agent Greg Genske returned telephone calls.

The New York Yankees, meanwhile, reached an agreement on a $32 million, two-year contract extension for Randy Johnson, a prerequisite to the Big Unit waiving his no-trade clause for a deal to New York.

Arizona is to receive pitchers Javier Vazquez and Brad Halsey, along with catching prospect Dioner Navarro and $9 million in exchange for Johnson. The Diamondbacks intended to send Navarro and minor league pitcher William Juarez to Los Angeles for Green and $8 million.

Green has one year and $16 million remaining on his contract, which includes a no-trade clause. The prospect of his waiving the no-trade clause without a contract extension seemed unlikely.

If Green refuses the trade, it could create an awkward situation for his return to a Los Angeles team that had tried in at least two deals to get rid of him. Green would have been part of the three-team, 10-player trade among the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Yankees that fell apart last month.

If the Green trade falls through, Arizona could rekindle talks with outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, who was scheduled to fly to Phoenix for an interview last month. The meeting was then were canceled by the Diamondbacks.

Burnitz’s agent, Howard Simon, said on Thursday that his client has no hard feelings about those talks falling through and would be willing to speak with the Diamondbacks again if they show interest.

Green’s existing contract was negotiated by his then-agent Jeff Moorad, now the Diamondbacks chairman.

Arizona said Moorad was not part of the talks with the Dodgers in to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Pirates, Jack Wilson agree to $8 million, two-year contract

PITTSBURGH – All-Star shortstop Jack Wilson and the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided salary arbitration Thursday by agreeing to an $8 million, two-year contract.

Wilson will make $3.4 million in 2005 and $4.6 million in 2006, and he has the chance to earn additional award bonuses.

The Pirates planned a news conference Friday with the 27-year-old Wilson, the first Pittsburgh shortstop in 96 years with more than 200 hits in a season. Wilson’s 201 hits last season matched Hall of Famer Honus Wagner’s career high-tying total in 1908.

Wilson sought a three-year contract that would take him through the remaining years he is eligible for salary arbitration. None of the Pirates’ other five arbitration-eligible players was offered a multiyear contract.

Last year, Wilson became the first player to win an arbitration case with the Pirates in 11 years when he was awarded a $1.85 million salary.

Wilson’s season justified his money: a .308 batting average, 11 homers, 59 RBIS, 201 hits, an NL Silver Slugger award and an excellent year defensively. He was the only Pirates player on the NL All-Star team, and was presented the Roberto Clemente Award from Pittsburgh baseball writers as the team’s most valuable player.

The Pirates likely felt more pressure to do a multi-season deal with Wilson after two other good-hitting, good-fielding shortstops signed much bigger contracts: Edgar Renteria, $40 million over four seasons with the Red Sox, and Orlando Cabrera, $32 million over four seasons with the Angels.

“Jack’s come a long way and he’s got lot left to go,” said Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon, who pushed for Wilson’s promotion from Double-A to the majors in 2001 after managing him in the Arizona Fall League. “Jack is going to be as good as he wants to be. If he continues to put forth a lot of effort, he’s only going to get better.”

Wilson became more patient as a No. 2 hitter last season, taking advantage of leadoff hitter Jason Kendall’s good season to jump his batting average 52 points from his previous career high of .256 in 2003. Wilson’s walks dropped from 36 in 2003 to 26, but his on-base average climbed from .303 to .335.

“From an offensive standpoint, as Jack continues to mature and becomes more patient, and willing to take more walks, his on-base percentage and his other numbers should get better,” McClendon said.

McClendon plans to keep batting Wilson second, even as outfielder Matt Lawton replaces the traded Kendall as the leadoff hitter. The Pirates freed up part of the money for Wilson’s contract when they dealt Kendall to Oakland in November.

Kendall’s $60 million, six-year contract had become a huge financial burden to a franchise that projects to have only a $40 million payroll this season. The trade will save the Pirates about $15 million over the next three seasons, though they will pay much of Kendall’s $13 million salary in 2007.

Wilson, who never had more than 143 hits previously in a season, was seventh in the majors in hits and was one of eight major leaguers with 200 or more hits. He was the first Pittsburgh player since Dave Parker in 1997 with 200 hits in a season.

AP-ES-01-06-05 1736EST