MLB Notes: Oakland acquires Thomas

OAKLAND, Calif. — Frank Thomas called Oakland general manager Billy Beane to reiterate how thrilled he would be to join the Athletics.

The two clicked at last month's winter meetings, and it led to a contract for the free-agent slugger.

Thomas agreed to a $500,000, one-year deal with Oakland on Wednesday.

"Frank Thomas is a presence," Beane said. "Not only would he be our type of offensive player, he would be everybody's type of offensive player. ... If Frank is healthy, he's been good against everybody."

Thomas, a two-time American League most valuable player who has been slowed by injuries in recent years, can make an additional $2.6 million in bonuses based on plate appearances and not hurting his left foot. He played his first 16 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, who won their first World Series title since 1917 last year.

"It's a good day," said Thomas' agent, Arn Tellem. "From the beginning, the A's were Frank's first choice if he wasn't going to go back to Chicago."

Beane has added Thomas and Milton Bradley to a lineup that struggled to score runs at times last season.

Thomas, 37, is expected to be the primary designated hitter for the A's, and he will join Eric Chavez and Bradley in the heart of Oakland's order.

Thomas, who has a career .307 average, has 2,136 hits and 448 home runs.

Hobbled by leg injuries for the second straight season, he hit .219 with 12 homers in 34 games in 2005.

In the past 10 days, the A's put him through a series of stress tests under the supervision of team orthopedist Jerrald Goldman, who Beane said was amazed because Thomas handled more strenuous activity than Goldman expected.

"Frank felt great. Frank believes he'll be ready in spring training," Beane said.

White Sox standout Paul Konerko said he and Thomas used to joke about the Oakland team's white shoes.

"If he's healthy and playing, I don't care if the uniforms are pink," Konerko said of Thomas. "He just wants to go out there and perform."

Notes

• Cuban President Fidel Castro confirmed his country would play in the 16-team World Baseball Classic. It was Cuba's first official reaction to the U.S. government's decision allowing the communist country to participate.

But Castro also said, "that is if [the Americans] don't start in on messing around with not giving the visas, or if they go crazy."

The U.S. government reversed course Friday and issued the special license necessary for Cuba to play in the March event.

• Ex-Colorado Rockies pitcher Denny Neagle has pleaded guilty to a charge of patronizing a prostitute and was sentenced to 40 hours of community service, prosecutors announced.

The plea means Neagle, 37, avoids a trial that was scheduled to begin Monday. Neagle was ticketed in the Denver suburb of Lakewood on Dec. 3, 2004, after a woman in his car told police he had paid her $40 for sex. The Rockies terminated Neagle's contract three days later, but later agreed to an undisclosed settlement.

• First baseman Ben Broussard avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.5 million contract with Cleveland.