Mark Hendrickson, Baltimore Orioles finalize $1.4 million deal | Baseball

BALTIMORE — Left-hander Mark Hendrickson has finalized a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles that guarantees him $1.4 million.

The 6-foot-9 Hendrickson, a Mount Vernon native, played baseball and basketball at Washington State. Hendrickson, 35, played four seasons in the NBA.

Hendrickson went 6-5 with a 4.37 earned-run average in 53 games with Baltimore last year. He was most effective in relief, going 4-0 with a 3.44 ERA.

He will receive $1.2 million this year, and the contract includes a team option for 2011 for $1.2 million, with a $200,000 buyout. He can earn up to $100,000 annually in performance bonuses.

Hendrickson joined the Orioles last season after pitching for Toronto, Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Florida. He is 56-68 with a 5.00 ERA in 268 career games. According to The Baltimore Sun, he is the only big-league pitcher to make at least 10 starts and at least five relief appearances in each of the last four seasons.

Baltimore agreed to a minor-league contract with left-hander Will Ohman, 32, a former Los Angeles Dodger, on Tuesday.

Notes

• Jacque Jones has returned to the Minnesota Twins, agreeing to a minor-league contract.

Jones, 34, began his major-league career with Minnesota in 1999 before joining the Chicago Cubs in 2006. The outfielder hasn't played in a major-league game since June 2008, with the Florida Marlins. He spent last season with the Newark Bears in the independent Atlantic League.

• Left-hander Scott Schoeneweis has agreed to a minor-league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and was invited to major-league spring training.

Schoeneweis, 36, would get an $800,000, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster and would have the chance to earn $700,000 in performance bonuses. He is 46-57 with a 4.97 ERA in his big-league career.

• Right-hander Jamey Wright, 35, and the Cleveland Indians have agreed to a minor-league contract. He led the Kansas City Royals with 65 relief appearances last season, going 3-5 with a 4.33 ERA.

If added to the 40-man roster, Wright would get a $900,000, one-year contract and the chance to make $700,000 more in performance bonuses.

• Outfielder Willy Taveras, 28, has been released by the Oakland Athletics, eight days after he was acquired from Cincinnati with infielder Adam Rosales for infielder Aaron Miles and a player to be named.

• Arizona ace Brandon Webb threw off a mound for the first time since undergoing right-shoulder surgery Aug. 4. Webb, 30, said he was pleased with how he felt after throwing between 20 and 25 pitches.

• The Florida Marlins' goodwill group toured Iraq and Kuwait, visiting U.S. troops and meeting Kuwaiti Little Leaguers. The Marlins traveled by military helicopter and by boat in the Persian Gulf.