A trainer who previously admitted supplying Jose Canseco with steroids now says he also gave performance-enhancing drugs to Mark McGwire.
Curtis Wenzlaff, arrested in 1992 for steroids distribution, told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that McGwire’s goal was to get “bigger, faster, stronger,” according to excerpts released yesterday. The interview is to be broadcast tomorrow night.
McGwire last week admitted for the first time that he used steroids and human growth hormone on and off for a decade, including when he set the season home run record with 70 in 1998. He said he took performance-enhancing drugs for health, not for strength.
“There are other things you can take for health that are anabolic, but it wouldn’t be that type of combination,” Wenzlaff said. “If Paris Hilton were to take that array, she could run over Dick Butkus.”
ANGELS: Joel Pineiro, who had been sought by the Mets, finalized a $16 million, two-year contract that will pay him $8 million a season. The 31-year-old righty was 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA for the Cardinals last season.
GIANTS: Bengie Molina completed a $4.5 million, one-year contract that brings the veteran catcher back to San Francisco. The deal was completed one day after Molina passed a physical.
The Mets offered Molina $5.5 million in guaranteed money as part of a proposal that included a vesting option for 2011. But if he stays healthy, he would earn $500,000 more from the Giants this year.
PHILLIES: The team finalized center fielder Shane Victorino‘s $22 million, three-year contract and reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year deal with pitcher Jose Contreras.
Victorino’s deal, which calls for salaries of $5 million this year, $7.5 million in 2011 and $9.5 million in 2012, avoided a salary arbitration hearing.
ROYALS: Rick Ankiel will try to boost his resurrected career in Kansas City’s crowded outfield. The former pitcher agreed to a $3.25 million, one-year contract with the Royals, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
DODGERS: Right-hander Vicente Padilla decided to stay with the Dodgers after his outstanding performance down the stretch last season. Padilla was guaranteed $5,025,000 under the agreement.
ROCKIES: A pair of former Mets, outfielder Jay Payton and catcher Paul Lo Duca, have agreed to minor league contracts with Colorado after not playing in the major leagues last season.
Colorado also finalized a $7.55 million, two-year contract with reliever Rafael Betancourt.
ATHLETICS: Prospect Grant Desme is retiring from baseball to enter the priesthood. Desme was selected the 2009 Arizona Fall League MVP and was considered one of the top prospects in Oakland’s system. “I love the game, but I aspire to higher things,” he said.