Baseball-Major League Baseball roundup

March 1 (The Sports Xchange) - White Sox great Minnie Minoso, who was Major League Baseball's first black player in Chicago, died Sunday morning at the age of 90. Police said Minoso was found unresponsive in the driver's seat of a car around 1 a.m. There were no signs of trauma. The beloved Minoso endeared himself to millions of Chicagoans over the years, first as a dynamic player with the popular Go-Go Sox of the 1950s and 1960s and later as a community relations ambassador of the club for decades. It was often joked that Minoso had signed enough autographs that every man, woman and child in Chicago had at least one. President Obama released a statement later Sunday: "For South Siders and Sox fans all across the country, including me, Minnie Minoso is and will always be 'Mr. White Sox.' "Minnie may have been passed over by the Baseball Hall of Fame during his lifetime, but for me and for generations of black and Latino young people, Minnie's quintessentially American story embodies far more than a plaque ever could." - - - New York manager Joe Girardi is expected to decide by Monday if Alex Rodriguez will play in the Yankees' spring opener on Tuesday. Rodriguez, who was suspended for the entire 2014 season, practiced at first base on Friday. It is unclear where he will play, if he plays Tuesday. - - - The Los Angeles Dodgers signed reliever Mike Adams to a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to the team's major-league spring training camp, the Dodgers announced. The right-handed Adams threw 43 2/3 innings in his two seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, who declined his $6 million club option for 2015 back in October. Adams, 36, had a 2.89 earned-run average in 18 2/3 innings in 2014. - - - The Texas Rangers signed right-hander Mark Rogers to a minor league contract, according to reports. Rogers, 29, spent 2014 as a member of the Seattle Mariners, making two appearances in Triple-A Tacoma. He had a 1-0 record with a 3.86 ERA. - - - Third baseman David Freese begins his second spring training with the Los Angeles Angels with a refreshed outlook. Freese embarked during the offseason on a strength-and-conditioning program that enabled him to gain muscle and reduce fat while remaining at 220 pounds. The Angels hope those changes will revitalize Freese's bat, especially since he is a major candidate to replace outfielder Josh Hamilton as the cleanup hitter. - - - San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy made headlines -- albeit it small ones -- when he announced he would be holding center fielder Angel Pagan out of consecutive workouts Thursday and Friday. Bochy said the move was mostly precautionary, while also citing a sore neck as having slightly hampered Pagan on Wednesday. (Editing by Gene Cherry)