Mike Devereaux

Outfielder Mike Devereaux and the Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a one-year contract worth $3.025 million, a raise of $2 million.

Outfielder Mike Devereaux, who began his professional career in the Dodger organization, agreed Friday to a minor league contract with the team. Devereaux, 34, hit .208 in 29 games for the Texas Rangers last season. He has played in parts of 11 big league seasons with the Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves and Rangers and has a career batting average of .254 with 105 home runs and 479 runs batted in.

A deal that would send Dodger outfielder Mike Devereaux to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Mike Morgan is being discussed, according to the Baltimore Sun. The newspaper said the deal might be completed in the next day or two. "I've talked to (Dodger Vice President) Fred Claire recently," Oriole General Manager Roland Hemond said Monday night. "I don't know if we're close." Claire, reached at his home in Pasadena, declined to comment.

Cleveland is not much of a place to visit, but Jeremy Hernandez certainly doesn't mind working there. The former Poly High and Cal State Northridge standout has been a mainstay in the Indians' bullpen since a June 1 deal that sent him to the American League from San Diego in exchange for Tracy Sanders and Fernando Hernandez, a pair of double-A outfielders. Hernandez, a right-hander who turns 27 on Wednesday, was used sporadically by the Padres.

Mike Devereaux flashed a smile when asked where he would be now if he were in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system. "Where's Albuquerque?" he said. That's the Dodgers' triple-A team, and that's where Mike Devereaux, 26, would be if the Baltimore Orioles hadn't acquired him this spring in a trade for pitcher Mike Morgan. Morgan leads the National League with a 1.47 ERA, but the Orioles say they're happy with their side of that trade. "He's going to be an above-average major league player," Orioles hitting coach Tom McCraw said of Devereaux.

It meant going from the top of the baseball spectrum to the bottom, but Mike Devereaux was both happy and relieved. Convinced that he had little or no chance to win a regular outfield job with the World Series champion Dodgers, Devereaux welcomed the trade Saturday that sent him to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Mike Morgan. The Orioles had the worst record in the major leagues last season, but Devereaux at least will get a shot at full-time employment.

Outfielder Mike Devereaux, who began his professional career in the Dodger organization, agreed Friday to a minor league contract with the team. Devereaux, 34, hit .208 in 29 games for the Texas Rangers last season. He has played in parts of 11 big league seasons with the Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves and Rangers and has a career batting average of .254 with 105 home runs and 479 runs batted in.

He is known as an impatient hitter, one who will chase the pitcher's pitch and suddenly find himself walking back to the bench, bat drooping. But Mike Devereaux is adjusting well to the lessons he's learning this spring and is hitting line drives everywhere. After going 2 for 3, including a double, in the Baltimore Orioles' 11-9 Grapefruit League victory Thursday over the Toronto Blue Jays, Devereaux is batting .412 this spring, second on the club to Cal Ripken's .448 among the regulars.

The Baltimore Orioles' most potentially divisive contract dispute of the off-season ended amicably Friday when center fielder Mike Devereaux agreed to a one-year contract that will pay him $3.025 million plus incentives. Devereaux appeared to be headed for an arbitration showdown when he filed for $3.6 million last week, but he compromised at a figure that was $275,000 more than the club's arbitration offer.

It was spring training, 1989. Most people thought it appropriate to extend their sympathy to Mike Devereaux. He had just been traded from the Dodgers to the Orioles. The previous fall, the Dodgers had won the World Series. Baltimore had finished 34 1/2 games out after starting the season with 21 consecutive losses. "After '88, people were saying, 'You went from best to worst,' " said Devereaux, who was traded March 11, 1989, for Mike Morgan, straight-up. "I was saying, 'It's spring training.

The Baltimore Orioles' most potentially divisive contract dispute of the off-season ended amicably Friday when center fielder Mike Devereaux agreed to a one-year contract that will pay him $3.025 million plus incentives. Devereaux appeared to be headed for an arbitration showdown when he filed for $3.6 million last week, but he compromised at a figure that was $275,000 more than the club's arbitration offer.

Outfielder Mike Devereaux and the Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a one-year contract worth $3.025 million, a raise of $2 million.

It was spring training, 1989. Most people thought it appropriate to extend their sympathy to Mike Devereaux. He had just been traded from the Dodgers to the Orioles. The previous fall, the Dodgers had won the World Series. Baltimore had finished 34 1/2 games out after starting the season with 21 consecutive losses. "After '88, people were saying, 'You went from best to worst,' " said Devereaux, who was traded March 11, 1989, for Mike Morgan, straight-up. "I was saying, 'It's spring training.

Most pitchers don't last in the major leagues for as many years as the Texas Rangers' Nolan Ryan went between victories in Baltimore. Ryan, 44, gave up four hits in 7 1/3 innings Saturday as the Rangers won, 1-0. Ryan, who struck out 10, had not won at Memorial Stadium since May 18, 1975. Ryan, who spent nine of those years in the National League, had lost seven in a row at Baltimore. Until last week in Texas, Ryan had not beaten the Orioles for 15 years.

He is known as an impatient hitter, one who will chase the pitcher's pitch and suddenly find himself walking back to the bench, bat drooping. But Mike Devereaux is adjusting well to the lessons he's learning this spring and is hitting line drives everywhere. After going 2 for 3, including a double, in the Baltimore Orioles' 11-9 Grapefruit League victory Thursday over the Toronto Blue Jays, Devereaux is batting .412 this spring, second on the club to Cal Ripken's .448 among the regulars.

Mike Devereaux flashed a smile when asked where he would be now if he were in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system. "Where's Albuquerque?" he said. That's the Dodgers' triple-A team, and that's where Mike Devereaux, 26, would be if the Baltimore Orioles hadn't acquired him this spring in a trade for pitcher Mike Morgan. Morgan leads the National League with a 1.47 ERA, but the Orioles say they're happy with their side of that trade. "He's going to be an above-average major league player," Orioles hitting coach Tom McCraw said of Devereaux.

Cleveland is not much of a place to visit, but Jeremy Hernandez certainly doesn't mind working there. The former Poly High and Cal State Northridge standout has been a mainstay in the Indians' bullpen since a June 1 deal that sent him to the American League from San Diego in exchange for Tracy Sanders and Fernando Hernandez, a pair of double-A outfielders. Hernandez, a right-hander who turns 27 on Wednesday, was used sporadically by the Padres.

Most pitchers don't last in the major leagues for as many years as the Texas Rangers' Nolan Ryan went between victories in Baltimore. Ryan, 44, gave up four hits in 7 1/3 innings Saturday as the Rangers won, 1-0. Ryan, who struck out 10, had not won at Memorial Stadium since May 18, 1975. Ryan, who spent nine of those years in the National League, had lost seven in a row at Baltimore. Until last week in Texas, Ryan had not beaten the Orioles for 15 years.

Eddie Murray is quietly producing as expected for the Dodgers, but of the four former Baltimore Orioles on the roster of the defending World Series champions, Mike Morgan is easily the most intriguing. The right-handed pitcher is 3-1 with a 0.69 ERA. This time a year ago he was 0-5, and he never did win a game as a starter, despite opening as the No. 2 man in the rotation. But Morgan insists there is very little difference, other than the results, between this year and last.

It meant going from the top of the baseball spectrum to the bottom, but Mike Devereaux was both happy and relieved. Convinced that he had little or no chance to win a regular outfield job with the World Series champion Dodgers, Devereaux welcomed the trade Saturday that sent him to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Mike Morgan. The Orioles had the worst record in the major leagues last season, but Devereaux at least will get a shot at full-time employment.