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Tampa's Span, Twins reach deal

TAMPA -- Former Tampa Catholic outfielder and Minnesota first-round draft pick Denard Span agreed to a major-league contract with a $1.7-million signing bonus Thursday.

Span, picked 20th overall in the amateur draft June 4, is scheduled to report to instructional league in September.

"I'm excited to get started," Span said. "It's been a busy day."

The left-handed hitter led the Crusaders to a Class 3A state championship in 2001 and hit .490 last season. He had 22 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 28 games.

Span, the Times Hillsborough County player of the year, was hoping to sign a 2002 contract, but signing bonus issues and talks of a strike delayed an agreement. In late July, the Twins offered a 2003 contract, and the Span family orally agreed to terms this week.

Reds get Estes from Mets

CINCINNATI -- With their playoff chances slipping away, the Reds acquired left-handed starter Shawn Estes from the Mets for two minor-leaguers and two players to be named.

The Mets agreed to pay the remainder of Estes' contract, $1,524,592, because Reds ownership won't increase the payroll. Estes, 29, agreed to a $6.2-million, one-year deal in February.

The Reds led the NL Central for 51 days but were overtaken by St. Louis on June 18. They traded for starters Ryan Dempster and Brian Moehler in July, but they've gone a combined 3-5 in 10 starts with an 8.01 ERA.

Meanwhile, Mets catcher Mike Piazza missed his third straight game with tendinitis in his left wrist and is scheduled for an MRI exam today to determine the cause. "If the picture is fine, it's just tendinitis," Piazza said. "Then I'll take a day or two and try to finish the year the best I can."

BROWN HEADS TO BULLPEN: Dodgers right-hander Kevin Brown was activated from the 15-day disabled list about two months after lower back surgery.

Brown, who had surgery June 11 to repair a herniated disc, will pitch out of the bullpen for now. He has had two bullpen sessions since making a rehabilitation start for Triple-A Las Vegas on Aug. 9.

"I felt like all along it was going to happen," Brown said. "It's great coming back to play something that has meaning."

BLUE JAYS: Right-hander Chris Carpenter and outfielder Jose Cruz went on the 15-day disabled list, Carpenter with instability in his pitching shoulder and Cruz with a sprained left ankle.

CUBS: Third baseman Mark Bellhorn hit his 19th homer, a team record for a switch-hitter.

INDIANS: Centerfielder Milton Bradley, who had an appendectomy this week in St. Petersburg, is scheduled to be released from the hospital today. ... Closer Bob Wickman went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained tendon in his right (pitching) elbow.

PADRES: Right-hander Bobby J. Jones went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained lower back, and left-hander Mike Bynum was recalled from Triple-A Portland.

PIRATES: Left-hander Jimmy Anderson, the team's most experienced starting pitcher, was removed from the rotation by manager Lloyd McClendon. McClendon hasn't decided who will replace him.

RED SOX: The team's top two picks in the June amateur draft, first-rounder Jon Lester and third-rounder Scott White, signed. Lester, a left-hander from Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Wash., and White, a third baseman from Walton High School in Marietta, Ga., will start playing in the rookie Gulf Coast League.

-- EMILY NIPPS, TIMES WIRES

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