Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — GOLF Montgomerie elected

Colin Montgomerie has been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame by the slimmest of margins. Montgomerie and Ken Schofield, head of the European Tour for nearly 30 years, were announced Tuesday as the latest inductees. They fill out the 2013 class that includes Willie Park Jr., Fred Couples and Ken Venturi. Montgomerie won the European Tour money list a record eight times. He received 51 percent of the vote on the international ballot. That makes two inductees in this class - Couples was the other - who got in through a special provision. If no one gets the minimum 65 percent, the player with the most votes gets elected as long as it’s more than 50 percent. The induction ceremony will be May 6 in St. Augustine, Fla.

BASEBALL Yankees’ tax increased

The New York Yankees’ luxury tax bill for this year has gone up by nearly $400,000. Major League Baseball sent a revised accounting to the team Tuesday, raising New York’s payment to $19,311,642 from $18,917,994. The change reflected how one player’s salary was accounted for. New York is the only team to pay the luxury tax this year. The Yankees’ final payroll for luxury tax purposes climbed from $222.5 million to $223.4 million. The Yankees pay at a 42.5 percent rate on the amount over the $178 million threshold. The luxury tax uses average annual values of contracts and includes benefits.

The Boston Red Sox have reached a $9.5 million, one-year agreement with shortstop Stephen Drew. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Drew will take a physical before the deal can be finalized. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not complete. Drew hit .250 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI in 39 games for the Oakland Athletics last season after being traded by Arizona on Aug. 20. In 40 games with the Diamondbacks, he hit .193 with 2 home runs and 12 RBI. In seven seasons, Drew, the brother of former Boston outfielder J.D. Drew, is hitting .265 with77 home runs and 349 RBI. In addition to his salary, he would earn a $500,000 bonus if he has 500 plate appearances. Boston also finalized a $4.25 million, one-year contract with 37-year-old reliever Koji Uehara, a deal agreed to two weeks ago at the winter meetings.

The Oakland A’s finalized a $6.5 million, two-year contract with Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima on Tuesday. The contract also includes a $5.5 million club option for 2015. Nakajima, 30, is an eight-time All-Star in Japan and a three-time Gold Glove winner. He has a .302 career batting average with 162 home runs in 11 seasons with the Pacific League’s Seibu Lions. He has hit 20 or more home runs in a season four times.He batted .311 with 29 doubles, 13 home runs and 74 RBI in 136 games for the Lions last season. Nakajima will get a $1.25 million signing bonus and base salaries of $2.25 million next year and $2.5 million in 2014. He can earn up to $1.3 million in performance bonuses next season. Whatever bonuses he earns will be added to his salary in 2014, when he can earn up to $600,000 in bonuses based on playing time. Nakajima could earn as much as $9.2 million his first two years. There is also a $500,000 buyout if the A’s don’t exercise their option for 2015, and Nakajima will be eligible for free agency at the end of the deal. The contract also includes awards bonuses and various perks including an interpreter, flights to and from Japan and moving expenses.

Right-handed reliever Santiago Casilla has completed a $15 million, three-year contract with the World Series champion San Francisco Giants. The deal includes a club/vesting option for the 2016 season. Casilla passed his physical Tuesday, vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans said. The 32-year-old Casilla went 7-6 with a 2.84 ERA and 25 saves last season. He made 73 appearances and pitched 63 1/3 innings. Casilla is set to earn $4.5 million in 2013 and 2014 and $5 million in 2015. He would receive a $1 million buyout if his option doesn’t vest. He was eligible for arbitration this winter and could have become a free agent next offseason.

The Minnesota Twins agreed to terms Tuesday with right-hander Mike Pelfrey on a $4 million, oneyear contract. Pelfrey went 50-54 with a 4.36 ERA in seven seasons with the New York Mets, including a four-year run in which he pitched at least 184 innings and topped 200 innings twice. But he has averaged just 5.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He missed almost all of last season after having elbow ligament replacement surgery and is now working on his comeback. His deal calls for $1.5 million in performance bonuses, including $100,000 for 150 innings, $150,000 for 160 innings, $250,000 each for 170, 180 and 190 innings and $500,000 for 200 innings, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Tuesday. The person requested anonymity because the deal has not been announced. Pelfrey will have to pass a physical before the deal becomes official.

John Lannan signed a $2.5 million, one-year contract with Philadelphia on Tuesday. The 28-year-old Lannan was 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA in six starts for the NL Eastchampion Washington Nationals this year. He also made 24 starts for Class AAA Syracuse, going 9-11 with a 4.30 ERA. Lannan’s deal includes performance incentives. He gets $200,000 each for 150, 160, 170, 180 and 190 innings, $250,000 each for 200 and 210 innings and $250,000 for 31-34 starts. Overall, Lannan was 42-52 with a 4.01 ERA in 134 games - all starts - in six seasons for Washington.

The Tampa Bay Rays have signed right-hander Roberto Hernandez, the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona. The one-year deal announced Tuesday is worth $3.25 million. The 32-year-old Hernandez has pitched seven years in the majors, all with Cleveland. He was 0-3 with a 7.53 ERA last season.Hernandez was arrested last winter in the Dominican Republic on false identity charges. They were dropped after he completed a work program. Major League Baseball later suspended him for three weeks. Hernandez sprained his right ankle in August and missed the rest of the year. Hernandez is 53-69 with a 4.64 ERA in the majors.

Matt Bush, a former top overall major-league draft pick, has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison for a drunken driving hit-and-run crash in Florida. As part of a deal, the 27-yearold pleaded no contest Tuesday to driving under the influence withserious bodily injury. Six other counts in the March crash were dropped. Because it’s his third DUI, Bush also will lose his license for 10 years. He already has spent nine months in jail. Authorities say Bush’s blood alcohol level was 0.18 percent - more than twice the legal limit - when he hit 72-yearold Tony Tufano’s motorcycle and left the scene in North Port, about 40 miles northwest of Fort Myers. Bush was the top pick in 2004 and pitched in the minors. The Tampa Bay Rays released him in October.

BASKETBALL Mystics hire Thibault

Two-time WNBA Coach of the Year Mike Thibault is the new head coach and general manager of the Washington Mystics. The team announced his hiring Tuesday. The Mystics went a combined 11-55 the past two seasons and parted ways with Coach and GM Trudi Lacey in September. Thibault was fired by the Connecticut Sun last month after leading them to eight playoff appearances in 10 seasons, including trips to the WNBA Finals in 2004 and 2005. Thibault went 206-134 in the regular season with the Sun, earning WNBA Coach of the Year honors in 2006 and 2008. He needs six victories to pass former Houston Comets Coach Van Chancellor to become the winningest coach in league history. Before joining the Sun, Thibault was an assistant with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.

SKIING Gate keeper dies

Organizers of a men’s World Cup slalom say that a gate keeper went into cardiac arrest and died while working at the night race Tuesday in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. The race was delayed for about 15 minutes during the first run after the first eight starters when the man fell ill. Organizers say medical personnel attempted to resuscitate him for about an hour before he was declared dead. The man was identified as a ski instructor in Madonna di Campiglio. His name was not released because his family could not immediately be notified. Organizers say the man had a history of heart problems.