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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — John Wetteland, the Texas Rangers’ career saves leader, was not offered arbitration Thursday and is considering retiring because of a back problem.
Texas also declined to offer arbitration to second baseman Luis Alicea and outfielder Mike Simms, which means they cannot sign with the Rangers until May 1. If they sign elsewhere, Texas will not receive compensation.
The team did offer arbitration to left-handed reliever Mike Munoz and outfielder Ruben Sierra, a former All-Star who returned to the majors late last season.
The 34-year-old Wetteland has a degenerative disk in his back. He’s working out four times a week, but has yet to throw a baseball.
“I’m doing everything I can,” he said. “If that’s enough, great. If it’s not, then it’s great to move on to another phase.”
Wetteland, the MVP of the 1996 World Series while pitching for the New York Yankees, signed with the Rangers in ’97 and had 150 saves over four years with at least 30 each season. He saved 34 last season and had a 4.20 ERA.
Munoz and Sierra have until Dec. 19 to decide whether to go to arbitration. If rejected, the Rangers can continue negotiations with the players until Jan. 8.
Alicea led Texas with a .294 average. He had six homers and 63 RBIs in 139 games.
Simms missed the entire season with degenerative arthritis in his left hip.
Munoz was 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in seven appearances, then went out for the year with a torn tendon in his left elbow.
Sierra hit .326 with 18 homers and 82 RBIs in 112 games at Triple-A Oklahoma and .233 with one homer and seven RBIs in 20 games with Texas.

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) — Veteran second baseman Randy Velarde, who helped the Oakland Athletics to the American League West crown in 2000, today was dealt to the Texas Rangers for two minor league pitchers.
Velarde, who turns 38 next week, hit .278 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI during his 14th major league season. He went 5-for-20 with a double and three RBI in a five-game loss to the New York Yankees in the Division Series.
In 1999, the Texas native became the sixth player in major league history and the first since Willie Montanez in 1976 to total 200 hits while playing for two teams in one season.
Velarde hit .317 with 16 homers and 76 RBI that season, posting 115 hits for the Angels and 85 for the A’s. He was acquired by the A’s from Anaheim prior to the trade deadline.
Oakland acquired righthander Aaron Harang — Texas’ sixth-round draft pick in 1999 — and lefthander Ryan Cullen.
Harang, 22, led the Class A Florida State League in wins and ranking eighth in ERA this pas season. He went 13-5 with a 3.32 ERA with Charlotte, allowing just 128 hits and striking out 136 batters in 157 innings.
Cullen, 20, went 6-6 with nine saves and a 3.04 ERA in 48 relief appearances for Class A Savannah, striking out 103 in 94 2/3 innings. He signed with Texas as a free agent in 1999.
Velarde leaves a team that has two of the best young pitchers in the AL in Tim Hudson and Barry Zito but lacks depth at second base.
A former utility man for the Yankees, Velarde turned the 10th unassisted regular season triple play in major league history and the first in six seasons on May 29 at Yankee Stadium.
He overcame elbow surgery in 1997 to become a reliable major league starter, something he was never given a chance to do with the Yankees. He hit .285 in 530 at-bats in 1996 for the Angels but missed all of the 1997 season.
In 1,124 career games, Velarde has hit .277 with 89 home runs and 405 RBI. He was a 19th-round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox in 1985.
Velarde likely will be the starting second baseman in Texas, where Luis Alicea hit .294 with six homers and 63 RBI last season.

Catcher Ivan Rodriguez and pitcher Kenny Rogers have been selected as 2000 recipients of Rawlings Gold Gloves in the American League, it was announced today by the Rawlings Sporting Goods Company.
Rodriguez won his ninth consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove, the second most ever for a catcher behind the ten received by Cincinnati’s Johnny Bench from 1968-77. Rodriguez, who has won each year since 1992, has the longest current Gold Glove streak of any American Leaguer with his nine total awards matching Cleveland’s Roberto Alomar for the most among the 2000 A.L. recipients.
Rogers earned his first Rawlings Gold Glove, the first ever received by a Rangers’ pitcher. The Texas lefthander ends Mike Mussina’s four-year hold for A.L. pitchers’ honors.
It is the sixth time in team history that Texas has had two Rawlings Gold Glove winners in the same season, joining 1977 (Jim Sundberg, c; Juan Beniquez, of); 1979, 1980, and 1981 (Sundberg, c; Buddy Bell, 3b); and 1999 (Ivan Rodrigiuez, c; Rafael Palmeiro, 1b).
It is also just the fourth time in history that a pitcher and catcher from the same team have captured Gold Gloves, joining Minnesota’s Jim Kaat (P) and Earl Battey (C) in 1962, Pittsburgh’s Rick Reuschel (P) and Tony Pena (C) in 1985, and Kansas City’s Bret Saberhagen (P) and Bob Boone (C) in 1989.
Rodriguez, who was sidelined for the season with a fractured right thumb on July 24, appeared in just 87 games behind the plate but led all American League qualifiers with a career high .996 (2 e/543 tc) fielding percentage. He went 61 consecutive games without an error from April 23-July 13. Rodriguez threw out 16 of 33 runners attempting to steal, a 48% success rate and has thrown out 45.4% (348 of 766) of runners trying to steal in his career. Offensively, Rodriguez batted .347 with 27 homers and 83 rbi in 91 games.
Rogers led all American League pitchers with 66 total chances, 46 assists, and 6 double plays, the latter tying the club record. He had 10 more total chances and 12 more assists than any other pitcher in the league, with Seattle’s Aaron Sele placing second in both departments. Rogers also was second in the majors with 9 pitcher pickoffs, one less than Arizona’s Brian Anderson. He had a fielding percentage of .970 (2 e/66 tc). Rogers was 13-13 with a 4.55 era in 34 starts with Texas in 2000 after rejoining the club as a free agent.
The National League Rawlings Gold Glove team will be announced on Tuesday.

Position	Player	Team	Awards	Years
1B	John Olerud	Seattle	1	2000
2B	Roberto Alomar	Cleveland	9	91-96;98-00
3B	Travis Fryman	Cleveland	1	2000
SS	Omar Visquel	Cleveland	8	93-2000
OF	Bernie Williams	New York	4	97-2000
OF	Jermaine Dye	Kansas City	1	2000
OF	Darin Erstad	Anaheim	1	2000
C	Ivan Rodriguez	Texas	9	1992-2000
P	Kenny Rogers	Texas	1	2000