More MLB Notes: Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen out 8-12 weeks

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LOS ANGELES — Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen has undergone surgery to remove a growth from a bone in his left foot and will miss the start of the regular season.

The team says Jansen will be on crutches for about 10 days after Tuesday's surgery in Los Angeles. He will then wear a boot for three to four weeks. He's expected to be out about eight to 12 weeks.

The growth was found when Jansen reported discomfort while running last week. An X-ray, MRI and CT scan all showed the problem in the fifth metatarsal of his left foot.

Jansen saved 44 games in 49 chances last season. He had a 2.76 ERA in 68 appearances.

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Arizona on Thursday. The Dodgers open the season at home April 6 against San Diego.

Yankees: A-Rod apologizes to fans
NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez has issued a handwritten apology "for the mistakes that led to my suspension" but has turned down New York's offer to use Yankee Stadium for a news conference and has failed to detail any specifics about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The five-paragraph statement issued Tuesday, three days before the team opens spring training, was addressed "to the fans."

Rodriguez says "I regret that my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be" and "I'm ready to put this chapter behind me and play some ball."

The 39-year-old, a three-time AL MVP, was suspended last season for violations of baseball's drug agreement and labor contract. An arbitrator found "clear and convincing evidence" Rodriguez used three banned substances and twice tried to obstruct the baseball's drug investigation.

(Read more of Rodriguez's apology here)

Anthony Bosch sentenced to 4 years
MIAMI — The former owner of a Florida medical clinic who posed as a doctor and illegally supplied steroid injections and other performance-enhancing drugs to professional baseball players and even high school athletes was sentenced Tuesday to four years in federal prison.

Anthony Bosch — who choked back tears in court and said the clinic was a legitimate business gone awry — sought a more lenient term because of his cooperation in the investigation, but U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles refused.

"This defendant was the most culpable in this conspiracy," the judge said.

Prosecutors said Bosch could still get his sentence reduced through further cooperation, including potential trial testimony.

Gayles said Bosch falsely held himself out as a licensed medical doctor at his Biogenesis of America clinic, where he accepted thousands of dollars a month to provide steroid injections to players such as New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers. Most troubling, Gayles said, was Bosch's injections of high school players in the Miami area.

"He was the mastermind," Gayles said. "He was the one who recruited others to assist him."

Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer issued a statement saying the message of the case is that "cheating doesn't pay and individuals like Bosch, who distribute performance enhancing drugs to athletes and, more importantly, to our children, will be held accountable for their actions."

Bosch, 51, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute testosterone, the sixth person charged in the Biogenesis case to do so. Bosch and Rodriguez are expected to testify if the last two defendants — Rodriguez cousin Yuri Sucart and ex-University of Miami pitching coach Lazaro Collazo — go to trial as scheduled in early April.

Yankees: Tanaka throws on level ground
TAMPA, Fla. — Masahiro Tanaka threw for 34 minutes on level ground in his first workout of the year at the New York Yankees' minor league complex.

Tanaka missed 2 months last year while rehabilitating a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, managed to avoid surgery and returned for two late-September starts.

After arriving from Japan, he threw at up to about 200 feet. He ended his session by using his delivery to make 16 level ground pitches at 60 feet.

Tanaka didn't speak with reporters after the workout.

"He looked good," teammate Ivan Nova said. "I'm sure he worked really hard. The way he handled it, unbelievable."

Signed to a $155 million, seven-year contract, Tanaka went 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA in 20 starts. The Yankees say he has been throwing as part of his normal conditioning program in Japan.

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