Tigers and Orioles Deal…Texas Loses Soto

The Baltimore Orioles have acquired Steve Lombardozzi (lahm-bahr-DOH'-zee) from the Detroit Tigers for fellow infielder Alex Gonzalez.

The 25-year-old Lombardozzi hit .259 with two homers and 22 RBIs for the Washington Nationals last season and was dealt to Detroit in December for pitcher Doug Fister. Gonzalez is a 37-year-old infielder who has a .246 average with six major league teams.

In other baseball news:

— Texas Rangers catcher Geovany Soto (SOH'-toh) has a tear in his left knee that will sideline him for 10 to 12 weeks. The Rangers say that Soto will have surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn cartilage.

— Atlanta has released pitcher Freddy Garcia, who was contending for a spot in the Braves' battered rotation. The 37-year-old right-hander was let go despite a strong outing Sunday, when he limited the New York Mets to an unearned run and two hits over 5 1-3 innings.

— Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Bourn will start the season on the disabled list, opening a spot for outfielder Nyjer Morgan on the opening-day roster. Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall will also head north with the team.

— Tampa Bay minor league pitcher Alex Colome (kah-loh-MAY') has been suspended for the first 50 games of the season for a positive steroids test. Colome is the second player suspended this year under the major league drug program following Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

— Pitcher Jose Quintana (kwin-TAH'-nuh) and the Chicago White Sox have agreed to a $21 million, five-year contract that would increase to $26.5 million if he is eligible for salary arbitration after this season. The deal announced includes two team options that could add $22 million.