The club has agreed to extend the manager's contract through the 2016 season, Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday.

Mattingly was about to enter the final season of his current deal, amid much speculation about whether general manager Ned Colletti even wanted to sign Mattingly to a new contract. After making pointed comments about his lame-duck status, Mattingly said in November that he would honor his contract for the 2014 season.

Mattingly was in danger of being fired last June before the Dodgers began a hot streak. LA won the National League West with a 92-70 record. It lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS.

The Dodgers are 260-225 (.536) in Mattingly's three seasons as manager.


HOF VOTER EXPLAINS BALLOT


MLB.com's Ken Gurnick nearly caused the Internet to explode Tuesday morning when he revealed he had voted for Jack Morris — and no on else — for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Many questioned the logic behind his decision not to vote for Greg Maddux and others: "As for those who played during the period of PED use, I won't vote for any of them," he wrote.

Gurnick called into MLB Network Radio's Inside Pitch Tuesday afternoon to further explain his decision. He said he had no reason to believe Maddux had done PEDs.

"It's not a personal thing," he said. "It's an indictment of an era."

The players' union fought drug testing and did nothing to stop rampant PED use in the 1990s and early 2000s, he said. "I don't feel like I can vote for any of the players from that era."

Gurnick said he will abstain from voting in future Hall elections because of his feelings about players from the PED era and the uncertainty surrounding who did and didn't use. That way, he said, he will not be in the position of denying a vote to Mariano Rivera and other future candidates.

He said he would place the start of the PED era in 1992 or 1993, the tail end of Morris' career (his last season was 1994). Morris won 21 games for the World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays in 1992.

"He was a really tough call," Gurnick said of Morris. But he decided that he could vote for the former pitcher because the bulk of his career occurred before the PED era.

He said he was expecting the criticism he's getting from many corners of the baseball world but that he didn't cast his ballot in an effort to get publicity. "I'm not enjoying the attention, believe me."


ROYALS INK HERNANDEZ


Former All-Star catcher Ramon Hernandez has agreed to a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals.

The 37-year-old is a career .263 hitter in 15 seasons in the major leagues. His 757 RBIs since the start of the 1999 season are fifth among major league catchers during that span, and his 169 homers are seventh-most among big league catchers.

Hernandez played in 17 games last year for the Los Angeles Dodgers, batting .208 with two doubles, three home runs and six RBIs. He was released June 22.

He was an All-Star in 2003 with Oakland, hitting 21 home runs. He also has played for San Diego, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Colorado.

Kansas City announced the agreement Tuesday.


CHAVEZ TO A'S


Right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez has reached agreement on a $775,000, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics.

The team made the announcement Tuesday. Chavez's deal is not guaranteed.

He went 2-4 with a career-low 3.92 ERA and one save in 35 appearances over two 2013 stints with the two-time defending AL West champions. He made $500,000.

Oakland's remaining players eligible for arbitration include catcher John Jaso, new closer Jim Johnson, right fielder Josh Reddick, first baseman Brandon Moss and shortstop Jed Lowrie.

Contributors: Justin McGuire, Tom Gatto, The Associated Press