The Associated Press

Manager Bobby Cox's option was exercised Monday. The manager is entering his 19th season with the Braves, who have won 12 straight division titles.

"We feel that Bobby is the best manager in the game and his leadership has helped the Braves to set a very high standard of excellence," general manager John Schuerholz said.

Cox, 62, has 1,906 wins, ninth on the career victory list and second among active managers behind Tony La Russa.

He has led Atlanta to five NL pennants and the 1995 World Series title.

RANGERS: Texas signed shortstop Michael Young to a $10 million, four-year contract extension, with a club option for a fifth season.

The 27-year-old Young volunteered to switch from second base to shortstop when Alfonso Soriano came to the Rangers in the trade that sent Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees in February. Texas had been working hard through spring training to re-sign Young to a long-term deal.

Young batted .306 last season with career highs in home runs (14) and RBI (72). His 204 hits ranked third in the American League and he had 63 multihit games. He led the Rangers in batting average, at-bats, hits and triples and tied for first in doubles.

PIRATES: General manager Dave Littlefield's contract was extended for two seasons through 2007 and manager Lloyd McClendon's 2005 option was exercised Monday.

McClendon, who has modestly improved the team's record in each of the last two seasons despite payroll cuts and a transition to youth, also was given a club option for 2006.

Littlefield was praised by managing general partner Kevin McClatchy for significantly upgrading the farm system - his chief priority when he was hired at midseason 2001, during the Pirates' first 100-loss season in 16 years.

The Pirates' minor-league affiliates had the best winning percentage of any major-league organization last season, and each team made its league's playoffs.

STEROIDS: Major League Baseball will not retest the approximately 500 samples remaining from last year's tests for the steroid THG, a baseball official said.

Results of the drug tests on Barry Bonds and several other players are being sought by federal prosecutors probing a San Francisco-area nutritional supplements lab. It is not clear if the samples for Bonds and those other players are among the ones that still exist.

The urine samples were taken from players last year as part of baseball's effort to determine the scope of steroid use. When more than 5 percent of samples showed evidence of steroids, new regulations - including punishments - were imposed for this season.

"There will be no effort by Major League Baseball to retest the samples because our agreement (with the players' union) does not allow it," said Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations.

Two samples were taken from each of the more than 1,400 major league players last season.

MARINERS: Third baseman Scott Spiezio plans to see a specialist about his persistent back spasms, and closer Eddie Guardado won't throw for at least three days because of a sore left shoulder.

Spiezio, who joined the Mariners as a free agent, is starting the season on the disabled list. Guardado, another free agent acquisition, was forced to leave Sunday's exhibition finale at San Diego after he complained of stiffness in his throwing shoulder.

• Terry Mulholland declined to exercise an option in his contract that would have made him a free agent, binding him to a minor-league deal with the Seattle Mariners. But his agent, Joe Bick, was involved in talks that could land the veteran left-hander with another major-league club, and the Mariners appeared agreeable to anything that would help Mulholland.

Mulholland appeared in 10 spring games this year, going 3-1 with a 4.05 ERA and one save.

PADRES: Infielder Jeff Cirillo was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a broken finger, and San Diego purchased the contract of left-hander Eddie Oropesa.

MARLINS: Outfielder Jeff Conine could miss today's season opener against Montreal because of a sinus infection. He sat out the last four spring training games and didn't play in an exhibition Sunday.