Rick Ankiel gets another chance, with the Mets The New York Mets signed Rick Ankiel and started him in center field on Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, the team that converted him from wild left-hander to outfielder. The 33-year-old thought it a bit comforting that he returned to the majors in St. Louis, where he arrived as a hard-throwing lefty starter in 1999 but couldn't control his pitches. He's been an outfielder since 2005 and hit a career-best 25 home runs with 71 runs batted in with St. Louis in 2008. Ankiel was designated for assignment by the Houston Astros last week and cleared waivers Sunday. "Obviously, I've played here in Busch Stadium quite a bit, and it's just kind of ironic the first game back is here in St. Louis," Ankiel said. But it'll be fun and I'm excited to get out there. Slugging first baseman Anthony Rizzo and the Chicago Cubs agreed to a $41-million, seven-year contract that could be worth up to $68 million over nine seasons. The 23-year-old Rizzo is considered one of the centerpieces of the Cubs' rebuilding efforts. He is batting .280 with a .352 on-base percentage. He also has nine home runs and 28 RBIs in his third major league season. Detroit center fielder Austin Jackson was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a pulled right hamstring, leaving the Tigers without a talented leadoff hitter who also covers a lot of ground defensively. George Postolos resigned as president and chief executive of the Houston Astros, returning to sports consulting work in the midst of the team's third consecutive season of struggles. Postolos worked for seven years with Houston businessman Jim Crane to buy a sports franchise and it wound up being the Astros. He had been Astros president and CEO since November 2011.