VIERA, Fla. — Jim Bowden's final move as Washington Nationals general manager was his own resignation.

Bowden abruptly stepped down yesterday morning after four seasons, leaving under the cloud of a federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses given to Latin American prospects.

He has maintained his innocence in the matter, but said yesterday, "I've become a distraction."

"It's an emotional decision. It saddens me. But I feel it's in the best interest of two of the things I love the most, and that's the Washington Nationals and baseball," Bowden added.

Seated at a table with Nationals president Stan Kasten before a small contingent of reporters and team officials, Bowden read from a prepared statement, sometimes deviating from the script as he struggled to contain his emotions.

No replacement was immediately announced.

"We're not planning on missing a beat," Kasten said. "Our staff has a meeting tomorrow morning, first thing. I'm not going to have anything to say to you about next steps for a while — later in the week."

Bowden is the only GM the Nationals have had since the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington before the 2005 season, overseeing a team that went 81-81 in that debut season but has been below .500 ever since.

Last season, the Nationals were a major league-worst 59-102.

Bowden's tenure with the club was marked by such moves as the trade for Alfonso Soriano, the failure to re-sign Soriano, free-agent busts such as Paul Lo Duca and reclamation projects such as Dmitri Young.

Bowden also drew unwanted off-field attention, including in 2006, when he was charged with driving under the influence after failing a field sobriety test while in Miami.

He met last year with FBI investigators looking into allegations of skimming of signing bonuses, and http://www.SI.com reported last weekend that Bowden's actions are being examined as far back as 1994, when he was GM of the Cincinnati Reds.

Bowden's resignation came three days after Jose Rijo, a special assistant to Bowden, was fired by the Nationals.

YANKEES

A-ROD 'COOPERATIVE'

Alex Rodriguez met yesterday with Major League Baseball officials, who sought to interview the New York Yankees slugger about his admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03 with Texas.

The commissioner's office released a statement saying Rodriguez was "cooperative" in a two-hour interview with officials from MLB's Department of Investigations and Labor Relations Department.

No further details were revealed, and the statement said the commissioner's office would have no additional comment at this time.

MLB wanted to speak with Rodriguez about security issues involving a trainer from the Dominican Republic and the cousin the three-time MVP said injected him with a banned substance called "boli."

DODGERS

RAMIREZ SAGA ONGOING

The Los Angeles Dodgers have pulled their $45 million, two-year offer to Manny Ramirez, and owner Frank McCourt said yesterday that negotiations will have to start again from scratch.

The Dodgers announced last week that Ramirez had declined the team's latest offer, a $25 million one-year contract for the 2009 season with a $20 million player option for 2010. McCourt said no talks with Ramirez's representatives were scheduled for yesterday.

"We're in what I call a transition phase," McCourt said before the Dodgers lost 3-2 to the Chicago White Sox in their first game at their new spring training facility at Camelback Ranch. "We had an almost four-month negotiation which terminated on Thursday. Now we're in a quiet period. At some point we'll pick up negotiations, but with a fresh start."

The issue separating the two sides appears to be how the $45 million will be paid out. The Dodgers wanted to defer payment of $10 million until 2011, $10 million more to 2012 and $5 million to 2013.

Agent Scott Boras' latest proposal was for a $45 million, two-year deal with no deferred payments.

ELSEWHERE

Mets: New York ace Johan Santana said he was OK after throwing a bullpen session yesterday morning, and the team decided against sending him to snowy New York for an MRI on his balky left elbow.

Doctors have told Santana that an irritated triceps tendon is causing the discomfort in his elbow, but pitching coach Dan Warthen said the two-time Cy Young Award winner didn't appear to be favoring anything during his bullpen session.

Twins, Blue Jays: Minnesota closer Joe Nathan and Toronto closer B.J. Ryan will skip the World Baseball Classic. Nathan has a sore right pitching shoulder, and Ryan decided to stay in spring training. It leaves Brian Fuentes of the Los Angeles Angels, Jonathan Broxton of the Los Angeles Dodgers and J.J. Putz of the New York Mets as the likely closer candidates.

Rangers: Josh Hamilton left Texas' game against the Seattle Mariners with a strained left Achilles' tendon yesterday but said later it was "no big deal." He is day-to-day but said he could play today, if asked.

Diamondbacks: Arizona outfielder Eric Byrnes, returning from hamstring injuries, is being held out of spring training games because he can't run full speed on the base paths. Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said he hopes Byrnes will be able to play in mid-March.

Orioles: Adam Eaton and Baltimore agreed to a minor league contract yesterday and the right-hander will join the team's major league spring training camp. The 31-year-old Eaton was released by Philadelphia on Friday after going 4-8 with a 5.80 ERA in 21 games for the Phillies last year.

Meanwhile, left-hander Rich Hill was scratched from yesterday's spring training start with elbow stiffness.

Hill was scheduled to face the Washington Nationals in Viera, Fla., but was left at Baltimore's camp after developing stiffness in his left elbow Saturday. The injury is not perceived as serious, but the Orioles — and Hill — aren't taking chances.