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Pitcher A.J. Burnett leaving Blue Jays

TORONTO, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Veteran Toronto righthander A.J. Burnett has decided to delve into free agency, opting out of the remaining two years on his Blue Jays contract.

The two years are worth $24 million.

Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker, met with team officials Tuesday at the general managers meetings in Dana Point, Calif.

"They were great," Braunecker told the Toronto Star. "They anticipated it."

"We have not made a financial offer or a years offer," said Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi. "We knew all along that exercising his opt-out was something that he was going to do (but) we've talked about him wanting to be in Toronto. We'll see how it goes (and) will continue to have our dialogue though."

The 31-year-old Burnett was 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA last season and recorded an American League-best with a 231 strikeouts.

In 10 major league seasons starting with the Florida Marlins, he has an 87-76 record with a 3.81 ERA in 1,376 1/3 innings.

Lenny Dykstra faces suit without lawyer

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Former Mets and Phillies batting star Lenny Dykstra appears to be facing a lawsuit in New York without legal assistance.

Deborah Freedman, a U.S. magistrate in Manhattan, told Dykstra and his wife, Terry, Oct. 10 she would assume the couple are representing themselves if they did not name new lawyers by last Friday, the New York Post reported. The Post said no filings had been made.

The accounting firm DDK & Co. sued the couple for $587,000. The lawsuit involves the preparation of the Dykstras tax returns for 2007.

The couple had been represented by lawyers from Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis. But they resigned from the case in September, saying Dykstra had failed to pay legal fees.

Dykstra, nicknamed "Nails," played with the Mets in the late 1980s and was the leadoff hitter in 1986, when the team won the World Series. He was traded to the Phillies in 1990 and helped the team get into the World Series in 1993.

Report: Alonso staying with Renault

LONDON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Spain's Fernando Alonso will stay with the Renault Formula One auto racing team two more years, the BBC reported Wednesday.

The decision ends months of speculation about his future plans.

(Renault) had "always been my first choice and I feel happy and comfortable with them," the F1 driver said.

Reports had said the two-time circuit title-winner, a native of Oviedo, Spain, considered a jump to Ferrari.

"After a difficult start to the season, we have overcome our difficulties and constantly improved our performances," Alonso said in a statement. "In the past we have won championships together, as well as going through tough moments, but we are now determined to show we can repeat that success together in the coming seasons."

This season, Alonso finished fifth behind champion Lewis Hamilton of England, Brazil's Felipe Massa, Poland's Robert Kubica and 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen of Finland.

Canseco gets probation for fertility drug

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Former MLB slugger Jose Canseco will serve one year of unsupervised probation for smuggling a fertility drug from Mexico, a judge in San Diego says.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruben Brooks ruled that the former baseball star, who played for MLB teams like the Texas Rangers and the Oakland A's, will only receive probation after pleading guilty to the federal misdemeanor charge, the San Diego Union-Tribune said Wednesday.

Canseco was charged with introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce after being detained on Oct. 9 attempting to transport human chorionic gonadotropin from Mexico into the United States.

The drug is typically used by steroid users to help in their internal production of testosterone, the Union Tribune said.

Arresting federal agents quoted Canseco as saying he was on a "hormone therapy plan because his testosterone levels are extremely low due to his past steroid use."

The Union Tribune said Canseco's part steroid use has been well-documented, particularly through his 2005 book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big."