The White Sox, looking to make another addition to their bullpen, have signed right-hander Octavio Dotel to a two-year, $11 million contract, according to a major-league source.
Dotel, 34, is the second major addition to the Whtie Sox relief corps this off-season. The Sox earlier signed right-hander Scott Linebrink for $19 million over four years.
Dotel split 2007 between the Royals and the Braves, going 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA and 11 saves in 33 appearances.
Cardinals Molina agreed to a $15.5 million, four-year contact. Molina threw out 50 percent of would-be basestealers last year, catching 23 of 46. He’s also coming off a career-best .275 average, with six homers and 40 RBIs in 111 games. The 25-year-old had asked for a raise from $525,000 to $2.75 million in salary arbitration and the Cardinals had offered $1.85 million.
Molina hit the go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of the Cardinals’ seven-game NLCS victory over the New York Mets in 2006 and was 7-for-12 in the World Series, helping St. Louis win its first championship in 24 seasons.
Molina hit a career-best .275 with six homers and 40 RBIs in 111 games last season, missing significant time with a broken left wrist. He’s the younger brother of two other major league catchers, Bengie Molina of the Giants and Jose Molina of the Yankees.
Right-hander Todd Wellemeyer is the last St. Louis player remaining in arbitration. He asked for a raise from $635,000 to $1,325,000 and was offered $875,000.
Brett Tomko agreed Monday to a $3 million, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, promising he’s worked out the problems that led to failure with the Dodgers last year. A right-hander who turns 35 during the first week of the 2008 season, Tomko will compete for a spot in the rotation but is also a candidate for bullpen duty for a club seeking to climb out of the AL Central basement.
Tomko’s contact calls for an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses.
In his worst stretch since breaking into the majors with Cincinnati in 1997, Tomko was 2-11 with a 5.80 ERA last year for Los Angels. After being designated for assignment, he signed with San Diego and was 2-1 with a 4.61 ERA as the Padres competed for a playoff berth. Changes he made in style and delivery at the urging of the Dodgers led to his problems.
Tomko is 93-92 with a 4.62 ERA for six major league teams in 11 seasons and is among just three pitchers since 2005 with 115 appearances and 60 starts. Miguel Batista and Brett Myers are the others.
The Rockies and their star shortstop are on the verge of an historic deal.
Troy Tulowitzki, 23, has agreed to the parameters of a six-year, $30 million deal with Colorado, which would be the largest extension given to a major leaguer with less than two years experience, according to a report by The Denver Post. There is a club option for a seventh season in the contract, as well.
The previous record extension was held by Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore in 2006, when he was given a six-year, $23.45 million deal.
Tulowitzki finished second in last year’s Rookie of the Year voting to Ryan Braun after hitting .291 with 24 home runs, 99 RBIs and 104 runs scored as the Rockies made their magical run all the way to the World Series. He was also great defensively, leading all major league shortstops with a .987 fielding percentage.
The Reds, striking a bargain with one of the top remaining free-agent pitchers, have reached preliminary agreement with left-hander Jeremy Affeldt on a one-year, $3 million contract, according to major-league sources. The deal, pending a physical, will be the Reds’ third significant pitching acquisition of the off-season. The team previously signed free-agent closer Francisco Cordero and acquired right-hander Edinson Volquez in a trade with the Rangers.
Affeldt, 28, will compete for a spot in the Reds’ rotation after spending all of last season as a reliever with the Rockies. He has started in the past and the Reds’ far greater need is in the rotation, where they are unsettled beyond right-handers Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo.
If Affeldt fails as a starter, the Reds always could return him to the bullpen. The team currently envisions right-hander David Weathers setting up for Cordero and already features three left-handed relievers — Mike Stanton, Bill Bray and Jon Coutlangus.
Affeldt enjoyed a long-awaited breakthrough with the Rockies last season, going 4-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 59 innings. He is 25-27 with a 4.74 ERA in 286 career appearances, including 42 starts.
Two older left-handed relievers received multi-year, free-agent contracts — J.C. Romero, 31, signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Phillies, while Ron Mahay, 36, signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Royals.
The Colorado Rockies want to lock up Matt Holliday with a long-term deal. For now, they’ve settled on two years. The All-Star left fielder agreed to a $23 million, two-year contract with Colorado on Friday, avoiding arbitration just hours before players and teams exchanged salary figures.
Holliday, runner-up for the NL MVP award last season, hit .340 with 137 RBIs, becoming the third player since 1967 to lead a league in both categories. He also had 36 home runs and led the NL in hits (216), total bases (386) and doubles (50) while helping the Rockies to their first pennant. Holliday, who turned 28 on Tuesday, also earned the NL championship series MVP award after hitting .333 with two home runs and four RBIs in a four-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. After making $4.4 million last season, Holliday gets $9.5 million this year and $13.5 million in 2009.
Colorado outfielder Willy Taveras also agreed to a contract, a one-year deal worth $1,975,000. Taveras can make $150,000 in performance bonuses; $50,000 each for 500, 550 and 600 plate appearances. The 26-year-old Taveras provided speed at the top of the lineup for the Rockies last season. He hit .320 and stole 33 bases in 97 games.
The Rockies swapped figures with three players still in arbitration: third baseman Garrett Atkins, reliever Brian Fuentes and outfielder Brad Hawpe. Atkins asked for $4.65 million while the club offered $4,125,000; Fuentes requested $6.5 million with Colorado countering at $5.05 million; and Hawpe asked for $4.35 million while the Rockies proposed $3,575,000.
All-Star second baseman Orlando Hudson and four other Diamondbacks agreed to one-year contracts Friday as Arizona avoided arbitration with all its eligible players. Catcher Chris Snyder, right-handed relievers Brandon Lyon and Chad Qualls, and infielder Chris Burke also agreed to deals. Right-hander Juan Cruz accepted a $1,937,500, one-year contract earlier this week.
Hudson’s contract is for $6.25 million, a considerable raise from the $3.9 million he made last season.
Snyder gets $1.85 million, up from the $400,000 he earned last year.
Lyon, one of three leading candidates to take over as Diamondbacks closer, agreed to a $3,125,000 million deal, more than double the $1.5 million he made last season.
Qualls and Burke came in the trade that sent closer Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros. Qualls, another closer possibility, agreed to $1,312,500, a big leap from the $441,000 he got a year ago. Burke gets $995,000. He earned $415,500 in 2007.
First baseman Mark Teixeira agreed to a $12.5 million, one-year contract with the Braves on Thursday, one of four Atlanta players coming to terms rather than going through arbitration.
Teixeira, who added power to the Braves lineup after being acquired from Texas just before the trade deadline, received a big raise over the $9 million he made last season. He batted .317 with 17 homers and 56 RBIs with Atlanta. Overall, Teixeira had 30 homers, 105 RBIs and hit .306.
The more difficult negotiations with the slugger and agent Scott Boras will come after this season, when Teixeira is eligible for free agency.
The Braves also agreed to deals with relievers Mike Gonzalez and Tyler Yates, and infielder Omar Infante.
Gonzalez reached a deal for $2,362,500, basically the same salary he played for last season ($2.35 million). The left-hander pitched in only 18 games in 2007, going 2-0 with two saves and a 1.59 ERA before season-ending elbow surgery. He isn’t expected to return until around the All-Star break.
Infante, acquired from the Chicago Cubs during the winter meetings to bolster Atlanta’s infield depth, will play for $1.4 million this season, a raise of $100,000.
Yates got $800,000 after making $412,500 last season for the Braves. He was 2-3 with a 5.18 ERA and two saves.
Two other Braves filing for arbitration have yet to agree on deals: reliever Rafael Soriano and outfielder Matt Diaz.
Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers agreed Friday to a one-year contract worth $11.3 million, avoiding salary arbitration before the All-Star third baseman’s first season with the team. Cabrera, 24, can become a free agent after the 2009 season, but the Tigers hope to keep him long term.
In 157 games with the Marlins in 2007, Cabrera hit .320 with 91 runs scored, 38 doubles, two triples, 34 home runs and 119 RBI. Cabrera compiled a .313 batting average in five seasons with the club.
Detroit also agreed to a $780,000, one-year contract with pitcher Bobby Seay. The 29-year-old left-hander was 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 58 games with the Tigers last season. In 134 major league appearances, he has posted a 4-1 record and 3.97 ERA. He can make an additional $75,000 in performance bonuses: $20,000 for 55 games, $25,000 for 60 games and $30,000 for 63 games.
Carlos Pena’s breakout season also landed the American League comeback player of the year a hefty pay raise. All-Star pitcher Scott Kazmir did pretty well for himself, too.
Pena, Kazmir and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided arbitration, reaching contract agreements before the club’s self-imposed deadline to have deals in place before salary arbitration figures were exchanged.
The most productive season of Pena’s career positioned him for a three-year contract worth $24,125,000. The 29-year-old slugger must pass a physical to complete the deal, which would pay him $6 million this year, $8 million next year and $10,125,000 in 2010.
Until that is finalized, the sides agreed Friday to a $6 million, one-year contract. That means they didn’t have to exchange salary arbitration figures.
Kazmir, a 23-year-old left-hander who led the AL with 239 strikeouts last season, agreed to a $3,785,000, one-year contract. He’s the youngest AL strikeout champion since 22-year-old Frank Tanana in 1975 and finished one behind San Diego’s Jake Peavy for the major league lead. Kazmir was a career-best 13-9 with a 3.48 ERA in 34 starts last season. He was 8-3 with a 2.39 ERA after the All-Star break.
Pena set career highs for home runs (48), RBIs (121) and slugging percentage (.627) while
earning $1.2 million in 2007. He set a season franchise record for homers, finishing with the fourth-highest total in the majors behind Alex Rodriguez, Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard. He was sixth in RBIs and became the first player to hit 40-plus homers the season after being released by another team.