Cubs sign ex-Red Sox infielder Walker
Chicago Cubs:Free agent infielder
Todd Walker agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the 2004 season. Financial terms of
the deal were not disclosed.
Walker, 30, hit .283 in 144 games for Boston in 2003. The infielder had 38 doubles, 4 triples and 13 homers while driving in a career-high 85 runs. In 12 playoff games last season, Walker's first appearance in the postseason, he hit .349 with five homers and six RBI.
In addition to the Red Sox, Walker has played in the majors for Minnesota (1996-2000), Colorado (2000-2001) and Cincinnati (2001-2002). The Twins selected him with the 8th overall pick in the 1994 June free-agent draft out of Louisiana State University.
Chicago White Sox: The White Sox tendered a contract to arbitration-eligible pitcher Scott Schoeneweis just before Saturday's 11 p.m. deadline, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Chicago now has time to work out a contract with the left-hander before arbitration becomes necessary. If the pitcher and White Sox do end up in arbitration, Schoeneweis could be granted between $1.5 million and $2 million for next season, according to the paper.
Schoeneweis was 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 20 appearances for the Sox last season and 3-2 with a 4.18 ERA overall in 59 relief outings. In 74 career starts with the Angels, from 2000-02, Schoeneweis was 23-27 with a 5.28 ERA.
Texas Rangers: Outfielder Jason Tyner and left-hander
Mike Bacsik agreed Monday to minor league contracts with the Rangers and were invited to spring training.
Tyner, claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay on Dec. 8, wasn't offered a contract by Texas on Saturday, a move that dropped him from the 40-man roster. He hit .278 with no homers and six RBIs in 90 at-bats with Tampa Bay last season and .324 with no homers and 24 RBIs in 275 at-bats with Triple-A Durham.
Bacsik was 1-2 with a 10.19 ERA in three starts and two relief appearances with the Mets last season and 2-9 with a 4.97 ERA for Triple-A Norfolk in 21 starts and one relief appearance over 117 2-3 innings.
Former Rangers pitcher Brian Sikorski agreed to sign with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League, the team said Monday.
The 29-year-old right-hander, who spent the last three years with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's rival Pacific League, will ink the contract with representatives of the Tokyo-based Giants in Detroit, his hometown, Yomiuri said in a statement.
Yomiuri officials refused to disclose details of the deal.
Sikorski posted an aggregate record of 9-16 with 3 saves in 106 games and had a 3.90 earned run average with Lotte. He played for the Rangers in 2000.
Philadelphia Phillies: Ricky Ledee and the Phillies
avoided salary arbitration Sunday, agreeing to a one-year,
$1,225,000 contract.
Ledee, 30, was used primarily as a pinch-hitter last season when he hit .247 with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs. He tied for third in the National League with two pinch-hit home runs.
The Phillies have offered arbitration to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, pitcher Vicente Padilla and infielder Placido Polanco.
Florida Marlins: Right-hander Toby Borland agreed Monday to a minor
league contract with Florida, two days after the Marlins dropped
the reliever from their 40-man roster.
Borland was 0-0 with a 1.86 ERA in seven games with Florida last season. He had an appendectomy in Los Angeles on May 21 and remained on the disabled list the remainder of the season, his eighth in the major leagues.
He was 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA and three saves in nine games with Triple-A Albuquerque before the Marlins promoted him on April 26.
Colorado Rockies: The Rockies agreed to terms Monday with free agent catcher Todd Greene on a one-year contract.
Greene, 32, spent this past season in Texas, batting .229 with 10 homers and 20 RBIs. He started 49 games behind the plate and threw out 16-of-54 attempted steals (29.6 percent).
The Rockies also granted right-handed reliever Matt Miller free agency. He joins Scott Elarton, Jay Payton and Kit Pellow as the four players whose contracts were not tendered.
Right-handed pitchers Jeff Tam and Brian Tollberg and infielders Benji Gil and Andy Tracy reached terms on minor-league contracts with the Rockies and were invited to spring training.
Tam, 33, appeared in 44 games for Toronto last season, posting an 0-4 record with a 5.64 ERA and one save. Tollberg, 31, spent most of 2003 with Triple-A Portland recovering from elbow surgery.
A member of Anaheim's 2002 World Series championship club, the 31-year old Gil batted .192 in 44 games last season.
Minnesota Twins: The Twins agreed to terms on a one-year contract with infielder Augie Ojeda.
His deal calls for a salary of $320,000 in the major leagues and $100,000 in the minors.
The Twins claimed Ojeda, 29, off waivers from the Cubs on Nov. 24. The Twins' didn't tender Ojeda a contract by last week's deadline in order to restructure his deal.
He hit .120 in 25 at-bats with the Cubs in 2003. In 148 career games with the Cubs over the past four seasons, Ojeda batted .196. He'll get a chance to land a spot as a utility man on the Twins' roster in 2004.
The Twins also officially announced that they've agreed to terms on a one-year contract with second baseman Luis Rivas. The deal, originally agreed to last Friday, is worth $1.5 million.
Milwaukee Brewers: Former American League Rookie of the Year Ben Grieve agreed Monday to a $700,000, one-year contract with the Brewers.
In addition, catcher Gary Bennett agreed to a $600,000, one-year contract and right-hander Adrian Hernandez agreed to a minor league contract.
Grieve, 27, was voted the rookie award in 1998 when he played for Oakland, which selected him with the second overall pick of the 1994 amateur draft. He hit .230 for Tampa Bay last season with four homers and 17 RBIs.
In addition to his salary, Grieve can earn $300,000 in performance bonuses.
Bennett, 31, hit .238 with two home runs and 42 RBIs for San Diego last season. He also can make an additional $300,000 in performance bonuses.
Hernandez spent most of last season with the Yankees' Triple-A Columbus team of the International League, where he went 8-5 with a 3.21 ERA in nine starts and 23 relief appearances. He is not related to major league pitchers Orlando and Livan Hernandez.
New York Mets: Scott Strickland agreed to a $650,000, one-year contract that includes performance bonuses two days after the team cut him loose.
Strickland, 27, was 0-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 19 games for the Mets last season before reconstructive surgery June 17 on his right elbow.
He has a 12-21 career record with a 3.28 ERA in 231 games with the Mets and Montreal.
New York also agreed to minor league contracts with left-hander Pedro Feliciano and right-hander Jeremy Hill, also dropped from the roster Saturday.
Feliciano, 27, was 0-0 with a 3.35 ERA in 23 games with the Mets last season.
Hill, 26, was acquired from Kansas City on July 28 for Graeme Lloyd and went 0-2 with a 10.38 ERA in 11 games with Double-A Binghamton. Hill pitched a scoreless inning for Kansas City.
St. Louis Cardinals: Right-hander Jason Marquis agreed to a
$525,000, one-year contract.
Marquis, acquired Dec. 13 as part of a five-player trade that sent outfielder J.D. Drew to Atlanta, had been eligible for arbitration. He can earn an additional $50,000 in performance bonuses.
Marquis, 25, spent much of last season in the minors but appeared in 21 games for the Braves, with 13 of the appearances in August and September. In 15 starts for Triple-A Richmond last season, Marquis was 8-4 record with a 3.35 ERA.
He was 8-9 for the Braves in 2002 and has a 14-15 career record and 4.45 ERA in 40 career starts and 56 relief appearances.
Marquis was Atlanta's top pick in the 1996 amateur draft.
Detroit Tigers: Left-hander Andy Van Hekken agreed Monday to a minor league contract.
Van Hekken, 24, was a combined 9-12 with a 4.89 ERA in 26 games for Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie last season. He is 59-34 with a 3.50 ERA in 129 appearances over six minor league seasons.
Van Hekken is 1-3 with a 3.00 ERA in five starts with the Tigers, including a complete game shutout over Cleveland in his major league debut on Sept. 3, 2002.
Atlanta Braves: Left-hander Armando Almanza agreed Monday to a $500,000, one-year contract two days after h was cut loose by the Florida Marlins.
Almanza, 31, was 4-5 with a 6.08 ERA in 51 games for the Marlins last year before he went the disabled list Aug. 21 with tendinitis in his pitching shoulder.
In five years, Almanza has a 13-12 record with a 4.79 ERA and two saves in 235 appearances.
Almanza would get an additional $100,000 if he is on the active roster next season and could earn $500,000 in performance bonuses.
To create room on the 40-man roster, left-hander Chris Waters was designated for assignment.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
