LAS VEGAS — Francisco Rodriguez became the first top-tier free agent to reach an agreement when he decided to join the New York Mets, Kerry Wood was close to a deal with Cleveland at the winter meetings and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman traveled to California to meet again with CC Sabathia.
Coming off a record 62 saves for the Los Angeles Angels, Rodriguez reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday on a $37 million, three-year contract with the Mets, desperate for bullpen help.
The sides still have to work out a written agreement and the pitcher must pass a physical, two people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract had not yet been completed.
“He’s pretty special,” said Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre, familiar with K-Rod from his days managing the New York Yankees. “You got tired of looking at him in October. I mean, he had a lot of success against us and he’s certainly that dominant guy out there, and he’s very durable.”
Rodriguez’s deal is unlikely to be finalized before next week.
“The way that we lost so many close games late, I think that was critical for us to — theoretically — address this thing here. We have addressed it very well,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said, laughing. “I mean, they say the word on the street is good. It’s good. That’s just the word on the street. We’ve got to get it written down.”
Cleveland was closing in on a two-year contract with Wood, the former Chicago Cubs starter-turned-reliever, a person familiar with that deal said on condition of anonymity because the sides still were working through details. Wood, who has had numerous injury problems in the past, also needs to pass a physical before the deal can be completed.
The Yankees made a six-year offer to Sabathia on Nov. 14 worth about $140 million and met with him on Sunday and Monday. Cashman’s daily briefing with reporters was canceled by the team Tuesday, with spokesman Jason Zillo saying, “Brian is off hotel property and unavailable for the rest of the evening.”
Cashman’s trip to California was disclosed by a baseball official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t say where the GM had gone. Cashman traveled after being invited by Sabathia, the official said.
A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe likely will wait for Sabathia to make a decision before striking deals of their own. Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez also could become lengthy negotiations.
“We’re just waiting to see what happens with Teixeira and Sabathia,” Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, strolling casually through the Bellagio lobby.
In the second trade of the four-day session, the Cincinnati Reds acquired catcher Ramon Hernandez and cash from the Baltimore Orioles for utilityman Ryan Freel and two minor leaguers.
“Ramon is a guy we put high on our list and stayed with it,” Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. “We set our offseason objectives and one of the big things for us was to try to acquire a quality catcher. We felt there was something that we were lacking last year.”
The Dodgers completed a $17.5 million, three-year contract with third baseman Casey Blake and reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year deal with infielder Mark Loretta, pending a physical.
So far this offseason, teams are being more cautious about spending money on players, causing agents to play a waiting game to determine whether prices will go up.
“I would suspect that it has mostly to do with the economy and both sides trying to gauge what impact that should have on the market,” San Diego Padres chief executive officer Sandy Alderson said. “We are more mindful of the economy than we have been in the past.”
Sabathia told Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti that he wants to join Los Angeles, and Torre called the lefty “the pearl,” saying his statement “teases you.”
The Yankees offered Sabathia a six-year contract for about $140 million, a record for a pitcher, but he may prefer to avoid New York’s fishbowl atmosphere.
“It didn’t impact me until I was there a few years to watch, just players change from what you thought they were to, you know, what they became in New York,” Torre said. “They weren’t as comfortable as they appeared that they would be. And that’s what New York does to you.”
The Yankees spoke with the agents for Burnett, saying they were prepared to exceed $60 million over four years, and they examined the medical records of Ben Sheets.
Also:
— World Series champion Philadelphia exercised manager Charlie Manuel’s 2010 option and added a guaranteed salary for 2011.
— MLB announced it will toughen rules on bat manufacturing for 2009 to reduce broken bats and will double the authorization fee to $10,000 per supplier.
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AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick, AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley and AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.
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