Baseball Notes | Orioles trade Tejada to Astros for 5 players

A blockbuster deal that sent former American League MVP Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros highlighted a busy day in baseball yesterday.

NL Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy signed an extension with the San Diego Padres; the Chicago Cubs reached agreement with Japanese free-agent outfielder Kosuke Fukudome on a four-year deal; the New York Yankees re-signed pitcher Andy Pettitte to a one-year, $16 million contract; and the San Francisco Giants signed former Phillies centerfielder Aaron Rowand to a five-year deal.

The Baltimore Orioles traded Tejada, a shortstop who was the 2002 American League MVP with the Oakland A's, for five players. Houston parted with outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Troy Patton, Matt Albers and Dennis Sarfate, and minor-league third-base prospect Mike Costanzo.

Costanzo, a graduate of Archbishop Carroll High, was the Phillies' No. 1 draft choice in 2005 when current Astros general manager Ed Wade was the Phils' GM. Costanzo was sent to Houston last month in the trade that brought Brad Lidge to the Phillies.

Tejada, who has two years remaining on his six-year, $72 million contract, batted .296 with 18 home runs and 81 RBIs in 2007.

Peavy agreed to a three-year extension that will keep the 26-year-old righthander in San Diego through at least 2012. He led the National League with 19 wins and 240 strikeouts and was the unanimous choice for the award as the NL's best pitcher.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the San Diego Union Tribune reported that it was worth $52 million.

Chicago acquired Fukudome, an outfielder who batted .305 during his nine-year career with the Chunichi Dragons. He twice led Japan's Central League in batting average and was the league's MVP in 2006.

Fukudome, 30, is recovering from right-elbow surgery that ended his season in August. He will undergo a medical exam in Chicago next week before the contract becomes official. The deal is worth $48 million to $50 million, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Pettitte again delayed retirement and agreed to return to the Yankees next season. The 35-year-old lefthander did not rule out playing in New York when the club's new stadium opens in 2009. He went 15-9 with a 4.05 ERA last season.

Yesterday also was the deadline for teams to offer their players contracts or let them become free agents. The biggest name among those who did not get an offer was former 18-game winner Mark Prior of the Cubs.

Among those who became free agents were outfielder Emil Brown (Kansas City), pitcher Chad Durbin (Detroit), outfielder Jason Tyner (Minnesota), pitcher Mark Hendrickson (Dodgers), infielder Dallas McPherson (Angels) and Chicago White Sox infielder Andy Gonzalez and pitcher Heath Phillips.

Pirates.

Chris Gomez, a 15-year veteran utility infielder who split last season between Baltimore and Cleveland, agreed to a $1 million, one-year contract with Pittsburgh.

Brewers.

Righthanded relievers Seth McClung and Greg Aquino agreed to one-year contracts with Milwaukee. Both pitched for the Brewers in 2007.

Dodgers.

Jeff Kent will return to play a fourth season for Los Angeles, agent Jeff Klein said in an e-mail.

Kent, who turns 40 in March, is baseball's career leader in home runs by a second baseman. Kent has 365 homers and 537 doubles, making him one of 16 major-leaguers to reach 350 homers and 500 doubles. He has a lifetime batting average of .290.

Centerfielder Andruw Jones, who agreed to terms last week, finalized his $36.2 million, two-year contract.

Nationals.

Righthanders John Patterson, Luis Ayala and Ryan Wagner avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to 2008 contracts with Washington.

The team said it did not plan to offer deals to centerfielder Nook Logan or lefthander Mike O'Connor.

Cardinals.

St. Louis signed the son of Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson and the younger brother of reliever Randy Flores.

The 28-year-old Ron Flores, a lefthander like his brother, was signed to a minor-league contract. The Cardinals purchased the contract of Chris Gibson, an outfielder, from the Gateway Grizzlies of the Independent Frontier League.

Tigers.

Lefthander Tim Byrdak and Detroit avoided arbitration when they agreed to a $712,500, one-year deal.

A's.

Lefthander Lenny DiNardo, 28, agreed to a one-year contract with Oakland. He went went 8-10 with a 4.11 ERA for the Athletics in 2007.

Marlins.

Team officials are considering a revised proposal for a $525 million ballpark on the site of the Orange Bowl that includes increased long-term county costs and a large, upfront contribution from the team. According to details of the revised proposal, the Marlins would pay $155 million upfront.

The new proposal includes a non-relocation agreement and a 37,000-seat, retractable-roof ballpark that would open by April 2011 and a parking garage that the city would build.

Cubs.

The Tribune Co. said it anticipates closing on the sale of the baseball team as well as its stake in the local Comcast sports channel during the first half of next year.

A commitment to a Cubs sale was a condition that needed to be met in order for Tribune to be taken private in an $8.2 billion buyout led by real estate magnate Sam Zell.

Analysts have said the Cubs could fetch as much as $1 billion if packaged with Wrigley Field.