With only hours remaining in Los Angeles' negotiation period, Kazuhisa Ishii signed with the Dodgers. The base portion of the contract is for four years and $12.3 million. It includes a club options on two additional years at $3.3M and $4M respectively. The buyout for each option is $1.1M. His base salary will be $500K in 2002, $2.2M in 2003, $2.6M in 2004, and $3.2M in 2005. In addition to that, he can earn up to $150K in IP performance bonuses each year of the contract. He also reportedly received a $1.5M signing bonus, a $25K annual housing allowance, 10 roundtrip plane ticket from the US to Japan per year, a trainer, and a translator.

On top of the monetary provisions included in the contract, Ishii also negotiated a no-trade clause. The Dodgers cannot trade Ishii to any team in 2002, and following this season, each year he can chose 10 teams to which he cannot be traded without his consent.

I made some assessments of Ishii's potential when we first learned that the Dodgers had won the bidding for the rights to negotiate with him. Those can be reviewed here. The basic consensus is that he projects to no worse than a number three starter, although I still tend towards my original assessment that he is a number three at best. While he's posted solid strikeout rates and over 2 K/BB, his walk rate is too high, especially compared to the standard number for his former league.

Ishii does have several things going for him. He's left-handed. He has 10 years of experience in the Japanese leagues and is only 28-years-old, so he should be right in the midst of his prime and has had ample time to refine his skills.

Considering all of this, I would say that LA has likely secured a probable bargain. The salary is really not that high and the option years are well positioned so that if he fades quickly, they are not tied to him for too long.

Damian Miller signed a one-year $2.65 million contract with the Diamondbacks on Friday. While Arizona did well to avoid going to arbitration with Miller, especially after the defeat he handed them at last season's hearing, this contract is still a disappointment considering that I'd previously read that the Diamondbacks wanted to sign both Miller and Miguel Batista to long-term deals this off-season. Batista was seemingly amenable to their plans, but at their proposed prices, Miller obviously was not interested. Miller has been steadily improving the last few years and is entering a stage in his career when many players see a power spike. Arizona should be very happy with the 20 plus home runs he hits this year and quite displeased when he requests upwards of $4M for 2003.

Midre Cummings and Izzy Alcantara signed minor league deals with Milwaukee on Friday. Though I don't really expect either player to make the Brewers' Opening Day roster, both of these acquisitions are fairly good pick-ups. Milwaukee is likely to suffer at least one injury in their outfield this season considering the fragility of players like Jeffrey Hammonds and Geoff Jenkins, and both of the new guys provide decent AAA insurance. Alcantara hits extremely well against lefties and would make a good platoon partner for Matt Stairs if Alex Ochoa's role were expanded to cover for an injury in CF or LF. Cummings is a capable center fielder and would make a solid a back-up if needed.

On Friday, Pat Rapp signed a minor league contract with Pittsburgh. I do think he will be a valuable addition to that ballclub as someone who can eat innings at a level approaching league average, although I don't believe that the Pirates should start the season with Rapp on the roster. (When you think of innings' eaters, don't you also wind up picturing a given pitcher in place of Pac-Man on screen, with non-pitch counting managers like LaRussa, Baker, Baylor, and Garner in place of the ghosts?) He should be able to sub in case of injury and prevent Pittsburgh from overburdening their youngsters with heavy workloads. Considering his history and the current state of the Pirates' rotation, he does have a good shot at making the team out of Spring Training.

The Cardinals signed Al Martin to a minor league deal on Friday. While St. Louis has a history of leaving their minor league signings in the minors, Martin could stand in the way of playing time for Bill Ortega. However, at this point I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cardinals carry 12 pitchers, eliminating the roster space for both players outside of injury. I am a little concerned with the unsavory flavor the team is acquiring with first Mike DiFelice and now Martin.

Speaking of former St. Louis minor league signings, Shane Andrews recently signed a minor league deal with Boston. Andrews had battled back problems and other injuries for much of his career, and after a mostly lost year on the north side of Chicago, spent all of last season in the minors for the Cardinals. If healthy, he could be an interesting addition to the Red Sox, who really should be looking to upgrade at 3B.

Norm Charlton was released by the Mariners on Friday. Charlton is 39 and out for the season after surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff. At this point, he was basically just occupying space on Seattle's roster that needed to be given to someone with a future in the sport. They could have just moved him off the roster to the 60-day DL, but this move likely leaves him without access to team rehab facilities, placing another comeback attempt in serious question. I doubt that he will return to baseball.