The Los Angeles Dodgers were working out a few final details Thursday with right-hander Jason Schmidt and outfielder Luis Gonzalez, hoping to finish up before the end of the winter meetings.
New Dodgers athletic trainer Stan Conte left Central Florida on Wednesday afternoon for Los Angeles to administer physicals on both players, a necessary procedure before either signing would become official.
Schmidt was nearing agreement on a three-year deal worth US$47 million, while Gonzalez was closing in on a one-year contract worth about $7.3 million to be the team's starting left fielder.
General manager Ned Colletti was productive on Day 3 of baseball's four-day swap session. He also agreed to terms with two-time all-star catcher Mike Lieberthal on a $1.25 million, one-year contract Wednesday.
Schmidt, a 33-year-old right-hander, went 11-9 with a 3.59 ERA in 32 starts this year for the Giants. The three-time all-star spent the last 5{ seasons in San Francisco and was the only one of seven remaining free agents offered arbitration by the team last Friday.
Schmidt pitched 213 1-3 innings last season, the third time in four years he went over the 200-inning mark.
``He's a Dodger,'' Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. ``He's no longer a Giant.''
Gonzalez, who delivered the winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series as Arizona stunned the New York Yankees, was told in September by the Diamondbacks that they would not bring him back in 2007. He's played for Arizona in eight seasons of the club's nine-year existence.
The 39-year-old Gonzalez, a five-time all-star, batted .271 for the second straight year, with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs in 153 games in 2006.
For Colletti, adding two key players to the roster is an important step after the Dodgers watched outfielder J.D. Drew and shortstop Julio Lugo leave for Boston on Tuesday. Then, four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux agreed to a $10 million, one-year contract with NL West rival San Diego.
``Anyone would certainly love to have him on their staff,'' Dodgers manager Grady Little said. ``I know they're proud they got him down there. He means a lot to everyone else in the clubhouse, and not just what he does on the field.''
Montreal native Eric Gagne, coming off elbow and back surgery, opted to test his value on the free-agent market rather than committing to the Dodgers. Gagne, one of baseball's best closers from 2002-04, appeared in only two games last season before his back operation in July.
The wild-card Dodgers were swept in three games by the New York Mets in the first round of the playoffs in Colletti's first season as a GM. Los Angeles has a 1-12 post-season record since winning the 1988 World Series _ and Colletti is serious about changing that.
He turned the franchise around in a hurry after the Dodgers went 71-91 in 2005 for their second-worst record since moving west from Brooklyn in 1958. The team hired Little to replace Jim Tracy.
