Pettitte leaves Astros to return to Yankees; Clemens may follow

NEW YORK -- Andy Pettitte is headed back to the New York Yankees.

Pettitte and the Yankees reached a preliminary agreement Friday on a $16 million, one-year contract, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced.

The deal includes a $16 million player option for 2008, meaning Pettitte is guaranteed $32 million if he exercises the option. He must pass a physical for the agreement to be finalized.

Pettitte, 34, pitched for the Yankees from 1995 to 2003 and played a key role as they won four World Series titles.

Pettitte then departed to sign with his hometown Astros. The lefty spent the last three years in Houston and, joined by former Yankees teammate Roger Clemens, helped the Astros reach the World Series for the first time in 2005.

With the decision by Pettitte to return to New York, it's possible Clemens could re-sign with the Yankees, too.

Pettitte was 14-13 with a 4.20 ERA last season.

Schmidt opts for Dodgers

LOS ANGELES -- Jason Schmidt and the Los Angeles Dodgers finalized their $47 million, three-year contract Friday.

The 33-year-old right-hander spent the last 51/2 seasons with the San Francisco Giants, going 11-9 with a 3.59 ERA in 32 starts during 2006. A three-time All Star, he also had been sought by the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the past six seasons, Schmidt struck out 1,142 batters, fifth in the major leagues behind Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and Javier Vazquez.

The Dodgers also finalized a one-year deal with five-time All-Star Luis Gonzalez, whose deal is worth about $7.35 million.

The 39-year-old Gonzalez played in 153 games for Arizona last season, the ninth time in the past 10 years that he has appeared in 145 games or more. He committed only one error in 150 games in left field and hit .271, with 15 homers and 73 RBIs.

Bonds stays with Giants

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Barry Bonds is headed back to the San Francisco Giants, agreeing to a $16 million, one-year deal just hours after the winter meetings ended with just one major trade and only a handful of free-agent signings.

While most team executives packed up and left Thursday, the Giants kept trying to re-sign the 42-year-old slugger. Bonds has 734 home runs and is 22 from breaking Hank Aaron's record.

Bonds and the Giants wound up with a deal that includes performance bonuses that could make it worth a total of $20 million.

Bonds has played 14 seasons for the Giants and is coming off a $90 million, five-year contract. He is a seven-time NL MVP.

Royals land Dotel

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Reliever Octavio Dotel and the Kansas City Royals reached a preliminary agreement on a $5 million, one-year contract.

Dotel, 33, has missed most of the last 11/2 seasons because of an elbow injury. He has a 37-31 record and a 3.75 ERA in eight seasons with the New York Mets, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics and Yankees.

-- AP