Royals sign ex-Redbird Grudzielanek to 1-year deal

The second baseman signed for $4 million.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A simple second-to-first ground ball out could be a real challenge for broadcasters in Kansas City next year.

The Royals agreed Friday to one-year contracts with second baseman Mark Grudzielanek and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz.

Trying to rebound from a team-record 106-loss season, the Royals also agreed to an $8 million, two-year deal with pitcher Scott Elarton and finalized their agreement with backup catcher Paul Bako.

Mientkiewicz, a former Gold Glove first baseman best known for taking the ball from the final out of Boston's World Series win in 2004, gets a $1.85 million deal with $700,000 in performance bonuses based on games and plate appearances.

Grudzielanek's contract calls for a $4 million salary next season. If he has 500 plate appearances, he gets a $3 million player option for 2007.

The 35-year-old hit .294 with eight homers and 59 RBIs last season in helping St. Louis win the NL Central. He led NL second basemen in fielding percentage (.990) and double plays (108).

"Defensively, I can't say enough good things about Grudzielanek," general manager Allard Baird said. "Mientkiewicz, his defensive ability we feel very good about. We think he's a winner."

Mientkiewicz, who turns 31 in June, is a career .268 hitter with 55 homers and 305 RBIs. Bothered by a hamstring injury, he hit .240 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs in 275 at-bats for the Mets last season.

The 29-year-old Elarton gets $4 million annually. He was 11-9 with a 4.61 ERA last season with Cleveland, making a career-high 31 starts.

Bako, 33, played in 13 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year before a knee injury May 26 ended his season. He gets a $700,000, one-year contract.

Mariners pursue Washburn

The Seattle Mariners are nearing a four-year deal with free-agent pitcher Jarrod Washburn, filling the team's need for another veteran arm in the starting rotation.

Washburn, who was fourth in the American League with a 3.20 ERA last season, was close to a four-year deal worth between $35 and 40 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press Friday night, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet in place.

After spending his first seven years with the Angels, Washburn became a free agent on Dec. 7 after the Angels declined arbitration for the 31-year-old left-hander.

Last year, Washburn went 8-8 and made 29 starts. He has a career record of 75-57 and a 3.93 ERA, but has won more than 11 games only once.

Boston still seeks ball

Doug Mientkiewicz and the Red Sox are going to arbitration to decide who owns the ball from the final out of Boston's 2004 World Series victory.

On the same day Mientkiewicz finalized a contract with the Kansas City Royals, the Red Sox agreed to dismiss the lawsuit they filed last month asking for the Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts to order that the ball be returned to the team.

Instead, the commissioner's office filed a grievance Friday. Unless settled, the case will be heard by arbitrator Shyam Das.

Red Sox lawyer Frank Coonelly said the grievance argues that "Mr. Mientkiewicz has no ownership interest in the ball."

Mientkiewicz was the Red Sox first baseman when pitcher Keith Foulke threw the ball to him on Oct. 27, 2004, for the final out of Boston's four-game sweep of St. Louis, the first Series title for the Red Sox since 1918.

Mientkiewicz took the ball with him and, after the team asked for it back, he agreed last January to loan the special sphere to the club for a year. The players' association said as part of Friday's agreement, Mientkiewicz waived a provision requiring the Red Sox to return the ball to Mientkiewicz by Jan. 1.

-- From wire reports