Brewers agree to deal with Ramirez
<p>Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Moore talks to reporters during a baseball news conference announcing his new contract with the Rays on Friday in St. Petersburg.</p>
The Milwaukee Brewers agreed to terms with free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez on Monday, agent Paul Kinzer said.
Ramirez will provide a much-needed big bat for the Brewers, who are expected to lose first baseman Prince Fielder through free agency and may be without NL MVP Ryan Braun for the first 50 games of next season if he loses his appeal for testing positive for a banned substance.
The 33-year-old Ramirez played 149 games for the NL Central rival Chicago Cubs last year, batting .306 with 26 home runs and 93 RBIs. Ramirez played the past eight-plus seasons with the Cubs after he was traded by Pittsburgh to Chicago in the middle of the 2003 season.
• Moore's $14M deal with Rays heavily backloaded: Matt Moore's $14 million, five-year contract with Tampa Bay is heavily backloaded, with the team paying a total of $3.5 million over the next three years.
Moore's deal would be worth $37.5 million over eight seasons and includes escalators that could increase the total to $39.75 million depending on starts and innings from 2014-18.
The deal calls for a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $1 million in each of the next three seasons. Moore's salary rises to $3 million in 2015 and $5 million in 2016.
Tampa Bay has a $7 million option for 2017 with a $2.5 million buyout. If that option is exercised, the Rays have a $9 million option for 2018 with a $1 million buyout.
A hard-throwing 22-year-old, Moore made his major league debut in mid-September and went 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA in one start and two relief appearances.
Moore started Tampa Bay's AL division series opener against Texas, throwing seven shutout innings to become the youngest pitcher to start and win a team's first game of the postseason.
• Phillies trade OF Ben Francisco to Blue Jays: Philadelphia traded outfielder Ben Francisco to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday for minor league left-hander Frank Gailey.
Francisco spent parts of three seasons with the Phillies, hitting .259 with 17 home runs and 75 RBIs in 225 games. He hit a three-run, pinch-hit homer to lead the Phillies past St. Louis in Game 3 of the 2011 NL division series. The Cardinals won the series in five games.
Gailey, a 26-year-old native of Philadelphia, split last season between Single-A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire. He was 5-6 with a 3.41 ERA in 45 relief appearances. He is 23-15 with a 2.45 ERA in 175 games in his minor league career.
• Cardinals, Furcal reach $14M, 2-year deal: The St. Louis Cardinals and shortstop Rafael Furcal have agreed to a $14 million, two-year contract, keeping the switch-hitter with the World Series champions after they picked him up at the July trade deadline.
The deal is pending a physical. A team spokesman said Monday night that the Cardinals hope to finalize the contract this week.
Furcal would get a signing bonus of $1 million with salaries of $6 million next year and $7 million in 2013.
n Astros sign Quintero; say Castro had surgery: The Houston Astros have signed catcher Humberto Quintero to a one-year, $1 million contract plus bonuses.
The deal allows the Astros to avoid arbitration with the 32-year-old who hit .240 with two home runs and a career-high 25 RBIs in 79 games last season.
Also on Monday, Houston announced that catcher Jason Castro had surgery on his left foot. The team expects Castro's recovery to take about three months.
• Rockies agree to 2-year deal with Hernandez: Colorado bolstered its depth at catcher, agreeing to a two-year deal with veteran Ramon Hernandez.
Hernandez played the last three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. He hit .282 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs last season.
• Angels re-sign Williams: Los Angeles re-signed right-hander Jerome Williams to a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.
The Angels made the deal Monday with Williams, the veteran starter who surprisingly excelled in the final weeks of the regular season.
Williams is likely to compete for the Angels' fifth starter spot in spring training. Los Angeles has one of baseball's deepest rotations after signing C.J. Wilson last week.
Williams went 4-0 with a 3.68 ERA in 10 appearances for Los Angeles, including six starts.