Major League Baseball

Dodgers reach deals with Kemp, Billingsley

Published Jan. 15, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Matt Kemp and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed Friday to a two-year, $10.95 million contract.

The move means Los Angeles avoids salary arbitration with Kemp, who batted .297 with 26 homers and 101 RBIs last season. He stole 34 bases and won his first Gold Glove in center field while improving on almost all of his offensive statistics from 2008, his first full big league campaign.

The Dodgers also avoided arbitration with right-hander Chad Billingsley, who agreed to a $3.85 million, one-year deal. Billingsley was an All-Star in 2009 with nine quick, early season wins, but he struggled in the second half and finished 12-11 with a 4.03 ERA for the NL West champions.

Although Billingsley led the Dodgers' ace-free rotation in victories, he didn't win in nine appearances after Aug. 18 and dropped out of manager Joe Torre's playoff rotation. He made his only playoff appearance in relief during Los Angeles' 11-0 loss to Philadelphia in Game 3 of the NL championship series.

Kemp will make $4 million in 2010 and $6.95 million in 2011, with the chance to earn about $500,000 more in performance bonuses during the contract. The Dodgers view Kemp as a rising star and a key part of their young core, leading them to make a rare multiyear contract offer to a young player.

Because the deal wasn't finalized by midafternoon, Kemp was among 128 major league players who filed for arbitration by Friday's deadline. Billingsley was not on the list.

The Dodgers have six other players in arbitration: outfielder Andre Ethier, catcher Russell Martin, first baseman James Loney and relievers Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo and George Sherrill.

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball