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Heyman_jon
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The Indians, Pirates and Mets, who have long had interest in Cooperstown-bound pitcher Pedro Martinez, have been joined by the Dodgers. And according to Martinez's agent Fern Cuza, a couple more additional teams have recently entered the mix.

Martinez apparently sparked extra interest with a scoreless cameo for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

But while executives with four different teams tell SI.com that they're interested at some price, that price still may not be Pedro's price, which is between $5 million and $8 million, according to those executives.

Heyman_jon
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Manny Ramirez's new $45-million, two-year Dodgers deal is worth $42,005,723 according to the union filing obtained by SI.com.

Ramirez is to be paid $25 million for 2009 and $20 million for 2010. But the actual payouts are as follows: $10 million in '09, $10 million in '10, $8.33 million in '11, $8.33 million in '12 and $8.33 million in '13. He is to receive no interest on the deferred payments, bringing the value down nearly $3 million from $45 million to $42 million.

For Ramirez, the key is the ability to void thee contract after 2009, at which point he can become a free agent.

A full no-trade provision is also in the contract.

Heyman_jon
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Free agent pitcher Rodrigo Lopez signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, SI.com has learned.

Lopez last pitched in the major leagues with Colorado in 2007, going 5-4 in 14 starts with a 4.42 ERA.

Heyman_jon
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Manny Ramirez is flying to Los Angeles for a face-to-face meeting with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt amid great optimism that a deal can finally be forged.

The Manny-McCourt meeting is expected to be the ultimate step in finalizing the long-discussed two-year, $45 million contract with a player opt-out clause after one, assuming all goes well. Negotiations have been contentious at times, and the main parties apparently want to meet to patch up their differences before spending the next one or two years together.

Ramirez's travel plans suggest an extremely positive development in the ultra-difficult negotiations between the mercurial superstar and the storied franchise.

Heyman_jon
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Free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera has agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract with the Oakland A's, SI.com has confirmed.

Cabrera hit .281 with 57 RBIs and 93 runs in 161 games last season for the White Sox.

This has been an active offseason for the Athletics, who traded for Matt Holliday and brought back Jason Giambi with a one-year deal.

Oakland will be the fifth team Cabrera has played for during his 11-year career. He's a .274 career hitter and has won two Gold Gloves.

Yahoo! Sports first reported the agreement.

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