From Our Press Services

LOS ANGELES — Matt Kemp and the Los Angeles Dodgers staked their futures together Friday, finalizing a $160 million, eight-year contract that matches the seventh-highest deal in baseball history.

“This is very special for me,” Kemp said. “It’s a joy to be known as a Dodger.”

It’s the richest agreement in club history, topping pitcher Kevin Brown’s $105 million, seven-year deal before the 1999 season.

The 27-year-old, a favorite to win the N.L. MVP award next week, led the league in homers (39) and RBI (126), while finishing third in batting average at .324 and stealing 40 bases.

Kemp’s agreement trails only the last two contracts of Alex Rodriguez ($275 million and $252 million), and deals for Derek Jeter ($189 million), Joe Mauer ($184 million), Mark Teixeira ($180 million) and CC Sabathia ($161 million) and matches the agreement Manny Ramirez signed with Boston before the 2001 season.

In other developments

Cubs announce manager: Dale Sveum was introduced Friday as the Chicago Cubs’ new manager, rejoining Theo Epstein to attempt to end a 103-year World Series championship drought.

Sveum — pronounced swaym — received a three-year deal with an option for 2015 as the Cubs try to reshape their entire operation.

Sveum, the Milwaukee Brewers’ hitting coach the last three years, was Boston’s third base coach in 2004 and 2005 when Epstein was the general manager of the Red Sox. Epstein became Chicago’s president of baseball operations last month, and former Red Sox executives Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod joined the Cubs’ front office Nov. 1.

MLB players, owners reach deal, report says: Baseball players and owners have reached a tentative verbal agreement on a five-year labor contract and hope to have a signed deal by next week.

Negotiators reached an understanding when they met Thursday at the InterContinental O’Hare in Rosemont, Ill., a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the agreement still was being drafted.

The sides hope to sign a memorandum of understanding in time to announce the agreement Monday or Tuesday. The last item to fall in place was the luxury tax on high payroll teams.

Briefly: Bobby Valentine says he has spoken with the Red Sox about their vacant managerial position. The Red Sox are seeking a replacement for Terry Francona. They’ve interviewed Philadelphia bench coach Pete Mackanin, Sveum, Cleveland first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Toronto first-base coach Torey Lovullo and Detroit third-base coach Gene Lamont. … Catcher Gerald Laird is returning to the Detroit Tigers, agreeing to a $1 million, one-year contract. Laird hit .232 with one home run and 12 RBI in 37 games last season for the St. Louis Cardinals.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kuo Hong-chih underwent
arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow Friday to remove a loose body and scar
tissue.

The Dodgers said the surgery in Los Angeles went as expected and the
Taiwanese left-hander is scheduled to start physical therapy in five days. He
will begin his throwing program in six to eight weeks and be ready in time for
spring training.

DENVER — Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp returned to the starting lineup on Saturday night against the Colorado Rockies after testing his left hamstring during an early workout and later during batting practice.

Kemp ran in the outfield and took fly balls before determining that the injury that caused him to be scratched from Friday night’s lineup just before game time had sufficiently healed.

Kemp pinch hit in the ninth inning of that game and drove a home run, his 19th of the season, onto the concourse beyond the leftfield bleachers. The ball then bounced over a concession stand and into the Rockies players’ parking lot below.

Meanwhile, Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake was out of the lineup because of a pinched nerve in his neck. He is listed as day to day.

Kemp said he had no plans to change the way he plays center field or runs the bases to protect the hamstring.

“It’s kind of hard to take it easy out there,” he said. “Me, I always try to go as hard as I can. You know when to run hard and when not to run hard.”

Kemp leads the Dodgers in practically every offensive category and entered play Saturday leading the National League in home runs, third in hitting (.332) and second in RBIs (54). He had started all but one game before Friday night.

By pinch hitting in the ninth, he extended the longest consecutive games-played streak in the majors to 269, but his absence through the first eight innings left a huge hole in what already is a less-than-imposing lineup.

“He has been so hot and so good, it’s a really different lineup with him not in there,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “We really don’t have another four-hole guy.”

Blake has been experiencing neck soreness for the past couple of days, Mattingly said, and he felt it while fielding a bunt during Friday night’s game. There are no medical tests scheduled for Blake at this point.

Blake already has been on the 15-day disabled list twice this season, first with an injury to his back and later with a staph infection in his left elbow that required surgery.

Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Follow Tony Jackson on Twitter: @dodgerscribe

The Los Angeles Dodgers had a salary arbitration hearing with James Loney scheduled for next Friday in Phoenix, but that won’t be necessary as Loney and the Dodgers have agreed to a one-year contract worth $4.875 million.

By Eric Stephen – Editor

Read More: James Loney (1B – LOS), Los Angeles Dodgers

Follow , and Like SB Nation Los Angeles on Facebook.

Feb 11, 2011 - The Los Angeles Dodgers had a salary arbitration hearing with James Loney scheduled for next Friday in Phoenix, but that won’t be necessary. Loney and the Dodgers have agreed to a one-year contract worth $4.875 million, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Loney was asking for a salary of $5.25 million through arbitration, while the Dodgers filed at a figure of $4.7 million. The base salary Loney agreed to is $100,000 below the midpoint of those two figures.

Loney made $3.1 million last season, his first year of arbitration eligibility. After two successive years with exactly 13 home runs and 90 RBI, Loney hit 10 homers and drove in 88 runs in 2010, hitting .267/.329/.395. It was the second straight season with a slugging percentage under .400 for the first baseman. Loney has one more year of arbitration eligibility, in 2012, before qualifying for free agency.

The Dodgers are all finished with salary arbitration, and now have 20 players signed for 2011 for a total of $92.05 million. Factoring in deferred salaries and option buyouts to players no longer around, the total Dodger paryoll will settle in at approximately $110 million. Dodger pitchers and catchers report on February 16, with their first workout scheduled February 17. The rest of the team is scheduled to report February 21, with the first full squad workout on February 22.

For more news and information on James Loney and the Dodgers, be sure to read True Blue LA.