Beck Agrees to Return to the Padres

Rod Beck will be back with the San Diego Padres in 2004, this time as Trevor Hoffman’s setup man, after agreeing Saturday to a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $1.85 million.

Beck considered an offer to become the closer for the Colorado Rockies but returned to the Padres after they added incentives to their offer.

Beck’s deal calls for a $1.75-million salary next season with a club option for the same amount in 2005, or a $100,000 buyout.

“Having two bona fide closers on our club will be a real plus,” General Manager Kevin Towers said.

The 35-year-old Beck goes into next season knowing that Hoffman, who returned from two shoulder surgeries that sidelined him for the first five months of last season, will be the closer.

Hoffman, fifth on the all-time list with 352 saves, agreed last month to a discounted new contract worth $2.5 million, plus $500,000 in incentives. The Padres, who move into a new downtown ballpark in April, bought out his $10 million option for $2 million.

San Diego signed Beck on June 2 to help stabilize a struggling bullpen. He responded by converting all 20 save chances to pull within 14 of his goal of 300.

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The New York Mets spent Saturday awaiting an answer from Kazuo Matsui on whether he’ll accept the team’s offer of a three-year contract for about $20 million, a source told Associated Press.

While the Mets thought they were on the verge of an agreement based on conversations with the shortstop’s agent, Matsui hadn’t signed off on the deal, a baseball official with knowledge of the negotiations said on condition of anonymity.

The Mets didn’t think they were likely to hear an answer until today or Monday, the official said, adding that the time difference between the United States and Japan complicated talks.

Matsui is a seven-time All-Star and a three-time Golden Glove winner in Japan; he hit .305 with 33 home runs and 84 RBIs last season for the Seibu Lions.

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The Montreal Expos have offered outfielder Vladimir Guerrero a five-year contract and hope he will accept before tonight’s deadline for the team to offer him salary arbitration, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported.

The offer, a likely last-gasp attempt to keep Guerrero on a team he says he is comfortable with, comes days after the Expos cleared millions from their payroll by trading ace Javier Vazquez to the New York Yankees.

The Expos previously offered, and then withdrew, a five-year contract to Guerrero worth $75 million. The value of the new contract is believed to be similar.

The Angels and Baltimore Orioles have discussed the parameters of a contract with Guerrero, but neither club has made a formal offer.

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Times staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this report