Kennedy signs deal with Cardinals

Adam Kennedy will join the center fielder he was traded for and the shortstop he won a World Series championship with after signing a three-year, $10-million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, officially ending his seven-year career with the Angels.

Kennedy, who underwent a physical in St. Louis on Tuesday, was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 1997 draft before being traded, along with pitcher Kent Bottenfield, to the Angels for center fielder Jim Edmonds in 2000. Edmonds recently signed a two-year deal to remain in St. Louis.

Kennedy’s double-play partner in St. Louis will be David Eckstein, the Angels’ shortstop and leadoff batter during their 2002 World Series championship run and the Cardinals’ World Series most valuable player in October.

Kennedy, whose contract calls for salaries of $2.5 million next year, $3.5 million in 2008 and $4 million in 2009, spoke with Eckstein before deciding on the Cardinals and said Eckstein played an integral role in his signing.

“He was all pumped up,” Kennedy said of Eckstein. “The general manager called him and said, ‘Do you want to play with him? Is this a good move?’ He told him what he thought, and here we are. He had a big part in this.”

-- Mike DiGiovanna

The Cardinals also agreed to a $4-million, one-year deal with right-hander Kip Wells. Wells was 1-5 with a 6.69 earned-run average for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then was traded to Texas on July 31 and went 1-0 in two starts with the Rangers.

Alfonso Soriano will be paid $18 million annually in the final five years of his $136-million, eight-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, the fifth-richest contract in baseball history.

Soriano’s deal gives him a complete no-trade provision and guarantees a suite on Cubs trips, according to contract information obtained by the Associated Press. In addition, Soriano is guaranteed six premium tickets for each home game during spring training, regular season and the postseason -- and for the All-Star game if he is selected.

Soriano receives an $8-million signing bonus and will get a $9-million salary next season. His salary increases to $13 million in 2008 and $16 million in 2009, then goes up to $18 million from 2010 to 2014. Soriano will be 38 in the final year of the deal.

The New York Yankees won the bidding rights for Japanese pitcher Kei Igawa when the Hanshin Tigers accepted their offer of about $26 million.

The Yankees have until midnight Dec. 28 to work out a contract with the 27-year-old left-hander. The Yankees pay Hanshin only if they reach an agreement for Igawa.

Igawa went 14-9 last season with a 2.97 ERA in Japan.

The Boston Red Sox cannot reduce their $51.1-million bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka to sign him, even if his Japanese team agrees to take less, officials said.

“There are no side deals in the situation,” said Jimmie Lee Solomon, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner’s office.

A Red Sox official said the team was not trying to reduce the bid, called a posting fee, which was by far the highest in baseball history.

Gregg Zaun remained with the Toronto Blue Jays, agreeing to a $7.25-million, two-year contract. Zaun batted .272 with 12 home runs and 40 runs batted in last season.... Reliever Brian Shouse and the Milwaukee Brewers avoided salary arbitration when they agreed to a one-year contract that guarantees the left-hander $975,000.... The Baltimore Orioles reached preliminary agreements on a $10.5-million, three-year contract with reliever Chad Bradford and a $900,000, one-year deal with reliever Scott Williamson.

OLYMPICS

Skicross to be added to Vancouver Games

The rough-and-tumble freestyle event of skicross is in for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Women’s ski jumping will have to wait to be considered for 2014.

The International Olympic Committee approved skicross -- similar to snowboard cross -- for the Vancouver Games but rejected women’s jumping and five other events during meetings in Kuwait City.

The IOC executive board also overhauled the process for selecting sports for future Summer Games, and partially lifted its freeze on payments to the international amateur boxing association to encourage reforms in judging and scoring.

MISCELLANY

Williams denies agreeing to match

Venus Williams insists she never committed to play against men in a 2001 “Battle of the Sexes” event, and such a splashy exhibition did not interest her.

“That wasn’t my thing,” she testified in a breach-of-contract lawsuit in West Palm Beach, Fla. “I’m a professional women’s tennis player. I want to play serious tennis.”

Williams spent a second day on the witness stand in a lawsuit brought by promoters Carol Clarke and Keith Rhodes.

Training partners Sanya Richards and Jeremy Wariner won the Jesse Owens Award as the top USA Track & Field athletes of the year.

The 2007 Amgen Tour of California cycling race will take place from Feb. 18 to 25 and will finish in Long Beach after a stop in Santa Clarita.