Proctor Signs; Biemel Heads to Arbitration

Reliever Scott Proctor agreed to terms on a one-year contract for $1.115 million on Sunday, leaving the Dodgers with Joe Beimel as their only remaining arbitration-eligible player.

Proctor, 30, had been asking for $1.3 million, with the Dodgers offering $930,000. He earned $445,923 last year, when he appeared in 52 games for the Yankees and 31 games after being acquired by the Dodgers.

Beimel is seeking $2.125 million and the Dodgers are offering $1.7 million. Last year, Beimel was the only Dodgers player to reach a hearing. He lost and was awarded $912,500 instead of the $1.25 million he sought.

The Dodgers acquired Proctor, 31, in a trading-deadline deal with the New York Yankees last summer. He made 31 appearances after the trade, going 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA. He held opposing batters to a .216 average while pitching primarily in a middle-innings role.

"We are very happy that we agreed to terms with Scott," said Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng, who handles all negotiations with arbitration-eligible players. "We felt that he was a nice addition to our ballclub after we acquired him in July, and we think he is going to add to a strong bullpen this year."

A right-hander, Proctor probably will continue to work mostly in the sixth and seventh innings, bridging the gap to setup man Jonathan Broxton and closer Takashi Saito. Proctor, who made $445,923 last year, was arbitration-eligible for the first time.

Beimel, 30, took the Dodgers to a hearing last winter and lost, leaving him with a $912,500 contract for 2007.

It was the club's first actual hearing since the Eric Gagné case in 2004, when Gagné lost and had to accept a $5 million deal rather than the $8 million he was seeking after he converted 55 consecutive save opportunities and won the National League Cy Young Award in 2003.

Beimel's ERA rose by almost a run, from 2.96 in 2006 to a still-solid 3.88 in a career-high 83 appearances in 2007.

Furthermore, by simply settling at the midpoint of $1.925 million, he still would get a raise of more than $1 million - not bad for a situational lefty.

Beimel will be eligible for free agency next winter because he has five-plus years of major-league service.