LA wrapped up the bulk of their holiday shopping on Saturday, signing 1B-L Fred McGriff to a one-year, $3.75M contract. After dealing 1B-R Eric Karros to the Cubs in early December, the Dodgers wanted to bring in a first baseman rather than rely on a collection of bench players or 1B-R Chin-Feng Chen to cover the position. Now through free agency, the Cubs' 2002 first baseman has come to LA.

At 39, McGriff has certainly displayed signs of decline, and I expect he'll retire following the season in which he reaches 500 career homers. However, if he can avoid injury, he should be able to hit that mark in 2003 and maintain a solid production level. The left-handed hitter has difficulty against southpaws, but the Dodgers are well prepared to compensate for that with CR-R Mike Kinkade, and LA would also like to work C-R Paul LoDuca in at first for a few games to give C-S Todd Hundley a few starts behind the plate.

A couple weeks ago the Dodgers re-signed UT-R Jolbert Cabrera to a one-year, $450,000 contract. The 30-year-old performed well in his limited at-bats with L.A. last year and put up good numbers at AAA. I suspect he'll spend most of 2003 on the Dodgers' roster as a utilityman, covering the infield and outfield from the bench.

Meanwhile, San Diego signed RHP Jay Witasick to a two-year, $2.75M contract that includes a $2M option with a $250,000 buyout for 2005. He'll receive $750,000 in 2003 and $1.75M in 2004. A bruised left foot sent Witasick to the disabled list last season and prevented him from reaching the heights he achieved in 2001. The injury should not cause him further problems in the future, so the 30-year-old should rebound.

I'm a bit surprised that the Padres committed to a multi-year contract with a reliever, considering the number of young pitchers they'll have emerging from the minors over the next couple seasons. However, GM Kevin Towers is a bit concerned about RHP Trevor Hoffman's recovery, which is behind schedule at the moment. I was somewhat surprised when San Diego originally said that Hoffman would be ready for Spring Training, despite post-season shoulder surgery. He still has a month and a half, but Witasick provides them with a pitcher capable of covering the closer role if Hoffman needs additional time.

The Padres also signed IF-R Mark Loretta to a one-year, $1.25M contract. Signing Loretta gives San Diego another versatile infielder and a decent right-handed bat off the bench. While he doesn't have any speed and only possesses minimal power, Loretta supports a strong average with good plate discipline.

Colorado non-tendered C-R Gary Bennett, but he's already signed a one-year deal with the Padres. San Diego's catching jobs supposedly are wide open with Bennett, C-R Wiki Gonzalez, and C-R Mike Rivera competing to claim the starting and/or back-up jobs. Bennett's plate discipline declined over his time in Colorado, and he now offers little in the way of offense. As the 31-year-old doesn't possess a stellar defensive reputation, I think a healthy Gonzalez will claim the starting job. However, the Padres likely will default to the veteran Bennett rather than use Rivera as the back-up.

Elsewhere in the division, San Francisco signed LHP Scott Eyre to a one-year $725,000 contract. Eyre, who the Giants acquired from Toronto near the end of last season, was arbitration-eligible. While his control slipped after the move to San Francisco, I don't expect the problem to continue into 2003. The 30-year-old's strikeout rate drifted back towards his career level following a spike in 2001, and I suspect next year he'll remain closer to his 2002 numbers rather than his 2001 stats. After displaying a reverse platoon split in 2001, Eyre pitched much better against left-handed pitchers in 2002, and the Giants may want to limit him to a specialist role in 2003 if that trend continues. A full year of the San Francisco defense should reduce his H/9 and subsequently lower his ERA. As the Giants' ballpark also will protect him if he reverts to his flyball ways, I expect Eyre to pitch well for San Francisco in 2003.

Just when it looked like GM Brian Sabean would minimize the mistake he made in claiming MI-S Neifi Perez off waivers from Kansas City by non-tendering the infielder, the Giants turned around and signed Perez to a two-year, $4.25M contract, under which he'll receive $1.5M in 2003 and $2.75M in 2004. Perez will also have the opportunity to earn up to $500,000 in performance bonuses each year.

I see little room on this team for Perez in the coming season, and their roster should only become more crowded as prospects emerge from the minors. The only positive I can find in this signing is that with the unbalanced schedule Perez will return to the friendly Colorado atmosphere for eight games, but then so would any other player filling his roster spot.