Cabrera, Royals agree to 1-year, $1.25M deal

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Former Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera has reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year, $1.25-million contract with the Kansas City Royals, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

The deal, which includes performance bonuses, is subject to Cabrera's passing a physical.

The Atlanta Braves obtained Cabrera a year ago as part of a five-player trade that sent righthander Javier Vazquez and lefthander Boone Logan to the Yankees. Cabrera, 26, hit .255 with four homers and 42 RBIs and started in 115 games for the Braves during the regular season, then went 0-for-8 against San Francisco in the NL playoffs.

Cabrera made $3.1 million and was eligible for salary arbitration before the Braves released him in October.

Orioles get Hardy from Twins

Trying to add more pop up the middle, the Baltimore Orioles acquired former All-Star shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Minnesota Twins.

The Orioles also got infielder Brendan Harris and $500,000 and sent minor-league righthanders Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson to the Twins.

Hardy, 28, hit .268 with six home runs and 38 RBIs last season. He was an All-Star with Milwaukee in 2007, when he hit .277 with 26 homers and 80 RBIs.

"We're looking for a little more offense to our regular shortstop position, and we're confident he can provide that," Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said. "We also talked to other shortstop targets."

Cesar Izturis was Baltimore's shortstop in 2010. He hit .230 with one homer and 28 RBIs and became a free agent.

Earlier in the winter meetings, the Orioles obtained slugger Mark Reynolds from Arizona for two relief pitchers.

The Orioles also reached a preliminary agreement with pitcher Koji Uehara on a one-year contract for $3 million. The deal is pending a physical. Uehara, 35, was 1-2 with 13 saves and a 2.86 ERA in 43 games for Baltimore last season.

Mariners, Olivo agree

Miguel Olivo has reached preliminary agreement on a contract with the Mariners, subject to passing a physical, a person familiar with the negotiations said. FoxSports.com first reported the agreement and said it was a two-year, $7-million deal.

This will be Olivo's second stint with the Mariners after spending parts of the 2004 and 2005 seasons in Seattle. Last year, he hit a career-best .269 with 14 homers and 58 RBIs for Colorado.

- AP