Ibanez agrees to deal with Phillies

Ibanez agrees to deal with Phillies

The Phillies have agreed to a three-year contract with free-agent outfielder Raul Ibanez, pending a physical. The deal is believed to be worth $30 million over three years.

The 36-year-old Ibanez will become the Phillies' new every-day leftfielder, and his signing means the Phillies no longer will pursue their long-time leftfielder, Pat Burrell, who is also a free agent.

Ibanez had drawn significant interest from a number of teams, including the Cubs, Mets, Angels and Braves. But he had been sending signals through friends that the Phillies were his first choice. And the Phillies stepped up their efforts to sign him Thursday after it became known that the Angels were also negotiating the parameters of a deal with Ibanez as their No. 1 alternative if they lost out in efforts to sign Mark Teixeira.

Ibanez, who turns 37 next June, has spent the past five seasons with the Mariners, where he was a long-time favorite of outgoing Phillies GM Pat Gillick. He hit .293 this season, with 23 homers, 110 RBIs, a .358 on-base percentage and a .472 slugging percentage. He is one of just five outfielders who have driven in at least 100 runs in each of the last three seasons. The others: Carlos Beltran, Magglio Ordonez (), Carlos Lee and Bobby Abreu.

12/12/08 10:36 AM EST
Phillies, Ibanez agree on three-year deal
Slugging left fielder will replace free agent Burrell's production

By Marty Noble / MLB.com

The left-handed-hitting portion of the Phillies batting order, already quite imposing, is likely to become more formidable in 2009 and beyond.

The World Series champions have replaced the power of Pat Burrell with the more consistent -- and completely left-handed -- swing of free agent Raul Ibanez.

A report on ESPN.com and FOXSports.com on Friday said the Phillies have agreed to a three-year contract with Ibanez, pending his passing a physical examination. The contract, the report said, is believed to be worth $30 million.

A Phillies spokesman told MLB.com that discussions with Ibanez are ongoing, but nothing is finalized.

Ibanez, 36, is to become the Phillies' every-day left fielder, His presence eliminates the chance of Burrell, also a free agent, returning. He had drawn interest from a number of clubs -- the Mets, Cubs, Angels and Braves among them.

But, as ESPN reports, he had sent signals through friends that the Phillies were his first choice. The Phillies intensified their effort to sign him Thursday after they learned the Angels had been negotiating with Ibanez to serve as a left-handed run producer should Mark Teixeira sign elsewhere.

Hot Stove

Ibanez played the past five seasons with the Mariners. There he had become a favorite of Pat Gillick who became the Phillies general manager and who now is serving as a consultant for the Phillies.

He batted .293 with 23 home runs, 110 RBIs, a .358 on-base percentage and a .472 slugging percentage in 2008.

Burrell, the Phillies' biggest right-handed power threat, averaged 30-plus homers a year for the past four seasons.

During last season's World Series run, Burrell hit 33 homers with 86 RBIs in 157 games. He added three more homers during the postseason.

Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. Barry M. Bloom contributed. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.