Person familiar with negotiations: Dodgers, Kemp agree to $10.95 million, 2-year deal

AP source: Dodgers, Kemp agree to 2-year deal

LOS ANGELES — Matt Kemp and the Los Angeles Dodgers reached a preliminary agreement Friday on a $10.95 million, two-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the outfielder’s deal, subject to a physical, hadn’t been completed.

The move means Los Angeles avoids salary arbitration with Kemp, who batted .297 with 26 homers and 101 RBIs last season. He stole 34 bases and won his first Gold Glove in center field while improving on almost all of his offensive statistics from 2008, his first full big league campaign.

The Dodgers also avoided arbitration with right-hander Chad Billingsley, who agreed to a $3.85 million, one-year deal. Billingsley was an All-Star in 2009 with nine quick, early-season wins, but he struggled in the second half and finished 12-11 with a 4.03 ERA for the NL West champions.

Although Billingsley led the Dodgers’ ace-free rotation in victories, he didn’t win in nine appearances after Aug. 18 and dropped out of manager Joe Torre’s playoff rotation. He made his only playoff appearance in relief during Los Angeles’ 11-0 loss to Philadelphia in Game 3 of the NL championship series.

Kemp would make $4 million in 2010 and $6.95 million in 2011, with the chance to earn another $500,000 in performance bonuses during the contract. The Dodgers view Kemp as a rising star and a key part of their young core, leading them to make a rare multiyear contract offer to a young player.

Because the deal wasn’t finalized yet, Kemp was one of 128 major league players who filed for arbitration by Friday’s deadline. Billingsley was not on the list.

The Dodgers have six other players in arbitration: outfielder Andre Ethier, catcher Russell Martin, first baseman James Loney and relievers Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo and George Sherrill.

AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.