Baseball

Guillermo Mota and the Dodgers finalized a one-year, $2.35 million contract Wednesday to bring the reliever back to Los Angeles.

"Guillermo is a power arm that can stabilize the back of our bullpen," general manager Ned Colletti said. "He's had plenty of success in L.A. before and we look forward to seeing that again."

The Braves bounced right back from the disappointment of losing John Smoltz.

Determined to rebuild a once-proud pitching staff that fell into disarray, Atlanta reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday on a $60 million, four-year contract with Derek Lowe and finalized a deal with Japanese all-star pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.

Finally in the Hall of Fame, Jim Rice wants nothing to do with the debate over whether Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds belong, too.

"I'm not in the situation to vote for the guys and I'm not going to put myself in the situation where I have to answer that question because I think you as the media, you've got to judge that," Rice said.

The Padres issued a release on Tuesday with statements from top team officials on all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman, who left San Diego after 16 seasons and signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Chairman John Moores: "It has been a privilege watching Trevor earn 552 saves in a Padres uniform. He has had an extraordinary career in San Diego and we wish him well on his journey to the Hall of Fame."

Rickey Henderson sped his way into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot Monday, and Jim Rice made it in on his 15th and final try.

Henderson, baseball's career leader in runs scored and stolen bases, received 94.8 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America, well above the 75 percent needed.

Rice, among baseball's most feared hitters in the late 1970s and early 1980s, got 76.4 percent of the vote after falling just shy with 72.2 percent last year.

The Dodgers are close to bringing back reliever Guillermo Mota, according to a baseball source.

Mota, 35, certainly has experience, pitching as a set-up man for Eric Gagne and the Dodgers from 2002 to 2004. He was eventually traded to Florida along with Paul Lo Duca and Juan Encarnacion in the deadline deal that brought Brad Penny and Hee-Seop Choi to Los Angeles.

Rickey Henderson, elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday, played for the San Diego Padres for parts of the 1996, 1997 and 2001 seasons.

"Rickey was the greatest, most complete player I ever saw play," said Padres Chief Executive Officer Sandy Alderson.

"He was always on base, had power, played excellent defense and, of course, could run like no one else. He could sear any game into permanent memory. Perhaps most importantly, he was always fun to watch."

Takashi Saito will no longer be closing games for the Dodgers, as he has signed with the Boston Red Sox, his agent said.

The Dodgers could not agree to terms with Saito last month before declining to tender him a contract to make him a free agent, and agent Nez Balelo said Saturday there was minimal dialogue leading up to completing a deal with the Red Sox.

From the get-go, Rickey Henderson was in a hurry.

Born in the back seat of a '57 Chevy while his mom and dad rushed to the hospital, he came out blazing.

Fingers twitching inside those neon-green batting gloves, he'd lock his eyes like lasers on the next base and whoosh! Blew past the record for steals, pulled up the bag itself and proclaimed himself the "greatest of all time."

Set the mark for runs scored, too, sprinting low to the ground and diving headfirst. A blur, he was.

The Dodgers signed pitcher Shawn Estes to a minor-league contract and invited the left-hander to spring training to compete for a spot in the rotation.

Estes, 35, would make $550,000 if he were added to the 40-man roster and could earn an additional $1 million based on starts he made from five to 30.