Call it a do-over. Shawn Green and the Arizona Diamondbacks will begin a second 48-hour negotiating period today, attempting to come to terms on a contract extension that is expected to complete a long-awaited trade and free enough payroll for the Dodgers to sign free-agent pitcher Derek Lowe.
The Dodgers approved a revised deal with the Diamondbacks on Friday and also agreed to a four-year, $36-million contract with Lowe, sources said, contingent on Green's going to Arizona. Sources close to Green and the Diamondbacks were optimistic an agreement could be finalized over the weekend.
Green, who has one year at $16 million remaining on his current contract, is expected to sign a two-year extension for approximately $17 million, giving him three years with the Diamondbacks for about $33 million.
In the revised trade, sources said the Dodgers will increase the money going to the Diamondbacks from $8 million to $10 million, and the Dodgers will get two minor league pitchers in addition to highly regarded minor league catcher Dioner Navarro and double-A pitcher William Juarez.
The initial 48-hour negotiating window closed Thursday when Green would not accept the Diamondback offer, raising the potentially awkward possibility that he would remain with the Dodgers despite their clear intent to trade him.
All that is left now is for the popular slugger to work out contract details with the Diamondbacks that sources said are nonmonetary in nature.
"Shawn was very impressed with the Diamondback organization and impressed with their level of interest in him," said Greg Genske, Green's agent. "It's a very difficult decision to waive his no-trade clause, leave Southern California and end his Dodger career."
The Diamondbacks are confident that, this time, negotiations will result in Green's playing right field in Bank One Ballpark this season.
"We hope we are able to come to terms with Shawn," Diamondback managing partner Ken Kendrick said. "We were relatively close on certain things and never really had a chance to get to other things.
"I'm an optimist by nature. We wouldn't enter into these discussions if we weren't optimistic we could get it done."
The next move for the Dodgers would be signing Lowe, which would increase the projected payroll to slightly less than $100 million, second only to the New York Mets in the National League.
