MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Diamondbacks set pace again by signing Russ Ortiz

Steve Finley joined the Angels outfield with a $14-million deal for two years.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Just down the road from the Magic Kingdom, major league teams toyed with trades and focused on free agents as the winter meetings began Friday.
Russ Ortiz, Steve Finley and Richard Hidalgo found new teams, though there were no trades announced as of early evening.
Arizona, coming off an 111-loss season, set the free-agent pace for the second straight day, agreeing to a $33 million, four-year contract with Ortiz in an effort to complement Randy Johnson in its starting rotation.
Finley, who started last season with the Diamondbacks and finished it with the Dodgers, moved down Interstate-5, agreeing to a $14 million, two-year contract with the Anaheim Angels.
And the Texas Rangers agreed to a $5 million, one-year deal with right fielder Richard Hidalgo, who split last season between Houston and the New York Mets.
Big names watching, waiting
As for the biggest names, agents appeared to be holding back, waiting for the market to rise even higher.
Carlos Beltran, Adrian Beltre, Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe are represented by Scott Boras, whose clients have not reached deals until later in the off-season in recent years.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman expected to talk Friday night with Boras and with other top agents during the weekend, including Scott Shapiro, who represents Carl Pavano. Cashman also said Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre and staff ace Mike Mussina were to have called Pavano in the past week.
New York is close to an agreement with Jaret Wright on a $21 million, three-year deal, and Cashman would like to get at least one other starting pitcher this weekend. He's been talking with Eric Milton, remains interested in Pedro Martinez and said he received a telephone call Thursday from a familiar voice -- David Wells.
Boston, coming off its first World Series title since 1918, offered a one-year contract to Wells. The Red Sox also hope to re-sign Martinez and Varitek.
Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Shawn Green have all been mentioned in trade talk, but it appears Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown won't be going anywhere soon.
Randy Johnson staying put
The Diamondbacks said Friday that while Johnson had asked them to explore trading him to a contender, they expect the 41-year-old left-hander will remain in Arizona. The Yankees pulled out of talks last week, saying Arizona's asking price was too high, and it's not clear whether the Big Unit would waive his no-trade clause to go anywhere else.
New Arizona chief executive officer Jeff Moorad said the talks were over and would not resume unless "they choose to re-engage." Cashman, in turn, said it was up to the Diamondbacks to call him.
Arizona, responsible for large amounts of deferred payments in past contracts, was thought to be on a tight budget heading into the offseason.
But the Diamondbacks agreed Thursday to a $45 million, four-year deal with third baseman Troy Glaus, the 2002 World Series MVP with Anaheim. Then came the deal for Ortiz, a right-hander who went 15-9 with a 4.13 ERA for Atlanta but won just twice in his last 10 regular-season starts.
While the Diamondbacks tied for the 10th-most losses in major league history last season, Ortiz expects a quick turnaround.