BASEBALL Nomar nears decision on L.A.

The Royals signed ex-Indians pitcher Scott Elarton.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- Nomar Garciaparra met with Los Angeles Dodgers executives Thursday and Friday, and is expected to decide soon on his future.
The 32-year-old Garciaparra also is considering the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros, but the Dodgers might have an advantage because Garciaparra and his wife, former soccer star Mia Hamm, live in suburban Manhattan Beach.
"Nomar continues to talk with players, friends and family members," Garciaparra's agent, Arn Tellem, said in an e-mail Friday. "He is weighing his options carefully and while he has no plans on making a decision today, he intends to do so in the near future."
Garciaparra and Tellem met Thursday with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, general manager Ned Colletti and senior vice president Tom Lasorda.
"We met again today. He came out again today with Mia," Colletti said on a conference call late Friday. "I can tell you from my perspective both meetings were very good. They took the time to come out here two days in a row."
Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A simple second-to-first ground ball out could be a real challenge for broadcasters in Kansas City next year.
The Royals agreed Friday to one-year contracts with second baseman Mark Grudzielanek and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz.
Trying to rebound from a team-record 106-loss season, the Royals also agreed to an $8 million, two-year deal with pitcher Scott Elarton and finalized their agreement with backup catcher Paul Bako.
Mientkiewicz, a former Gold Glove first baseman best known for taking the ball from the final out of Boston's World Series win in 2004, gets a $1.85 million deal with $700,000 in performance bonuses based on games and plate appearances.
Grudzielanek's contract calls for a $4 million salary next season. If he has 500 plate appearances, he gets a $3 million player option for 2007.
The 35-year-old hit .294 with eight homers and 59 RBIs last season in helping St. Louis win the NL Central. He led NL second basemen in fielding percentage (.990) and double plays (108).
New players
Mientkiewicz, who turns 31 in June, is a career .268 hitter with 55 homers and 305 RBIs. Bothered by a hamstring injury, he hit .240 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs in 275 at-bats for the Mets last season.
The 29-year-old Elarton gets $4 million annually. He was 11-9 with a 4.61 ERA last season with Cleveland, making a career-high 31 starts.
Bako, 33, played in 13 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year before a knee injury May 26 ended his season. He gets a $700,000, one-year contract.
Baird is looking for a corner outfielder but acknowledged that losing more than 99 games three of the last four years had not helped draw interest in the Royals.
"We've had to reach out," he said. "I've hopped on planes and visited a lot of players, and I think that's the key to this thing. Perception's reality until you know what reality is. The direction of the club -- once you sit down with them, they have a better feel for it. And I think that's put us in the door with a lot more players than if we'd just sat back and said, 'We're offering you this much money to come to Kansas City."'
Mientkiewicz is in litigation over ownership of the World Series ball with the Red Sox, who filed suit last month asking a judge to let them keep it, then agreed Friday to dismiss it and have the case decided by Shyam Das, baseball's arbitrator.