Pineiro agrees to deal with Angels

NEW YORK -- Joel Pineiro agreed Wednesday to a $16 million, two-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, a person familiar with the negotiations said.

Pineiro's deal is subject to a physical, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not yet final.

Los Angeles hopes Pineiro will help fill a hole created by the departure of John Lackey, who left the AL West champions for an $82.5 million, five-year deal with the Boston Red Sox. Pineiro also had been sought by the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, who earlier in the week lost out on Bengie Molina when the free-agent catcher decided to stay with San Francisco.

A 31-year-old right-hander, Pineiro was 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals last season, his best season since going 16-11 for Seattle in 2003. He has an 87-79 record with a 4.39 ERA in 10 major league seasons that also included a stint with the Red Sox.

He joins a rotation that includes holdovers Jered Weaver (16-8), Joe Saunders (16-7), Scott Kazmir (10-9) and Ervin Santana (8-8).

Cardinals starting pitcher Joel Pineiro sits alone in the dugout during the fifth inning after being pulled out of Game 3 of the National League division series in St. Louis. (JEFF ROBERSON ~ Associated Press)

Since losing to the Yankees in the AL championship series, the Angels have lost Lackey, All-Star third baseman Chone Figgins, designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero and reliever Darren Oliver to free agency. They replaced Guerrero at DH with Hideki Matsui and added Fernando Rodney to the bullpen.