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The San Diego Padres turned to a familiar face for pitching help Thursday, agreeing to terms with veteran lefthander Sterling Hitchcock on a one-year contract.
San Diego also brought Ismael Valdes back to Southern California after agreeing with the righthander on a one-year deal.
Financial terms
were not disclosed, but Hitchcock's contract reportedly is loaded with incentives.
The 32-year-old Hitchcock spent parts of five seasons with the Padres and won
most valuable player honors in the 1998 National League Championship Series.
He has struggled since leaving San Diego and went 6-4 with a 4.72 ERA last season
in 35 games with the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.
The Padres are hoping Hitchcock turned things around with St. Louis, where he was 5-1 with a 3.79 ERA in eight games, including six starts.
Valdes, 30, is coming off a disastrous season with the Texas Rangers. He went 8-8 with a 6.10 ERA in 22 starts but returns to the NL, where he had a 63-61 mark and a 3.59 ERA in seven seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.
Valdes' best year was 1995, when he was 15-7 with a 3.32 ERA in 33 starts for Los Angeles. He lowered his ERA to 2.65 the following season but was traded to the Cubs in 1999, experienced shoulder problems in 2000 and was traded back to Los Angeles.