Adios, Happy Pete...

[fringe]

I'll miss your great glove but not your awful rally ending, slop swinging stroke. Good luck in Philly, you'll hit 30 hr's in that band box.

(01-28) 23:08 PST -- Third baseman Pedro Feliz's tenure with the Giants, the only professional baseball organization he has known, is over. Major-league sources said Monday that Feliz has reached a two-year agreement with the Phillies, pending a physical.

The Associated Press reported the deal includes an option and will be worth $8.5 million guaranteed, with a potential to reach $15 million with the option and incentives. Earlier this month, Feliz rejected a two-year offer from the Giants.

After 14 years in the organization, including the last seven in the majors, Feliz is leaving with some hard feelings, and money was hardly the sole factor. An industry source told The Chronicle that Feliz's offer from the Giants was worth more than he will get from Philadelphia if the deal is formalized.

However, Feliz was said to be upset with the way the Giants treated him in negotiations after the time he spent in the organization, a two-year offer that he deemed insufficient and a deadline the Giants imposed for Feliz to accept it. His annual salary would have been less than the $5.1 million he earned in 2007.

Those close to Feliz believe he will benefit from a change of scenery and by moving to a team that won the National League East last season.

Giants sources said they were unwilling to offer Feliz more than they did after his production declined in 2007.

Although Feliz reached 20 homers for the fourth consecutive season, his 72 RBIs were his fewest in four years as the Giants' everyday third baseman.

General manager Brian Sabean said Monday he was unaware of Feliz's deal with the Phillies and that he had no 11th-hour talks designed to reach an agreement.

"After we made a two-year offer and it was dismissed out of hand, we felt we needed to move on," Sabean said.

Feliz was the only homegrown position player to play every day for the Giants since Bill Mueller's departure in 2001. Feliz developed into a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman and a dangerous fastball hitter with power, but he could not rise to the next level as a hitter because he lacked selectivity at the plate.

During his last three seasons, he batted .250, .244 and .253 with on-base percentages that topped at .296. Although many fans are happy to see him go, the team had hoped to re-sign him for his defensive abilities.

Now, Kevin Frandsen and Rich Aurilia will share time at third base, unless the Giants make a trade. They will be monitoring White Sox third baseman Joe Crede during spring training to see if Crede has healed from 2007 back surgery.

Because Feliz is signing with another team, the Giants will gain a compensatory 2008 draft pick in the "sandwich round," between the first and second rounds. They are not entitled to one of the Phillies' draft picks because Feliz was a Type B free agent. However, the Phillies will get the Giants' second-round pick for Aaron Rowand, because he was a Type A free agent.