"The Angels on Saturday reached agreement with second baseman Howie Kendrick on a four-year deal pending a physical, according to a person who is familiar with negotiations but could not speak publicly about them.

With the new contract, which is thought to be worth $33.5 million, the Angels will avoid Kendrick's final year of arbitration and lock him up through his first three years of free agency.

General Manager Jerry Dipoto said last week that he had begun preliminary discussions with the agents for Kendrick and shortstop Erick Aybar about multiyear deals, and those negotiations obviously moved quickly with Larry Reynolds, Kendrick's agent."