The Associated Press

CHICAGO - Billy Koch and the Chicago White Sox avoided arbitration by agreeing Wednesday to a two-year contract worth $10,625,000.

Koch, acquired in December from the Oakland Athletics in a six-player trade, gets $4.25 million this year and $6,375,000 in 2004. He had a $2.35 million base salary last season and made $150,000 in performance bonuses.

Koch was scheduled for an arbitration hearing next month. He was asking for $5.9million for one year and the White Sox countered with $4.25million.

Koch, 27, and two minor-leaguers joined the White Sox in exchange for closer Keith Foulke, catcher Mark Johnson and minor-league right-hander Joe Valentine. He was 11-4 with 44 saves and a 3.27 ERA with 93 strikeouts in 932/3 innings for Oakland last season.

PIRATES: Jeff Suppan, a right-handed starter who won 39 games the last four seasons with Kansas City, agreed to a one-year contract with Pittsburgh that guarantees him $1million.

Suppan, 9-16 with a 5.32 ERA last season, will get $500,000 in 2003 and can earn up to $800,000 more in performance bonuses. The Pirates have a $4 million option for 2004 with a $500,000 buyout.

Suppan has a 49-64 career record and 5.03 ERA with the Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Royals.

RED SOX: Seats atop Fenway Park's Green Monster are expected to be ready for Boston's home opener April11.

Tickets for the 280 seats - bar-style stools with counter tops in front of them - will have a face value of $50, but team president Larry Lucchino said many will be sold to groups, which get a discount that would bring the range of prices to $40-$50.

The Red Sox are expected to get final approval for the project from the city of Boston in two weeks. They obtained early permits Tuesday from the city's Inspectional Services Department to prepare the site by removing the net and building a foundation.

RANGERS: Pitcher Francisco Cordero agreed to a $900,000, one-year contract. He was 2-0 with a 1.79 ERA and 10 saves in 39 appearances with Texas last season.

GIANTS: Five-time All-Star Andres Galarraga signed a minor-league contract with San Francisco. Galarraga, 41, hit .260 with nine home runs and 40 RBI for Montreal last year and made 72 starts at first base.

DIAMONDBACKS: Pitchers Ron Villone and Mike Jackson agreed to minor-league contracts. Each would get a $500,000, one-year contract if added to the major-league roster.

Villone, 33, was 4-6 with a 5.81 ERA in 45 games with Pittsburgh last season. Jackson, 38, a right-hander, made 58 relief appearances for Minnesota last year, going 2-3 with a 3.27 ERA.

PHILLIES: Right-hander Mike Fyhrie signed a minor-league contract with Philadelphia after going 2-4 with a 4.44 ERA in 16 games for Oakland last season.

ROCKIES: Darren Oliver agreed Wednesday to a minor-league contract. The left-hander is 71-65 in his nine-year major-league career with Texas, St. Louis and Boston, and went 4-5 with a 4.66 ERA for the Red Sox last season.

CONE'S FUTURE: David Cone, who did not pitch last season but kept open the possibility of coming back, might be ready for retirement.

"My gut feeling is that I'll probably retire at this point," Cone, 40, said.

Cone, who did not pitch last year, is 193-123 with a 3.44 ERA in 16 seasons.

TIGERS: Detroit agreed to a minor-league contract with infielder Kevin Witt. He hit .263 with 24 homers and a league-leading 107 RBI at Triple-A Louisville last season and was an International League All-Star.