The Baltimore Orioles and free agent first baseman Derrek Lee have reached an oral agreement on a one-year contract pending a physical.

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail disclosed the deal Friday. He has been looking for a power-hitting first baseman since Ty Wigginton left as a free agent to sign with Colorado in mid-December.

Lee, 35, split time with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves last season, totaling 19 homers and 80 RBIs in 148 games.

The Sacramento native has 312 career home runs, hitting 46 in 2005 for the Cubs.

Playing in the American League for the first time, Lee brings much-needed punch to the Orioles, who were led in home runs last year by Luke Scott (27).

Tennis

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal defeated Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4 and will face Roger Federer in the final of the World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Federer rallied to defeat Robin Soderling 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Cycling

Lance Armstrong’s RadioShack team will be without its manager, Johan Bruyneel, for important races in March after he lost an appeal to change the start date of a two-month suspension.

Bruyneel, who was banned for insulting officials at the 2010 Tour de France, wanted the suspension applied in January and February instead of February and March, but the Court of Arbitration for

Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, dismissed Bruyneel’s challenge to an International Cycling Union order.

Derrek Lee split time with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves last season, totalling 19 homers and 80 RBIs in 148 games. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The Baltimore Orioles and free agent first baseman Derrek Lee have reached an oral agreement on a one-year contract pending a physical.

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail disclosed the deal Friday. He has been looking for a power-hitting first baseman since Ty Wigginton left as a free agent to sign with Colorado in mid-December.

The 35-year-old Lee split time with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves last season, totalling 19 homers and 80 RBIs in 148 games.

Lee has 312 career home runs, highlighted by the 46 he hit in 2005. He brings much-needed punch to the Orioles, who were led in home runs last year by Luke Scott (27).

Lee has never played in the American League.

He broke into the majors in 1997 with San Diego and spent one season with the Padres before beginning a six-year run with the Florida Marlins. He then went to the Cubs in 2004 and played there until being traded to the Braves in August.

The Baltimore Orioles and free agent first baseman Derrek Lee have reached an oral agreement on a one-year contract pending a physical.

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail disclosed the deal Friday. He has been looking for a power-hitting first baseman since Ty Wigginton left as a free agent to sign with Colorado in mid-December.

The 35-year-old Lee split time with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves last season, totalling 19 homers and 80 RBIs in 148 games.

Lee has 312 career home runs, highlighted by the 46 he hit in 2005. He brings much-needed punch to the Orioles, who were led in home runs last year by Luke Scott (27).

Lee has never played in the American League.

He broke into the majors in 1997 with San Diego and spent one season with the Padres before beginning a six-year run with the Florida Marlins. He then went to the Cubs in 2004 and played there until being traded to the Braves in August.

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AFP) – Derrek Lee, a 35-year-old first baseman for the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves last season, has agreed to terms on a one-year Major League Baseball contract with the Baltimore Orioles.

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail confirmed the verbal free agent agreement on Friday, adding a power hitter to the Orioles lineup after Baltimore lost free agent slugger Ty Willingham to Colorado.

Lee, who had 19 home runs and hit .260 while batting in 80 runs over 148 games last season, joins an Orioles team that has not had a winning season since 1997 and not reached a World Series since winning in 1983.

The deal is incomplete pending Lee passing a physical exam.

Lee, set for his American League debut after 14 seasons with National League clubs, has 312 career homers and a .282 lifetime batting average.

BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Orioles and free agent first baseman Derrek Lee have reached an oral agreement on a one-year contract pending a physical.

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail disclosed the deal Friday. He has been looking for a power-hitting first baseman since Ty Wigginton left as a free agent to sign with Colorado in mid-December.

The 35-year-old Lee split time with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves last season, totaling 19 homers and 80 RBIs in 148 games.

Lee has 312 career home runs, highlighted by the 46 he hit in 2005. He brings much-needed punch to the Orioles, who were led in home runs last year by Luke Scott (27).

Lee has never played in the American League.

He broke into the majors in 1997 with San Diego and spent one season with the Padres before beginning a six-year run with the Florida Marlins. He then went to the Cubs in 2004 and played there until being traded to the Braves in August.

Updated Dec 31, 2010 4:05 PM ET

The Baltimore Orioles have reached a verbal agreement with free agent first baseman Derrek Lee, according to a source.

The one-year deal is pending a physical.

The Orioles want Lee in part because of the leadership he’ll provide to the young team.

Baltimore’s president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail knows Lee from his days with the Cubs. McPhail was president/CEO of the Chicago Cubs from 1994 to 2006 and Lee was a Cub from 2004 until mid-season 2010.

Lee is coming off right thumb surgery that hampered him last season, when he batted .260 in 148 games with the Cubs and Braves.

The Washington Nationals had also shown interest in Lee this offseason.