Polanco and Villone accept arbitration

Second baseman Placido Polanco accepted the Philadelphia Phillies' offer of salary arbitration on Sunday night, and left-hander Ron Villone agreed to arbitrate with the Seattle Mariners.

Just three of the 41 free agents offered arbitration by their former teams on Dec. 7 accepted the offers. Roger Clemens announced last weekend at the winter meetings that he was taking Houston's offer - but the seven-time Cy Young Award winner also said he still had not decided whether he would pitch in 2005 or retire.

Players who accept arbitration are considered to have re-signed with their former teams and no longer are free agents.

Catcher Jason Varitek, shortstop Orlando Cabrera and pitcher Derek Lowe rejected arbitration offers from Boston, and pitcher Orlando Hernandez and designated hitter Ruben Sierra rejected offers from the New York Yankees. Center fielder Carlos Beltran turned down the arbitration offer made by Houston.

Polanco hit .298 for the Phillies last season with 17 homers and 55 RBIs. Villone was 8-6 with a 4.08 ERA in 10 starts and 46 relief appearances with the Mariners last season.

Baseball has another deadline Monday: It's the last day for teams to offer 2005 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters. Players not offered contracts become free agents, and teams frequently agree to deals before the deadline with players eligible for arbitration who aren't starters.