DODGERS UPDATE: NO OFFER, SO CORA IS FREE.

Byline: Tony Jackson Staff Writer

The Dodgers cut ties Monday night with Alex Cora, declining to offer the veteran second baseman a contract by the 9 p.m. deadline, thus making him a free agent. The decision breaks up what arguably was the best defensive middle-infield combination in the majors, and it clears up the issue of where free-agent signing Jeff Kent will be playing next season.

Kent, who lacks Cora's range or flash in the field but has considerably more power at the plate, will line up across the bag from Gold Glove shortstop Cesar Izturis.

The Dodgers also non-tendered reliever Scott Stewart and catcher Tom Wilson, both of whom joined the club late last season but played little more than a nominal role. The club also reached agreement on one-year contracts with infielder Olmedo Saenz ($650,000) and reliever Giovanni Carrara ($500,000), avoiding arbitration with both.

Left-hander Odalis Perez, as expected, rejected the club's offer of arbitration, but the Dodgers can negotiate with him until Jan. 8.

Team officials also formally announced the signing of free-agent third baseman Jose Valentin to a one-year contract worth a reported $3.5 million and left-hander Wilson Alvarez to a two-year deal worth a reported $4 million.

Both agreements were reached in principle late last week and widely reported, but the players had to pass physicals before the deals were announced.

The left-handed-hitting Cora made $1.3 million last season and would have received a sizable raise had he been offered arbitration. That would have put him far above the going rate for a backup second baseman, a role to which Cora was relegated after Valentin was signed to play third, a spot that otherwise might have gone to Kent, who is primarily a second baseman. General manager Paul DePodesta and manager Jim Tracy said when Kent was signed on Dec. 9 that he might play third or first.

Apparently, first base was never that viable of an option for Kent. DePodesta continues to insist he is comfortable with Hee Seop Choi as the team's everyday first baseman, although Choi hit only .161 after being traded to the Dodgers on July 30.

``Ultimately, (Kent) was going to take a significant amount of at-bats away from Alex,'' DePodesta said Monday night. ``Quite frankly, (Cora) probably deserves better. He deserves to be playing every day somewhere. ... We had some talks with some clubs, and some of them were interested in him in that utility role, but at the end of the day, we couldn't come to an agreement. We certainly didn't want to just send him someplace where we knew he was going to be in that (backup) position.''

DePodesta continued to hedge on the subject of free-agent right fielder J.D. Drew, beleved to be the final hurdle preventing the proposed three-team trade among the Dodgers, Arizona and the New York Yankees from being submitted to commissioner Bud Selig for approval.

``(Drew) is a player we have interest in, and we have spoken with his (agent, Scott Boras),'' DePodesta said. ``But I don't want to say at this point that we're close to a deal.''

DePodesta wants at least an agreement in principle with Drew before he agrees to the blockbuster, 10-player trade that would send Arizona's Randy Johnson to the Yankees and bring right-hander Javier Vazquez to the Dodgers. Shawn Green, slated to be the Dodgers' everyday right fielder, would go to Arizona in the deal - hence the Dodgers' need to lock up Drew.

DePodesta said there remained a chance the Dodgers could back out of the trade entirely.

``If it works out, OK, but if not, we're perfectly fine keeping these guys,'' he said.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com