Brian Giles said the pain in his arthritic right knee is getting worse, and Thursday the 39-year-old outfielder informed the Los Angeles Dodgers that he will retire.

Giles, a career .291 hitter with 287 home runs and 1,078 RBI in 1,847 games, was a two-time All-Star and also played for the San Diego Padres, Pirates and Cleveland, calling his trip to the World Series with the Indians in 1997 the highlight of his 15 major-league seasons.

"That's what you play for," Giles said of the championship series the Indians lost to the Florida Marlins. "I always talked to my brother [former major leaguer Marcus] about coming up, and our No. 1 goal was getting to the big leagues. Our No. 2 thing would be to win a world championship. Getting to experience the World Series was pretty special."

Giles, who signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers this winter with an invitation to major-league camp, hit a career-high 39 home runs for the Pirates in 1999 and returned the next season with a career-best 123 RBIs for Pittsburgh.

His deteriorating knee limited him to 61 games with the Padres last season.

Looking for left-handed options off the bench, the Dodgers brought aboard Giles. His departure leaves veterans Doug Mientkiewicz and Garret Anderson to help fill the role.

"We all came in with our eyes open to what the challenges would be and how difficult it would be, but we wanted to give him a chance so we would know and he would know," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said.

Giles knew he was in for an uphill battle this spring. His right knee issues began in 2007, and he had microfracture surgery on the knee the following offseason.

Giles said he will head to his San Diego-area home today and figure out the next stage of his life. For now, he's looking forward to spending time with his two daughters, ages 7 and 9.

"I've been doing this, including minor leagues, for 22, 23 years now," Giles said. "What do I do now?

"I'll try to get a really good tan. I'll just hang out with my girls and figure it out, I guess. You really don't know what to do.

"But I really have no regrets."

All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes has been told to rest and refrain from athletic activity for 2 to 8 weeks until his thyroid levels normalize, another blow to the New York Mets before opening day. Center fielder Carlos Beltran already is expected to miss the first month of the season after right knee surgery Jan. 13. Reyes appears likely to also start the season on the disabled list. Reyes has been diagnosed with an overactive thyroid, and his levels were elevated after he exercised Monday and Tuesday.

First baseman Todd Helton and the Colorado Rockies agreed to $9.9 million, two-year contract extension through the 2013 season. The first baseman is earning $16.6 million this year, and he agreed to defer $13.1 million of his $19.1 million salary in 2011 over a 10-year period beginning in 2014.

Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said there is an increasing chance that pitching ace Brandon Webb will start the season on the disabled list.

Webb reached what Hinch called a "plateau" in his comeback from shoulder surgery. He has not thrown a bullpen session for a week after saying he felt "stagnant" and was not making the progress he expected. Since then, the 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner has only been playing catch.

Chicago ace Mark Buehrle will not make his second start of spring training until Monday as the club seeks to keep him rested before the regular season begins. Buehrle's first start was March 5 against Los Angeles, when he allowed an unearned run on three hits with two strikeouts in two innings.

Right-hander John Lackey threw three shutout innings in Boston's 8-2 victory against the New York Mets. Lackey allowed three hits in his second spring outing and has yet to allow a run since he finalized an $82.5 million, five-year contract with the Red Sox in December. ... Joe Blanton used a mix of fastballs and changeups to shut down the Detroit Tigers over four innings, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-0 win. ... Cincinnati's Joey Votto homered for his first hit of spring training to lead the Reds to a 3-1 win against a Milwaukee Brewers split-squad. Votto's homer came against left-hander Chris Capuano, who is trying to resume his career after missing two seasons because of reconstructive elbow surgery. Votto was 0 for 9 before he homered in the sixth.

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