The Angels have reached an agreement with Howie Kendrick on a four-year contract, the team announced. The deal is worth $33.5MM, Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times tweets. It will cover the 28-year-old's final year of arbitration and first three years of free agency.

Kendrick is coming off of his best season to date as he hit .285/.338/.464 with 18 homers in 583 plate appearances. Earlier this week, GM Jerry Dipoto confirmed that he opened up talks with the agents for Kendrick and Erick Aybar. Like Kendrick, Aybar also has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining.

Last night, our own Mark Polishuk examined the second baseman's case for an extension. According to MLBTR's projections, Kendrick was set to earn $5.2MM in 2012 through arbitration.

By signing an extension with the Angels, Kendrick avoids having to contend with fellow second baseman Brandon Phillips on the open market next offseason.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the deal and Bob Nightengale of USA Today added the contract value.