Astacio Is Out, Young Is a Dodger

NEW YORK — No one can accuse Fred Claire of sitting on his hands while the Dodgers sit in second place in the NL West.

For the second time in as many weeks, Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, has added a pair of swift legs to his club, hoping to generate the speed and acceleration the Dodgers need to overtake the front-running San Francisco Giants in the race for the division title.

The Dodgers obtained second baseman Eric Young, formerly in the organization, from the Colorado Rockies on Monday night for right-hander Pedro Astacio.

This deal comes only six days after Claire picked up center fielder Otis Nixon from the Toronto Blue Jays. The price in that case was a lot cheaper, the Dodgers sending Toronto minor-league catcher Bobby Cripps.

“This give us an experienced second baseman,” Claire said, “with speed, and good offensive and defensive ability. We’re excited. He’s excited. He knows the Dodgers. He loves the Dodgers.”

Manager Bill Russell said the right-handed hitting Young will bat second in the Dodger lineup behind Nixon, their new leadoff man.

Young, hitting .282 in 118 games for Colorado with six home runs and 45 RBI, also had 32 stolen bases. Nixon had 47 in 102 games with Toronto, giving the Dodgers two players with a total of 79 stolen bases at the top of the order, trying to get on and into scoring position for big guns Mike Piazza, Eric Karros, Raul Mondesi and Todd Zeile.

The Dodgers lost Young to the Rockies in the sixth round of the 1993 expansion draft after he had hit .258 with them in 49 games.

The 30-year-old Young, a 5-foot-9, 170-pounder, signed a one-year, $3.2-million contract at the start of this season. But as a five-year veteran, he will need one additional season before becoming eligible for free agency.

The arrival of Young clears up Dodger concerns at second base, where rookie Wilton Guerrero, despite an average in the .290s, has alarmed club officials with his lack of experience and knowledge of basic fundamentals. The Dodgers were the worst team in the league at turning the double play, an area where Young could help considerably.

Tripp Cromer took over the job in July until a tendon injury sidelined him.

Cromer is not expected back until next month at the earliest, according to Claire.

In Colorado, it was Young who didn’t like the infield situation. The development of Neifi Perez and the presence of veteran Walt Weiss had left Young feeling unappreciated and expendable.

As a matter of fact, he sounded off in the Denver Post on Sunday, only 24 hours before the deal was completed.

“The Rockies can’t have it both ways,” Young said. “You can’t call me a pile of . . ., say I’ve got to have a higher batting average and higher on-base percentage, then turn around and ask for the house for me in a trade. If you don’t think I’m any good, then you can’t expect to trade me for a Cy Young winner. The Rockies don’t act like I’m any good, but they don’t want to trade me for just anybody. You can’t straddle the fence.”

Nobody was calling Astacio a Cy Young candidate this season. His up-and-down year hit a low Sunday when he was demoted to the Dodger bullpen because of the imminent return of ace right-hander Ramon Martinez.

Claire insisted he did not know the trade was about to be made when Astacio was removed from the rotation.

Unlike Young, Astacio didn’t go out with a bang for media consumption. It was more like a whimper since he refused to talk to the media Sunday about his bullpen assignment.

The Dodgers had planned to make Astacio one of the starters Monday when the Dodgers play a doubleheader in Pittsburgh. That role may now fall to Darren Dreifort.

Astacio, 27, is in his sixth big-league season. He enjoyed his best year in 1993 when he was 14-9.

He lost seven in a row earlier this season and had an angry, public confrontation with Russell. Then, he seemed to turn it around, winning four in a row. But in his last three starts, Astacio again struggled, going 0-2 with a 7.98 earned-run average.

In the meantime, Tom Candiotti, sent to the bullpen earlier, had pitched his way back into the rotation by filling in admirably for Martinez, who suffered a tear in the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder in mid June.

With Martinez set to pitch Wednesday, somebody was going to be the odd man out. And it wasn’t going to be Candiotti.

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Comfort Zone

A look at how Eric Young has fared at home and on the road in his career:

1997

At Coors Field .330

Road .242

1996

At Coors Field .412

Road .219

CAREER

At Denver .338

Road .244

COMPARISON A look at how Eric Young compares to Wilton Guerrero this season: *--*

YOUNG GUERRERO 30 Age 22 468 At-Bats 346 .282 Batting Avg. .292 .363 OB% .306 57 Walks 8 78 Runs Scored 36

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