L.A. to Play With Daal

The Dodgers made two major pitching moves Friday, reacquiring left-hander Omar Daal from the Philadelphia Phillies and buying out closer Jeff Shaw’s contract option.

The club bolstered its rotation in preparation for losing free agents Chan Ho Park and Terry Adams, and possibly trading Luke Prokopec, getting Daal from the Phillies for minor league right-handers Jesus Cordero and Eric Junge.

Daal, 29, signed with Dodgers at 18 in 1990 and pitched in Los Angeles for parts of three seasons before he was traded to the Montreal Expos for pitcher Rick Clelland in 1995. He began this season as the Phillies’ top starter, but struggled in the second half and finished at the end of the rotation.

Daal was 13-7 with a 4.46 earned-run average in 32 starts and 1852/3 innings for Philadelphia. He had a 6.02 ERA in 15 starts from June 15 through Sept. 9.

The Dodgers believe Daal is a good fit for a pitching staff undergoing a major makeover, and his one-year, $5-million contract fits into their payroll structure.

Shaw’s contract did not.

The Dodgers, as expected, informed the all-star closer that they plan to buy out his $7.05-million option for $1.5 million.

The club exercised two other options, retaining pinch-hitter Dave Hansen for $675,000 and utility player Jeff Reboulet for $450,000. Infielder Tim Bogar’s $575,000 option was declined.

The Dodgers now have 16 players under contract for $89.925 million, and they might add another big contract, Neifi Perez’s.

The Dodgers and Kansas City Royals are discussing a trade that would send the smooth-fielding shortstop to Los Angeles for Prokopec. Perez, traded by the Colorado Rockies last season, had a one-year contract of $3.55 million and is eligible for arbitration.

General Manager Dan Evans hopes to improve the club while reducing the payroll, and Friday’s moves signaled the start of a busy off-season.

“Daal is one of the better left-handed pitchers in the game, and we were thrilled that he was available,” Evans said. “I look at him currently as a guy on our staff who could do both [start and relieve]; we don’t have to make a decision yet what number starter he is, or whether he’s in the bullpen. The key for us is that we added another quality arm to our ballclub.

“In [Shaw’s] case ... we just felt we wanted to go another direction. We took a lot of things into account, including fiscal considerations. We just felt there were other options out there that we preferred at this time. It will be difficult to replace his save total, but I’m confident we will. We’ve done our homework.”

Shaw finished in a three-way tie for second in the National League with 43 saves, on a third-place team that had only 86 victories. He set a franchise record with 129 saves in only four seasons at Chavez Ravine. But Evans believes the Dodgers can do better for what it would have cost to retain the 35-year-old right-hander. “I know where I’m at in my career, and people know what they’re going to get from me,” Shaw said. “I’m going to come to camp in shape, I’m going to save 35-40 games and work my tail off for whoever I pitch for.”

Evans said the Dodgers would explore the free-agent market, trades or promote from within in replacing Shaw. They also might acquire a closer in a contraction dispersal draft, which could occur in December.

Keith Foulke of the Chicago White Sox and Armando Benitez of the New York Mets top the Dodgers’ wish list, though it’s unlikely they will be traded. Setup man Matt Herges is the leading in-house candidate for the high-pressure job.

Although Evans said Daal’s role has not been determined, several sources said he is expected to be part of a rotation that also will include Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby, Eric Gagne and Terry Mulholland.

The Dodgers are interested in signing free-agent James Baldwin, who was 3-6 with a 4.20 ERA after Evans acquired him in July, but sources said Park and Adams are not in their budget.

Daal clashed with Philadelphia Manager Larry Bowa after he was passed over for a key series against the Atlanta Braves down the stretch of a tight NL East race. The Phillies acquired Daal in the July 2000 deal that sent Curt Schilling to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The seven-year veteran had his best season in 1999, going 16-9 with a 3.65 ERA for Arizona. In 2000, he was 4-19 with a 6.14 ERA combined for the Diamondbacks and Phillies. Overall, Daal is 53-58 with a 4.48 ERA.

Cordero, 22, was 8-4 with a 2.47 ERA and nine saves in 33 games for Class-A Wilmington, and 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA for Class-A Vero Beach. Junge, 24, was 10-11 with a 3.46 ERA for double-A Jacksonville.

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DARE TO COMPARE

Three-year average pitching statistics of Omar Daal, acquired by the Dodgers from the Phillies, and last season’s staff ace Chan Ho Park, who is a free agent:

Daal

6-3, 195

Left-Hander

29 Years Old

Games Started 31

Innings 189

Hits 198

Earned Runs 98

Home Runs 24

Walks 69

Strikeouts 117

Win-Loss 11-12

ERA 4.67

*

Park

6-2, 205

Right-Hander

28 Years Old

Games Started 34

Innings 218

Hits 188

Earned Runs 95

Home Runs 25

Walks 105

Strikeouts 203

Win-Loss 15-11

ERA 3.92