Winter Baseball Meetings : With Two Deals Done, Dodgers Now Won’t Make That Last Trade

Baseball’s winter meetings ended Thursday with the Dodgers displaying a new left-handed relief pitcher in Ed Vande Berg and a new backup catcher in Alex Trevino.

“If we avoid injuries, I can see a good future,” Vice President Al Campanis said. “They say you build a club for a decade. I can definitely see a good decade.”

The Dodgers, having acquired Vande Berg from Seattle and Trevino from San Francisco Wednesday night, thought they would make another trade Thursday morning.

They thought that one more meeting with the New York Yankees would result in the acquisition of Henry Cotto, a right-hand-hitting center fielder who would platoon with Ken Landreaux.

They had the meeting, but nothing came of it. Yankee sources said Campanis presented a list of available minor league players he would trade for Cotto, none of whom satisfied the Yankees.

Trevino, a seven-year veteran with a career batting average of .247, will be paid handsomely to sit and watch. Campanis said that the club wanted experienced protection behind Mike Scioscia, who appeared in 141 games last year and should appear in that many or more next year.

Trevino has a guaranteed salary of $500,000 in 1986, $550,000 in ’87 and $600,000 in ’88. He signed a four-year, $2.1-million contract with Atlanta last winter. It includes $1 million in deferred income, but the Braves remain responsible for that.

The Dodgers are responsible for notifying Yeager that he is no longer their property, but they have yet to do that. He is on a Caribbean cruise and not expected to return until next week.

Vande Berg’s acquisition represented an early Christmas gift, enhancing, in its own way, the earlier acquisition of third baseman Bill Madlock and the development of shortstop Mariano Duncan.

Said Manager Tom Lasorda: “A year ago, I was concerned because of all our uncertainties. We’ve filled a lot of positions since then. I feel a lot better about our club.”

While the Dodgers fulfilled their goal of finding a left-handed relief pitcher, the Angels conducted a futile search for the same commodity.

General Manager Mike Port, preparing to leave Thursday, said a couple of doors remain open.

He will continue to talk with Montreal about Gary Lucas and with the New York Mets about Tom Gorman and Bill Latham.

The Expos want a starting pitcher in return for Lucas, which seems to make a trade with the Angels unlikely. The Mets reportedly seek a defensively strong utility infielder in return for Gorman or Latham. The Angels have a good one in shortstop Gus Polidor, who played at Edmonton last season and is buried behind Dick Schofield.

Asked to summarize his activity here, Port said he laid groundwork that could still result in a trade, drafted a pitcher--Carl Willis--who is expected to be the bullpen long man, and reopened a dialogue with representatives of free agent relief pitcher Donnie Moore.

Port said he will make a new offer on Monday or Tuesday, but there is growing belief that the club will continue to resist Moore’s bid for a package equating to $1 million a year.

“As meaningful as Donnie is to us,” Port said, “we have to be aware of the sensitivities and financial positions of our other players.”

Two more trades were made Thursday for a five-day total of 11, one more than last year, when the closing coincided with an inter-league trading deadline no longer in effect:

--The New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox completed a long rumored but somewhat reshaped trade in which pitcher Joe Cowley and catcher Ron Hassey went to Chicago for pitcher Britt Burns and two minor leaguers, shortstop Mike Soper and outfielder Glen Braxton.

--The Boston Red Sox traded pitcher Charlie Mitchell to Minnesota for outfielder-first baseman Mike Stenhouse, who was originally signed by the Twins out of Harvard University. The Red Sox have not had a product of nearby Harvard since first baseman Tony Lupien in 1943.

Ray Negron, the agent for former Angel free agent Juan Beniquez, said they have received a one-year offer from the Oakland A’s but will continue to talk with other clubs about a two-year deal before making a decision on the A’s.