Yankees Trade for Former 20-Game Winner Dotson

The New York Yankees acquired former 20-game winner Richard Dotson from the Chicago White Sox Friday to help stabilize a situation that had forced the Yankees to use 15 pitchers as starters in 1987.

The trade was the fifth between the two clubs in less than two years and involved the fourth player--pitcher Scott Nielsen--to be dealt from one of the teams to the other, then back again.

The Yankees got Dotson and Nielsen in exchange for outfielder Dan Pasqua, catcher Mark Salas and left-handed minor league pitcher Steve Rosenberg.

Besides Nielsen, the clubs have re-exchanged catcher Ron Hassey and minor leaguers Mike Soper and Glen Braxton. Hassey, in fact, has gone from the Yankees to the White Sox to the Yankees to the White Sox.

Dotson, 28, had an 11-12 record with a 4.17 earned-run average in 31 starts last season. His best year was 1983, when he had a 22-7 record with the White Sox. He was 14-15 in 1984 and 3-4 in 1985, when he had shoulder surgery in July. He was 10-17 in 1986, leading the American League in losses.

He missed four starts last season with a sore shoulder.