Dodgers Pay a Big Price (Welch) to Improve : Orosco Believes He’s the One to Put an End to Howe Legacy

The Dodgers’ search for a quality left-handed relief pitcher, among their most pressing off-season personnel priorities since their problems with drug-troubled Steve Howe several years back, has led them to the risky trading market once more.

For the fourth straight winter, the Dodgers have traded for a left-handed short reliever whom they hope will be as effective as Howe had been during his salad days.

Friday, they acquired Jesse Orosco from the New York Mets in a three-team deal that also brought the Dodgers shortstop Alfredo Griffin and right-handed reliever Jay Howell from the Oakland A’s for veteran starting pitcher Bob Welch and reliever Matt Young.

Orosco now finds himself the successor to Carlos Diaz and Ed Van de Berg, both eminently forgettable, and Young, whose questionable left elbow and inconsistency made him expendable. Will Orosco’s acquisition finally be the one that shatters Howe’s haunting legacy?

Orosco, quite frankly, says yes.

“They’ve got their guy now,” Orosco said Friday afternoon from his Florida home. “I hope I can make them forget. I’m not trying to be cocky, but (the Dodgers) chose me for a reason. I am going to be their short lefty.”

Orosco figures to be the Dodgers’ only choice for a left-handed closer, unless the club renews an interest in signing free-agent reliever Dave Righetti.

“The season will tell about me,” Orosco said. “You guys will be the judge this time next year or midway through the season. I have confidence I can do the job. I like that role. I’m more than happy about this trade. I feel like a kid again.”

Reaction from the other pitchers in the trade could not be immediately obtained. Neither Welch nor Young returned phone calls, and Howell also could not be reached at his Florida home.

Griffin, a 12-year veteran shortstop who will be 31 in March, said he is confident that he will be able to stabilize the Dodgers’ other glaring weakness. With the acquisition of Griffin, Mariano Duncan will likely be switched to second base, with Steve Sax possibly moving to third.

“I’m happy to be in Los Angeles, and I think I can help out Mariano,” Griffin said from a Miami hotel Friday night. “Mariano has a lot of talent, but maybe there’s some little things I can teach him. Sometimes, the communication is better with Spanish-speaking players.”

Griffin said he had heard talk that he might be traded and expressed little surprise that he was dealt to the Dodgers. In November, Griffin had filed a formal trade demand in which he listed six teams, including the Dodgers, that he would not want to play for, basically because they were teams in dire need of shortstops. Some believe Griffin really just wanted a better contract from the A’s.

The demand was dropped by Griffin a few weeks after it was filed, which means that Griffin still can file for free agency after the 1988 season. Randy Hendricks, Griffin’s agent, said that Sandy Alderson, the A’s general manager, was receptive to the idea “but never got anything done on it.”

Griffin said: “I wasn’t unhappy in Oakland. To me, it makes no difference where I go. I have to play and behave the way I should anywhere. I’m excited about playing in L.A.”

Orosco, who will be 31 in April, was no less excited about leaving the Mets for what he calls a fresh start with the Dodgers. He grew up in Santa Barbara, and his wife, Leticia, is a former Miss East Los Angeles.

“This is the greatest thing that’s happened to me in a long time,” Orosco said.

Orosco also wanted to dispel talk in New York that he has been suffering from arm soreness. “Everybody always asks about that,” Orosco said. “But I can tell you that it’s 100%. Well, maybe 99.9% because, you know, any reliever who pitches a lot is going to have a little something. But I’ve felt no pain at all for two years.

“I think it all goes back to ‘83, when I hurt the ulnar nerve (in his left elbow) and I missed the last three weeks. People have speculated about that ever since, but there is no problem.”

If, indeed, Orosco’s elbow is sound, it obviously will be good news to the Dodgers, especially since both Griffin and Howell are nursing injuries during the off-season.

Griffin, who hit .263 and had 66 runs batted in last season, is recovering from an extremely sore left thumb. He has it in a cast but it will not require surgery. Howell had arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow, but he is expected to return in time for spring training.

Griffin, examined earlier in the week in Los Angeles by Dr. Norman Zemel, said he can play right now with the jammed thumb but would rather rest it.

“Dr. Zemel said if I don’t move it for two or three weeks, it would completely heal,” Griffin said. “So, I want to do that.”

Meanwhile, Orosco said that reporters and fans in New York needlessly fueled speculation of arm soreness whenever he failed to pitch well.

“I had always been a key figure for the Mets,” Orosco said. “If I make 35 appearances, they want 35 saves. There was a lot of pressure there. Everybody’s human. And if I didn’t save every game, they speculated that something was wrong with my arm.”

Until last season, when he had a 4.44 earned-run average and 16 saves in 58 appearances, Orosco had been the Mets’ most effective and reliable left-handed reliever. Orosco had 107 saves in seven seasons with the Mets, and won three games against the Houston Astros in the playoffs, a National League championship series record.

In 1987, however, Orosco fell into disfavor with Met Manager Davey Johnson, who chose to use Roger McDowell and Randy Myers as his top left-handed relievers. It was because of the abundance of similar pitchers that Orosco asked to be traded and the Mets were willing to accommodate him.

“There was a real cold war between Davey Johnson and Jesse,” said Alan Meersand, Orosco’s Marina del Rey-based agent. “(Johnson) wouldn’t talk to Jesse, and I had to mediate. I told (Orosco) to knock on Davey’s door and sit down and discuss it, which they did. Still, when the save opportunities arose, (Johnson) still went with McDowell. That hurts a pitcher’s confidence.”

Said Orosco: “It definitely wasn’t a good situation for me to pitch under. I had no role. I didn’t know whether I was going to be used long or short. When you aren’t sure, you just have to make the most of it. If (the Dodgers) tell me what my role is, I’ll make the most of it.

“If they give me the chance in L.A., there will be no more excuses if I don’t pitch well. I’m confident I can do it.”

There is no such doubt surrounding Griffin, sore thumb and all. He played six solid seasons in Toronto before he was traded to Oakland in 1985. With the A’s, Griffin became more offensive-minded, hitting .270 in 1985, .285 in 1986 and .263 last season.

For all his consistency, though, Griffin has been largely overlooked. He appeared in the All-Star game once--in 1984--but only because Detroit’s Alan Trammell was a late scratch and Griffin just happened to be at the game as a guest of friend Damaso Garcia.

At least now, Griffin reasons, he will have the attention that comes from playing in a major media market, which could be good or bad, depending on how well he plays for the Dodgers.

“Yeah, I probably have that in my favor,” Griffin said. “But I’m not looking for (publicity). If I had to play in Japan, where nobody would know me, I would.”