Oester Rejects Dodger Bid : He Signs With Reds; Murray Deal in Jeopardy

The Dodgers, who spent much of Friday denying a published report that the Eddie Murray deal had been completed, were dealt another blow to the planned reconstruction of the right side of the infield when free-agent second baseman Ron Oester re-signed with the Cincinnati Reds.

Oester indirectly might have thrown a wrench into the Dodgers’ deal with the Baltimore Orioles for Murray, a deal that the Associated Press reported had been consummated Friday. That report was denied by all parties involved, although a source in the baseball commissioner’s office indicated that the teams had received approval for the financial terms of the proposed trade. Presumably, the Orioles agreed to pay part of the $8 million that Murray is scheduled to receive over the next 3 seasons.

There is speculation that once Oester was lost, the Dodgers asked the Orioles to include a second base prospect--perhaps Pete Stanicek--and that the Orioles balked, a possible reason why the matter remains unresolved on the eve of Executive Vice President Fred Claire’s trip to Atlanta today for baseball’s winter meetings.

Claire, however, said there was “absolutely no connection there whatsoever” between the Oester signing and the Murray negotiations. And in a conference call Friday night, Claire went beyond denying the AP report to suggest that the Murray trade may never materialize.

“We haven’t closed the door,” Claire said. “But I can’t paint it as encouraging.

” . . . What we’ve offered obviously isn’t enough, because the deal hasn’t been completed. There is a line in every (negotiation). That’s what all of this is about. We may not come to an agreement. I have no reason to be encouraged tonight.”

The Dodgers reportedly had offered the Orioles shortstop Juan Bell, outfielder Mike Devereaux and reliever Ken Howell. Claire would not acknowledge whether those were the players involved, nor would he say whether the Dodgers had asked for other players besides Murray. Talks have not broken off between the teams.

“We haven’t said, ‘We don’t want to talk with you anymore,’ ” Claire said. “As long as there’s hope at all, we’ll talk. But the clock is always running.”

Oester became the second projected replacement for Steve Sax--who signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent--to spurn the Dodgers at the last minute. The first was free agent Tommy Herr, who ultimately re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies after entertaining an offer from the Dodgers.

As late as Friday morning, Oester was set to sign with the Dodgers, his agent said, until he told Cincinnati Vice President Murray Cook of his intentions.

“Ron Oester walked into Murray Cook’s office to say he was signing with the Dodgers,” said Myles Shoda, who, along with Ed Keating, represents Oester. “But Murray Cook pulled out a piece of paper, wrote down some numbers, and Ron couldn’t turn him down.”

Oester, 32, received a significant jump in pay from the $290,000 he made in salary and incentives last season, when he hit .280 after coming back from major surgery on his left knee. The Reds gave Oester a 2-year guaranteed contract, with an option for a third year, that will pay him $650,000 in 1989, $650,000 in 1990 and, if the option is picked up, $650,000 in 1991--or there’s a $100,000 buyout.

Oester, who grew up in Cincinnati, has played 8 1/2 seasons with the Reds and owns a home in the Ohio city now. He had made it known that he preferred to stay with the Reds, but until Cook made his counter-offer, Oester was prepared to sign with the Dodgers, whose offer reportedly was $700,000 more than the Reds had been offering.

Cook didn’t have to guess what the Dodgers were offering, either. All he had to do was contact the information bank maintained by the owners’ Player Relations Committee, to which teams have been reporting their offers to free agents.

Shoda said that Oester did not go to Cook seeking a counter-offer. In a news conference in Cincinnati Friday, Oester said Claire graciously accepted the news of his decision. Oester also said Claire mentioned that unlike Oester and the Reds, Sax had not given the Dodgers a chance to match the Yankees’ offer.

Where does Oester’s signing leave the Dodgers in their quest to fill the hole left by Sax’s departure?

“We’ll continue to look,” Claire said.

If Claire is to be believed, the answer could be Mariano Duncan, which would answer the following question, too: Can a player call Tom Lasorda a liar one year and become the starting second baseman the next?

Little has been heard from Duncan since he departed Dodgertown in a rage last spring after his demotion to triple-A Albuquerque. By one count, Duncan called Lasorda a “ . . . liar” eight times in a burst of anger. The manager had shown bad faith, Duncan charged, by promising the infielder a shot at second base, with Sax a candidate to be moved to third.

That never materialized, and Duncan’s .100 batting average in exhibition play made him something less than indispensable.

However, reacting to positive reports from the Dominican Republic, where Duncan is playing winter ball, Claire said he could live with Duncan as his opening-day second baseman.

Duncan, a onetime switch-hitter who now swings only from the right side, hit .288 and stole 31 bases in 54 games with Albuquerque last season, and is batting over .300 this winter.

“There’s no question about his defense--he’s an outstanding defensive second baseman,” Claire said. “The question is, will he be able to fill the role offensively that needs to be filled, in view of Sax’s departure?”

Claire also is concerned about Duncan’s brittleness--he has had a variety of injuries in the last 3 seasons--but claims his attitude is “tremendous.”

But might Lasorda be inclined to hold a grudge?

“Tommy will view any player in terms of what he can contribute to the club,” Claire said. “The makeup of the ballclub will not be determined by . . . any confrontation.”