Dodgers Get New Outfielder : Baseball: They trade second baseman Willie Randolph to the Oakland A’s for Stan Javier, who will play center field.

When the Dodgers acquired Stan Javier from the Oakland Athletics for second basemen Willie Randolph, it meant more than adding a new outfielder to the L.A. picture.

The move allowed Juan Samuel to shift to second base, where he would prefer to play, and set up some question marks for the Dodger outfield, which Kirk Gibson may or may not eventually answer.

The deal was put together Saturday night, but not officially announced until 1:25 a.m. EDT on Sunday.

“There are a number of factors that went into this trade,” Dodger General Manager Fred Claire said. “First of all, we feel we’re getting a fine young player in Stan Javier. We also have to look ahead to the return of Kirk Gibson. Kirk has been making good progress and we feel he’ll be ready soon.”

Claire also said he looks for center fielder Samuel to move to second base, where he played five seasons for Philadelphia, at “the appropriate time.”

“We will miss Willie, but I realize they had a need,” Samuel said. “He protected me a lot when I was on base.”

The A’s, the defending World Series champions, lead the American League West with a 22-8 record. Now, they appear even stronger.

Randolph, former captain for the New York Yankees, was signed as a free agent by the Dodgers before the 1989 season. He hit .282 and was a member of the National League All-Star team.

In 26 games this season, he was batting .271 with one home run and nine RBIs. Javier was hitting .242 with three RBIs in 19 games for the A’s.

Mike Gallego took over as the A’s second baseman after Tony Phillips signed as a free agent with Detroit following last season.

Gallego, however, was hitting .178 with one homer and eight RBIs. The A’s have also used Lance Blankenship at second.

“You have to look at the middle infield situation as a whole,” A’s General Manager Sandy Alderson said. “We didn’t have adequate backup to Walt Weiss at shortstop or adequate backup to Carney Lansford at third base. We do have Blankenship, who can play second base and outfield.”

The players are expected to join their teams today. The Dodgers play the Montreal Expos tonight at Dodgers Stadium. The A’s play at Minnesota.

The 36-year-old Randolph was traded to New York by Pittsburgh prior to the 1976 season and became one of the greatest second basemen in Yankees’ history.

He helped New York win four pennants and two World Series between 1976-81. He was also named to the All-Star team six times, including last season.

“It’s nice to have the opportunity to go to a team like Oakland,” Randolph said. “I really enjoyed my time in Los Angeles. I was treated very well. But I’m very happy to have this opportunity.”

Randolph will be reunited with former Yankee outfielder Rickey Henderson, batting second behind the left fielder.

“I think I fit in well with their team,” Randolph said. “This is the first time I’ve ever been traded. I was caught off guard. I knew that the Dodgers were thinking of making changes, but I never thought I fit into that.”

The Yankees decided not to keep Randolph after signing free agent second baseman Steve Sax. There was speculation Randolph might sign with Oakland after the 1988 season.

“We’ve wanted Randolph for a long time,” A’s Manager Tony La Russa said. “We personally made a trip to his home on the way to the winter meetings. But the Dodgers offered him a better deal, so he went with them. We never felt we were desperate to make a deal. We wanted to wait for a quality player.”

“This winter, there were rumors about me going to various clubs like Oakland and Milwaukee,” Randolph said. “I knew Oakland wanted me. It’s kind of funny that I end up there.”

Alderson said he’s not worried about Randolph’s age.

“He’s not 29, he’s 36,” Alderson said. “Probably he’s not what he was at the age of 29, but based on what we understand, he’s still an outstanding defensive second baseman.”

Randolph was hitless in four at-bats in his final game as a Dodger, Saturday’s 7-0 loss to Frank Viola and the New York Mets.

It also proved to be the final game of the road trip for the Dodgers, because Sunday’s scheduled series finale with the Mets at Shea Stadium was postponed due to rain.

The teams played two innings with the Mets leading, 1-0, on a bases-loaded walk to Mike Marshall by Tim Belcher in the first inning.

After a long delay, the grounds crew started to remove the tarp but the rain resumed a few minutes later. The umpires waited two hours and 52 minutes before postponing the game.

No makeup date was announced. The Dodgers are next at Shea Stadium Aug. 14-16.

The Dodgers concluded their road trip 1-7, losing the last six games.