Gonzalez Gets Wish, Dodgers Trade Him for Webster : Baseball: Player without a hit in 28 at-bats this season might get more of a chance in Pittsburgh.

Adding to their bench strength while subtracting an unhappy player from their clubhouse, the Dodgers traded Jose Gonzalez to the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday for veteran outfielder Mitch Webster.

Webster, 32, is a switch hitter who runs well and can play every outfield position. He was drafted by the Dodgers in 1977 and they will be his sixth major league team and third this season.

He hit .125 in 13 games with the Cleveland Indians before being traded to the Pirates May 16. He batted .175 in 36 games there.

He had a career average of .270 before this season, and had stolen more than 20 bases four times. He joined the Dodgers in the middle of Wednesday’s game with the San Diego Padres and entered the game in the seventh inning, playing left field.

Webster joins the Dodgers with one hit in his past 16 at-bats. But the Dodgers don’t mind because he will be their sixth outfielder, serving mostly as a pinch-hitter, pinch-runner and late-inning defensive replacement.

“We’ve heard that the guy plays hard and hustles all the time,” Brett Butler said. “Sounds like a great guy to have.”

Gonzalez, 26, had worn out his welcome with the Dodgers. After frustrating the Dodgers and himself throughout his 11-year association with the organization, he asked to be traded last season. He has been asking for a trade nearly every day since.

Gonzalez’s frustration was compounded this season because he was the only major leaguer who began the season on an active roster and had yet to get a hit. He was hitless in 28 at-bats.

Gonzalez had a .240 batting average in his six-plus seasons with the Dodgers.

“There is an old saying: Talent which is used develops, and talent which is not used wastes away,” Tom Lasorda said when asked about Gonzalez. “Jose had his role here, and knew his role here, but he was unhappy with that.”

When asked if Gonzalez had reason to be unhappy about his limited playing time, even among the Dodger reserves, Lasorda said, “If you were a pitcher, who would you rather face--Mike Sharperson or Jose Gonzalez? That’s your answer right there.”