BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Samuel Might Make Way for Young

It appears that the Dodgers are close to finally shipping out Juan Samuel, replacing him on the roster with second base prospect Eric Young.

Although Dodgers officials will not confirm it, the move seems inevitable. Samuel has started two of the 11 games since the All-Star break, and appeared in four others.

Samuel might be traded by Friday’s deadline or designated for assignment.

“I cannot comment on anything until something is done,” said Fred Claire, Dodger vice president.

Samuel arrived from the New York Mets during the winter of 1989 in a trade that sent Mike Marshall and Alejandro Pena to the New York Mets.

He began the 1990 season as the Dodgers’ opening day center fielder and leadoff hitter, but did not excel in either spot. By the time he was returned to his natural position of second base, scouts felt he had lost some range there.

Samuel was not offered a contract after the 1990 and 1991 seasons. But both times, because he was offered arbitration, he returned to the team.

The highlight of his Dodger stint was the first half of last season, when he made the All-Star team for the third time by batting .313 with nine home runs and 43 runs batted in.

But during the year since then, in 402 at-bats, he is batting .236 with three homers and 30 RBIs. He has not hit a home run since Sept. 13, 1991.

Earlier this season, when it was obvious the Dodgers had replaced him with Mike Sharperson, Samuel asked Claire for a trade. But he isn’t an attractive acquisition because of his $2.325-million salary.

The Dodgers would like to see if Young, a converted outfielder who is starring at triple-A Albuquerque, is their second baseman of the future. Young has not played in several days because of a leg injury, but after 93 games, he was batting .340 with 20 errors.

Darryl Strawberry is scheduled to have his back examined today. . . . Eric Davis was scratched from the lineup Tuesday because of a virus. . . . Eric Karros is experiencing pain in his right Achilles’ tendon after playing despite a sore right calf for a week, but he will not leave the lineup. . . . Bob Ojeda is scheduled to pitch Thursday against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, one day before the waiver-free trade deadline. “I’ll be glad when that deadline passes and I can start thinking about something else,” Ojeda said.

The Dodgers received left-hander Mike Sodders from the Chicago Cubs as the player to be named in the Kal Daniels trade. Sodders, who was assigned to class-A Bakersfield, was 4-5 with a 3.57 earned-run average for double-A Charlotte. . . . The Dodgers also acquired outfielder Julio Peguero as the player to be named in the trade that sent Stan Javier to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Steve Searcy. Peguero was batting .256 at triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre with 14 doubles and 14 stolen bases. He was placed on the 40-man roster and optioned to Albuquerque. After four starts at Albuquerque, Searcy was 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA.