Dodgers’ Deal for DeShields Costs Them Pedro Martinez : Baseball: The Expos’ second baseman, 24, batted .295 with 43 stolen bases last season. Reed won’t return.

Looking for speed and sacrificing one of the most promising pitchers in baseball to get it, the Dodgers acquired second baseman Delino DeShields from the Montreal Expos on Friday for relief pitcher Pedro Martinez.

The move signals an end to the Dodgers’ efforts to re-sign 31-year-old free agent Jody Reed, their starting second baseman last season.

In four full seasons in the majors--mostly as the Expos’ leadoff batter--DeShields, 24, hit .277 and averaged more than 46 stolen bases. Last year, he hit .295 and stole 43 bases in a season limited by a strained thumb ligament that forced him to sit out five weeks.

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda conceded that it was not easy to part with the 22-year-old Martinez, who was 10-5 with a 2.61 earned-run average in 65 games in his first full major league season, appearing mostly in middle relief.

“Pedro did an outstanding job for us in the role that he played,” Lasorda said. “But in order to get a player the caliber and the quality of a DeShields, you have to give up something. . . . We had to have this guy because we felt we needed speed in the lineup.

“As an everyday player, we feel he will be more valuable to us than the relief pitcher.”

Lasorda said DeShields definitely will not replace center fielder Brett Butler in the leadoff spot, adding that his first inclination is to bat DeShields third, behind Butler and shortstop Jose Offerman.

“I really felt in the second half (of 1993) they were one of the best teams in the league,” DeShields said of his new team. “They have some young players, (Mike) Piazza, (Eric) Karros, Offerman. It’s going to be a nice mix with the veterans they have there.”

DeShields said he figured he would be traded because there had been so much talk about the Expos being unable to sign all of their players eligible for arbitration. DeShields, who reportedly was paid $1,537,500 last season, is eligible for arbitration.

At least one Dodger veteran, however, was shocked by the trade.

“In a nutshell, I guess I’m blown away that they traded probably one of the best pitchers we had on the staff,” Butler said from his home in Georgia.

“They’re going to shuffle and do things according to what they think is best . . . but if they look at the guy who played second base, he wasn’t something that had to be fixed.

“Granted, free-agency put him out there, but there was never a hole at second base--and with Delino there’s still not a hole. He’s going to add to our ballclub. But there’s other holes that need to be fixed and those have not been addressed.”

Fred Claire, executive vice president, said he first discussed the deal with Expo General Manager Dan Duquette a few weeks ago. Recently, with negotiations to sign Reed at an impasse, the Dodgers pursued free-agent second baseman Robby Thompson, who elected to remain with the San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers’ last offer to Reed was a three-year deal worth about $8.5 million. Reed’s agent, J.D. Dowell, countered with a demand apparently worth more than $10 million.

“I have a great deal of respect for Jody Reed,” Claire said. “He played hard for us and he played well. . . . If he had said yes to our offer, we would not have traded for a second baseman.

“We made a run at Robby, that would have meant we would have kept Pedro. The thing with Robby didn’t work out. One door closes, and we were prepared to open another one.”

Asked how the Dodgers will make up for Martinez’s absence in the bullpen, Claire said he expected Todd Worrell to be sound again, which would free Jim Gott to be a set-up man.

Claire said he still is trying to get a left-handed starter or reliever.

The Expos said they plan to put Martinez into their starting rotation and expect him to log 200 innings a year.

On Friday night, Martinez said both he and his older brother, Ramon, a Dodger starter, were surprised he was traded.

“I was more surprised than anyone,” Pedro Martinez said. “I thought I was someone really needed by the Dodgers.”

For Martinez, who said he harbored no bitterness toward the Dodgers, the real pain is being separated from Ramon.

“I’m going to be really sad about the situation of being without my brother,” Pedro Martinez said. “I talked to him and I told him about me being traded and the only thing he said was, ‘ You got traded?’

“He was really surprised because he couldn’t believe I got traded (considering) the spot I was in with the Dodgers.

“Nobody except Fred Claire was thinking about me being traded.”