Braves Trade Pete Smith to Mets

Pete Smith, dropped from the Atlanta Braves’ rotation during the season, was traded to the New York Mets on Friday for outfielder Dave Gallagher.

Smith, a 27-year-old right-hander, was projected as the Braves’ fifth starter, behind Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Steve Avery and John Smoltz, but he wound up starting only 14 games. He was 4-8 with a 4.37 earned-run average in 20 games.

“Between the ages of 28 and 32 are supposed to be your best years in the big leagues,” said Joe McIlvaine, the Mets’ top baseball executive. “I think he has a chance to be a serviceable major league pitcher. He’s not a star by any means.”

Smith, who made $1,025,000 in 1993, is eligible for salary arbitration, as is Gallagher. Both can become free agents after the 1994 season. Smith twice underwent arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder. He was disabled from July 25 to Sept. 1 because of tendinitis in the shoulder.

Also, Atlanta apparently agreed to a $1.1-million, two-year deal with catcher Charlie O’Brien, a free agent who had been with the Mets since September of 1990, and released Francisco Cabrera, whose two-out, two-run single won the 1992 National League pennant for the Braves. Cabrera was designated for assignment by the Braves and agreed to a contract with the Orix Blue Wave of Japan’s Pacific League.

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The Cincinnati Reds agreed to contracts with five free agents: infielder Lenny Harris and reliever Ken Patterson and got major league deals; and infielder Kurt Stillwell, utility player Casey Candaele and catcher Steve Lake agreed to contracts with the triple-A Indianapolis farm club.

Harris will make $450,000, with $100,000 in bonuses; Stillwell $375,000, with $200,000 in bonuses, and Candaele, $375,000, with $225,000 in bonuses.

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Outfielder Jim Eisenreich re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.4 million, guaranteed. Eisenreich, who made $675,000 in 1993, gets $1.2 million next season. The Phillies also have an option for 1995 at $1.2 million with a $200,000 buyout.

The Phillies also asked for unconditional waivers on pitcher Kyle Abbott, who has agreed to a contract with the Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Japanese Pacific League.

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The Texas Rangers signed free-agent left-hander Rick Honeycutt to a one-year deal. Honeycutt, 39, was 1-4 with a 2.81 ERA for Oakland last season and pitched in 50-plus games for the fifth time in six years.

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Shane Mack and the Minnesota Twins avoided arbitration when the outfielder agreed to a $3.25-million, one-year contract.

The Twins, who are in a cost-cutting mode, still might trade Mack but he protected himself with a clause that will raise his salary by $250,000 if he is dealt.

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The Dodgers will open the 1994 season at Dodger Stadium against the Florida Marlins on Tuesday afternoon, April 5. The Dodgers play a three-game series against the Marlins and another three games against the defending National League West champion Braves before starting an eight-game trip in St. Louis on April 11.

The Angels open their season at Minnesota April 5 and begin their home schedule April 11 against Cleveland.

Jurisprudence

Former Olympic diver Bruce Kimball, 30, was released from a halfway house in Broward County, Fla., to his family after serving fewer than five years of a 17-year manslaughter sentence for driving drunk into a group of teens and killing two.

Among the restrictions Kimball faces are a lifelong ban on holding a driver’s license and 15 years of probation, which requires that he have a judge’s permission before he can visit any place that serves alcohol.

Former Nevada Las Vegas basketball player Anderson Hunt pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in connection with marijuana found in his possession during a traffic stop last month.

Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis ordered Hunt to perform 100 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to a possession charge. Hunt, who is unemployed, also faces a drunk-driving charge in connection with his Oct. 2 arrest. Hunt recently completed a 30-day drug rehabilitation program in Houston, his attorney, Steve Stein, said.

Figure Skating

Katarina Witt, former women’s Olympic figure skating champion, claims the Communist secret police had her under such close surveillance that they even knew when she was having sex.

Witt, in an interview with the German magazine Sports, said she was the target of intense scrutiny by Communist East Germany’s secret police, the Stasi. Witt, the 1984 and ’88 Olympic gold medalist who is attempting a comeback, was one of East Germany’s best known stars. She said her impending autobiography will include portions of the thorough files the Stasi kept on her, but it won’t reveal the names of people who spied on her.

Miscellany

The World University Games, held during the summer in Buffalo, N.Y., are being audited for using federal transportation funds to pay other expenses, officials said. Games organizers misused $210,000 in grant money from the Federal Transportation Administration to cover general expenses, said Lawrence Meckler, attorney for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.

Names in the News

Dale Earnhardt, the Winston Cup stock car racing champion, won more than $3.3 million in 1993, the richest season for any auto racing driver, according to figures released by NASCAR. . . . Guard Terrell Brandon of the Cleveland Cavaliers was activated after having been sidelined with mononucleosis, and guard Gerald Madkins was put on the injured list. . . . Don Howe, a former assistant coach for England’s national soccer team, said he didn’t want to replace Graham Taylor, who resigned Tuesday as head coach.

U.S. Olympic bobsled medal hopefuls Brian Shimer and brakeman Randy Jones finished a disappointing 17th in a World Cup two-man event at Altenberg, Germany. The U.S. team’s time of 1:54.77 was well behind the winning mark of 1:53.08, posted by Germany’s Christoph Langen and Peer Jorchel.