Giants Get Strawberry to Boost Poor Offense : Baseball: They hope to have troubled former Dodger in right field to replace McGee by mid-July.

Darryl Strawberry needed a place to play and the San Francisco Giants needed a right fielder.

On Sunday, they made a deal.

Strawberry signed with the Giants, six weeks after his release from a drug treatment center and four weeks after being waived by the Dodgers.

“There’s a risk when you get up in the morning. Life is a risk,” said Bob Quinn, Giant general manager. “We’re willing to take whatever risk is involved because we’re convinced that this man is ready to turn his life around and play good solid baseball for the Giants.”

The struggling Giants hope to have Strawberry in right field by the All-Star break to replace Willie McGee, sidelined for the season because of a ruptured Achilles’ tendon. They hope Strawberry can regain his form and revive the team’s slumping offense, ranked among the worst in the majors.

Strawberry, 32, was signed for the rest of the season, Quinn said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The troubled outfielder, who was released by the Dodgers on May 25, did not attend the news conference. He won’t be available for comment until later this month, Quinn said.

In a statement released by the club, Strawberry said: “My agent, Eric Goldschmidt and I were extremely impressed with the manner in which the Giants organization reached out to me.”

He said he had visited this past week with club owner Peter Magowan, Quinn, club executive Larry Baer, Manager Dusty Baker and coach Bobby Bonds.

Strawberry said “that being a member of the Giants presented a comfortable atmosphere for my return to the game.”

“I’ve missed the competitiveness and can’t wait until I can actively join the club and hopefully contribute to a pennant-winning season,” he said.

Quinn said Strawberry will begin a conditioning program under team supervision, followed by a brief playing assignment with one of the Giants’ minor league affiliates.

Quinn said if all went well, Strawberry could be with the team by mid-July.

“I’m not surprised that he signed because there’s no doubt that he wanted continue his career,” said Fred Claire, Dodger general manager.

“I think the most important thing is that Darryl’s had a lot of good counseling, so he needed to be ready in his own mind and in his own life to go out to play again. So, I can only assume that’s the case. My hope would be that he would go on through this year without any incident, and that he would go on through the rest of his life without any incidents.”

The Giants are a season-low nine games under .500. Expected to win the realigned and weakened NL West, San Francisco has fallen into third place, 5 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.

Despite the presence of Barry Bonds and Matt Williams, the Giants are last in the majors in batting average at .241. They are tied with San Diego for the fewest runs in the majors with 262.

“All things considered, this is a great place for Darryl,” Giant reliever Rod Beck said. “We’ll get a quality player to make a run. I don’t see a downside. He’s not going to find a better situation than here because of the people surrounding him.”

Baker formerly played with Strawberry’s older brother, Michael. The Giants also said that Michael Strawberry would live with his brother once he joins the team and also accompany him on the club’s road trips.

“I think everybody deserves a second chance. There are guys who will turn their lives around, so give Darryl Strawberry a chance to turn his life around,” Baker said.

Strawberry has not played since acknowledging he had a substance abuse problem on April 4, the day before the Dodgers opened the season.

Strawberry was supposed to be paid $3 million this season and $5 million in 1995 under a five-year, $20.25-million contract signed with the Dodgers on Nov. 8, 1990.

Under a contract settlement reached earlier this season, Strawberry will be paid $4,857,143 on July 1. That is the remainder the Dodgers owe him from his 1994 salary and half of his 1995 salary.

Although the Giants did not disclose how much they will pay Strawberry, it is possible they got him for the major league minimum. That total is $109,000 for an entire season--but because the Giants signed him for less than a year, they might have gotten him for about $63,000.

Strawberry has a .259 lifetime batting average and hit at least 26 home runs every season from 1983-1991.