Dodgers Sign Wallach for Half the Price : Baseball: Team sticks with veteran third baseman, who agrees to $1.5-million contract.

The Dodgers, acknowledging their fear of opening the season with a 28-year-old rookie third baseman, signed veteran Tim Wallach on Monday to a one-year, $1.5-million contract with an option for 1996.

Wallach, 37, coming off one of the finest seasons of his career, exemplifies the difficulty many veteran free agents are facing. Although he can earn an additional $675,000 in incentives, his base salary will be less than half of his $3.3 million earnings in 1994.

“‘I never thought I’d see the day where a third baseman could hit .280 with 23 homers and 78 RBIs by mid-August,” said agent Alan Meersand, “and have to take a pay cut like this. But it’s a market full of third basemen.

“(Dodger General Manager) Fred Claire told me this is the best we can do. He told me that the club will be a lot younger and the payroll will be a lot less next year. He said, ‘Listen, if Tim doesn’t accept this offer, we’ll just go out and find someone else.’

“No player likes to take such a large pay cut, but Tim didn’t want to be the Jody Reed of ‘95, either. That was definitely in the back of Tim’s mind.”

Reed rejected a three-year, $7.8-million contract by the Dodgers a year ago, only to wind up signing a one-year, $350,000 contract with Milwaukee.

“There’s no question this is definitely where I want to be,” said Wallach, born and raised in Orange County. “I wanted to stay here and play here because of the organization and because my family is here.”

Wallach will earn $5,400 for every game he starts until he reaches a maximum of 125 games. The Dodgers then must decide within two days after completion of the 1995 World Series whether to exercise Wallach’s option for 1996.

Wallach will now compete with rookie Ron Coomer for the starting third base job.