Dodgers Raising Stakes : Baseball: Pledge would guarantee replacement players a job for the entire season, even if it’s in the minors.

The Dodgers, hoping to induce players to defy the strike, pledged Thursday that anyone signing a replacement contract would be guaranteed a job for the entire season.

The Dodgers are believed to be the first team to offer such an inducement to replacement players, assuring at least a job in the minors no matter when the strike ends. The proposal swiftly drew the ire of the players’ association.

“It’s sad they had to resort to that, just to try to convince minor leaguers to become replacement players,” said union counsel Gene Orza. “Where’s the holiness in that? Hopefully, these players will understand that they will not be playing in major league games. They will be scab games.”

The Dodgers handed out one-page questionnaires to all but 11 of their 88 minor leaguers, asking if they would be interested in becoming replacement players. Those agreeing to do so would be required to make themselves available to play in all Dodger exhibition games and the regular season.

The players were given 24 hours to respond, and the questionnaires are due back today.

“This really stinks, I mean really stinks,” said pitcher George Tsamis, 27, who expects to accept the offer. “This is a decision that affects your whole life, your whole future, and you’ve got 24 hours to decide.

“I’m not blaming the Dodgers. It’s the union that forced their hand. We should have been able to wait until April 3 to make a decision, but now we can’t.”

The Dodgers told their players that no one will be penalized for refusing to become a strikebreaker, but the offer of a guaranteed contract and other financial inducements make it difficult to resist.

“The Dodgers’ offer is definitely tempting,” said Dennis Moeller, 27. “Everybody wants job security. Why should we be any different?

“Besides, I never saw where (union chief) Don Fehr was named baseball god.”

The replacement players not only will have jobs all season, according to the questionnaire, but will also receive a $5,000 signing bonus and major league per diem of $702 a week beginning March 2. If the strike lasts into the season, players will receive another $5,000 bonus, $20,000 in severance pay, and a minimum salary of $4,388 a week.

“I’m not about to turn that down,” said pitcher Tom McCarthy, 33, who spent last season pitching in Mexico. “I’m crossing, pure and simple.

“What really made me decide was when the union started asking us not to play. Hey, we’re not even part of the union. If they want us to walk out, who’s going to compensate us?

“I’ve been playing since 1979, and the union has basically done nothing for me. They can call me a scab. I don’t care. I’ve been called a lot of things.”

Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, said he has no idea how many players will accept the offer. One player, however, said the Dodgers will have no trouble fielding a team for their spring-training opener against the New York Yankees on March 2.

There were nearly a dozen players seeking to renegotiate their triple-A contracts after the Dodgers’ announcement. They may not be willing to become replacement players at $3,500 a month in the minors, but certainly would reconsider at $10,000 a month, which is what McCarthy, Miguel Alicea and Shawn Holman are making.

“I’ve waited 15 years to be in the big leagues, for my chance,” said Alicea, 35, who has played the last five years in Mexico. “No one making a million dollars a year is giving me money to support my wife and four kids.”

Others continue to resist, however, among them veterans Casey Candaele, Dave Staton and Tom Prince.