Dodgers Working on Young Deal

Moving to trim payroll after absorbing another record-setting contract, the Dodgers are trying to trade second baseman Eric Young to the St. Louis Cardinals for a young--and relatively inexpensive--pitcher, baseball sources said Wednesday night.

Dodger General Manager Kevin Malone, Manager Davey Johnson and assistant general manager Bill Geivett met with members of the Cardinal management team twice Wednesday during the general managers’ meetings at Dana Point.

The Dodgers are eager to trade Young after giving right fielder Shawn Green a six-year, $84-million contract Monday. Young will make $9 million in the final two years of his four-year, $18-million deal.

Moreover, Dodger decision-makers consider Young a defensive liability. They unsuccessfully tried to trade him last season.

On the Cardinals’ side, talks centered on either pitcher Jose Jimenez or Manny Aybar going to the Dodgers, sources said.

Malone declined comment on the ongoing talks. St. Louis General Manager Walt Jocketty was unavailable for comment.

Young is vacationing and could not be reached. Danny Horwits, Young’s agent, spoke on his behalf.

“If the Dodgers feel that they need to trade E.Y., then they should just do it,” said Horwits, who plans to speak with Malone today. “This has been going on for a while, and I think E.Y. would just like to know what’s going on to prepare himself for next season.

“E.Y. would enjoy playing second base and leading off for the Dodgers, but he’ll be happy doing that someplace else too. E.Y. just wants to have it happen if it’s going to happen.”

The right-handed Jimenez--who threw a no-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 26--made the major league minimum $200,000 in his second season. Aybar, also a right-hander, made $210,000 in his first full season.

Jimenez, 26, and Aybar, 25, are appealing to the Dodgers because they are ineligible for salary arbitration as players with less than three years’ service time.

Jimenez started and went 5-14 with a 5.85 earned-run average. Aybar relieved, going 4-5 with a 5.47 ERA and three saves.

Either hard thrower could provide help in the rotation or bullpen, and the Dodgers are seeking a right-handed setup man.

On that front, Scott Boras, the agent for right-hander Darren Dreifort, said Wednesday that Dreifort won’t pitch in relief next season regardless of what the Dodgers decide. Boras plans to meet soon with new Dodger Chairman Robert Daly and Malone to resolve the situation, and Boras stressed Dreifort won’t remain with the team unless he starts.

Dreifort isn’t eligible for free agency until after next season, but Boras could engineer a trade with the Dodgers’ permission. The Dodgers, however, aren’t obligated to accommodate Dreifort.

“Darren Dreifort is not going to pitch in the bullpen,” Boras said, “he’s made his decision about that.”

The Dodgers continued to shop right-hander Ismael Valdes, having several proposals rejected as the meetings that end today wound down. The Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies were unwilling to part with big league pitchers and top pitching prospects.

Again, the Dodgers’ attempts to trade Valdes are payroll motivated because Valdes might earn as much as $6 million in arbitration and is eligible for free agency in 2001. The Dodger payroll is projected at about $93 million next season if the core members of last season’s 25-man roster are retained.

Including Green’s new deal, the Dodgers are committed to $327.6 million in contracts--by far the biggest commitment in baseball.

Young, 32, was slowed by numerous injuries, and bothered because some club officials intimated his injuries might not be as serious as he portrayed. Young played in 119 games, batting .281 with two home runs and 41 runs batted in.

Young finished third in the National League with 51 stolen bases. He had a .382 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot--fifth highest in the league.