Turmoil in Bullpen

The Dodgers plan to make bullpen decisions after Mike Fetters returns this week.

Fetters is expected to pitch in exhibition play for the first time Thursday, Manager Davey Johnson said Monday before a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The right-hander has been sidelined since Feb. 29 because of a strained left quadriceps.

The Dodgers have already decided that Fetters will make the opening-day roster if he pitches reasonably well.

The team payroll is expected to be about $90 million and if Fetters pitches effectively, the Dodgers could save money by trading expensive right-hander Alan Mills.

Mills is owed $2.25 million this season and $3 million next. Fetters, 35, will earn $550,000 if he makes the 25-man roster. He could earn as much as $550,000 more in performance incentives.

Closer Jeff Shaw is making $5.05 million, Orel Hershiser $2 million, Terry Adams $1.4 million and Gregg Olson $1.25 million. That’s almost $10 million for other pitchers expected to play prominent bullpen roles.

Mills, Shaw, Olson and Hershiser--who might start--have salary guarantees. Adams was the main player acquired from the Cubs in the controversial deal that sent pitcher Ismael Valdes and second baseman Eric Young to Chicago.

Mills appears to be the odd man out. The Dodgers might be in the market for another left-handed reliever, and Olson’s physical status might add another variable to the unsettled situation.

Olson recently underwent an MRI exam to determine the cause of pain in his pitching elbow.

It was feared Olson might have a pinched nerve, but the exam’s results were negative. Johnson plans to use Olson carefully while the medical staff monitors him.

“I want to keep all of [the right-handers],” Johnson said. “Nobody has enough pitching, and the main thing is to have enough pitching if you have a problem. We have that now with our right-handers.

“But if you look at the [contract] numbers you can see we’ve got some difficult decisions ahead of us. . . . So the $64,000 question is, ‘Do we lose some of our insurance to do some things, or do we keep our insurance?’ These are tough decisions that have to be made.”

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Pitcher Carlos Perez will be arraigned April 18 in Indian River County Court on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The first-degree misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Perez--whose license will be suspended for six months because he refused to undergo a Breathalyzer test--must attend the hearing only if he pleads not guilty.

The Dodgers are scheduled to host the Houston Astros on Perez’s hearing date, but the struggling pitcher may not make the major league roster. The left-hander--0-1 with a 14.40 earned-run average--may start the season at triple-A Albuquerque.

A Dodger minor leaguer also was arrested about 40 minutes before Perez on Saturday. Pitcher Billy Davis was taken into custody on allegations of disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest. He was released on $1,000 bond. Davis, 23, is in his second year in the organization.

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Kevin Elster, competing for the starting shortstop job, went two for three with three runs batted in against the Orioles. Juan Castro went two for three with a run batted in. Adams pitched a scoreless ninth, earning his first save.