Brown to the Bullpen?

Jim Tracy hasn’t decided the next step in pitcher Kevin Brown’s return from June 11 surgery for a herniated disk in his lower back, but he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Brown pitching out of the bullpen.

“That’s not out of the question,” Tracy said before Wednesday’s game against the Expos. “Is it a viable option? Maybe. Is it etched in stone? No. Is it part of several different scenarios? Yes.”

Brown, who is being paid $15 million this season, the fourth year of a seven-year, $105-million contract, has made only one relief appearance as a Dodger, throwing 1 1/3 innings June 24, 2001, against San Diego, his first game back from a neck injury that had sent him to the disabled list.

Though Brown has shown no physical effects from his back surgery, as well as last September’s elbow surgery, he has struggled to find his command and rhythm in two bullpen workouts since Friday night’s minor league rehabilitation start for triple-A Las Vegas.

Fueling the chances of a relief stint, at least at the start of his return, is a desire on the Dodgers’ part to ease Brown back after a two-month absence, having him face major league batters for shorter periods of time.

Some felt Brown rushed his rehabilitation from surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right elbow this spring, and that his quick return might have contributed to two setbacks that sent him to the disabled list in mid-April and late May.

And even though Brown loves the responsibility and pressure that comes with being the team’s ace, the Dodgers don’t want to place too big of a burden on the right-hander.

“It’s unfair to Kevin Brown and the Dodgers to think that if he comes back, that’s our ticket to October,” Tracy said. “To do what we’ve done in his absence and then to throw everything on his shoulders, that’s not fair.”

If Brown objected to the possibility of pitching out of the bullpen, he didn’t show it Wednesday.

“That’s been a possibility the whole time,” said Brown, who is 2-3 with a 4.06 earned-run average in nine starts and hasn’t pitched since May 26. “I’m just going to play it by ear. It’s no big deal. What it boils down to is, what’s best for the team?”

Tracy said the bullpen’s recent woes--Dodger relievers combined for a 5.90 ERA, seven blown saves and had given up 14 home runs in 21 games before Wednesday night--had no bearing on any decision about Brown pitching in relief.

“This has nothing to do with what the bullpen is doing,” Tracy said. “It’s about finding the proper procedure to get to the point where Kevin can reach his expectation level.”