McGriff Becomes Dodgers’ First Choice

The Dodgers on Friday agreed in principle with veteran first baseman Fred McGriff on a one-year, $3.75-million contract, a bargain price for one of baseball’s most dependable power hitters and a comfortable fit into the team’s complicated payroll structure.

“It’s a terrific fit for both sides,” Dodger General Manager Dan Evans said. “He really wanted to play for us and be with a competitive club, and we add a veteran presence who has been one of baseball’s most consistent run-producers. Clearly, he’s a guy who made a lot of sense for us.”

With about $5 million to spend for a hitter to replace departed first baseman Eric Karros, the Dodgers pursued both Cliff Floyd -- who agreed to a four-year, $26-million deal with the New York Mets on Friday -- and McGriff, 39, who has a .286 career average with 478 home runs and 1,503 runs batted in.

The Dodgers offered Floyd a three-year, $15.5-million deal, which would have pushed them to the edge of the new $117-million luxury tax threshold, but McGriff’s relatively small deal, which is contingent on his passing a physical next Friday, leaves the Dodgers with another $1 million to pursue a left-handed reliever.

In addition, the Dodgers won’t have to give up a first-round draft pick -- Floyd would have cost them such a prospect -- they’ll have far more payroll flexibility in 2004 and 2005, and though McGriff is no Gold Glove candidate, he is an experienced first baseman. Had Floyd, a corner outfielder, signed with the Dodgers, he would have moved to first base, a position he has been reluctant to play.

“We’re in a situation we prefer,” Evans said. “We can make more moves in the trade and free-agent markets now. Some of the other situations we explored would have really limited us.”

McGriff, who has never been on a big league disabled list, made $7.25 million last season with the Chicago Cubs, who declined to exercise an $8.5-million option on McGriff for 2003 and did not offer him arbitration.

Though the five-time All-Star has averaged 30 homers and 94 RBIs in his career and knocked in 102 runs or more in five of the last seven seasons, there was a tepid market for him this winter. So, McGriff settled for a deal that will pay about half what he made last season.

“But I’ll be fine, I don’t have any problem with that,” McGriff said by phone from his Tampa home. “It’s a real tough market right now, but that’s cool. I’ll just chalk it up to experience.”

McGriff, a five-time All-Star who won a World Series championship with the Atlanta Braves in 1995, has made millions in his career, and money -- much to the Dodgers’ appreciation --wasn’t his top priority this winter.

“I was looking for a team with tradition, a team that has a chance to win, that’s the main thing,” McGriff said. “The Dodgers are a great organization, and they’ve won a few championships. They had a decent team last year -- they won 92 games -- hopefully we can win a few more next year. I’m excited.”

McGriff will never be confused with J.T. Snow defensively -- he has limited range and has trouble digging balls in the dirt -- but his bat has shown no signs of slowing in recent years, and he should be a considerable offensive upgrade over Karros, who was traded with second baseman Mark Grudzielanek to the Cubs.

After a slow start, McGriff hit .273 with 30 homers and 103 RBIs last season, batting .304 with runners in scoring position. He had a .353 on-base percentage, with 63 walks and 99 strikeouts, and a .505 slugging percentage. Dodger first basemen combined for a .405 slugging percentage, 14 homers and 91 RBIs last season.

McGriff feasted on right-handers, hitting .296 with 28 home runs against them, and struggled against left-handers, batting .213 with two homers in 141 at-bats against them. But the Dodgers can use right-handed hitting Mike Kinkade at first base against tougher left-handers.

The Dodgers, who ranked 11th in the National League in home runs and 15th in on-base percentage, hit .299 against left-handers but .253 against right-handers last season. With McGriff’s left-handed bat added to a lineup that includes Shawn Green, Evans believes the Dodgers will have more success against right-handers.

The Dodgers will also have a major milestone to market next season. McGriff, who has a .303 average with 10 homers and 37 RBIs in 50 career postseason games, is 22 home runs shy of 500, an achievement that only 17 others have reached and will make him a strong Hall of Fame candidate.

“When I first started playing, my goal was to just play in the big leagues,” McGriff said. “I started having some success, hit some home runs, and one thing led to another. I’ve been blessed with good health -- that’s the main thing. I work out, stay in shape, and if you play every day, you always have a chance.”

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Brad Mills, who managed triple-A Las Vegas to an 85-59 record last season, has left the Dodgers to become Montreal’s bench coach under Manager Frank Robinson.... The Dodgers are still pursuing a trade for Florida center fielder Abraham Nunez, a multi-tooled prospect who has only 19 games of big league experience, but have had little luck prying the right-handed hitter from the Marlins.... Among the new batch of free agents who could interest the Dodgers are pitcher Paul Wilson, who was not tendered a contract by Tampa Bay, and utility infielder Frank Catalanotto, who was not offered a contract by Texas.

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McGriff at a Glance

* Age 39; 6-3, 205 pounds

* Fourth on active career home run list (478); played 17 seasons

* Eight seasons with 100-plus RBIs

* 10 30-plus home run seasons; 15 20-plus home run seasons (tied with Barry Bonds, active players)

* Only player to hit 30 home runs with five teams (Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, Cubs)

* One of three players to hit at least 200 home runs in each league

* Ranks fourth in home runs hit as a first baseman (448)

*--* STATISTICS 2002 Career avg Bat avg 273 286 Home runs 30 29 RBI 103 88 Doubles 27 25

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Fred McGriff’s Career Statistics

*--* AB R H HR RBI AVG 1986 Toronto 5 1 1 0 0 200 1987 Toronto 295 58 73 20 43 247 1988 Toronto 536 100 151 34 82 282 1989 Toronto 551 98 148 36 92 269 1990 Toronto 557 91 167 35 88 300 1991 San Diego 528 84 147 31 106 278 1992 San Diego 531 79 152 35 104 286 1993 San Diego-Atlanta 557 111 162 37 101 291 1994 Atlanta 424 81 135 34 94 318 1995 Atlanta 528 85 148 27 93 280 1996 Atlanta 617 81 182 28 107 295 1997 Atlanta 564 77 156 22 97 277 1998 Tampa Bay 564 73 160 19 81 284 1999 Tampa Bay 529 75 164 32 104 310 2000 Tampa Bay 566 82 157 27 106 277 2001 Tampa Bay-Chicago (N) 513 67 157 31 102 306 2002 Chicago (N) 523 67 143 30 103 273 Totals 8388 1310 2403 478 1503 286

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Where He Stands

*--* ACTIVE HOME RUN LEADERS 1. Barry Bonds 613 2. Sammy Sosa 499 3. Rafael Palmeiro 490 4. Fred McGriff 478

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*--* ACTIVE RBI LEADERS 1. Barry Bonds 1,652 2. Rafael Palmeiro 1,575 3. Fred McGriff 1,503

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*--* HOME RUNS BY A FIRST BASEMAN 1. Mark McGwire 566 2. Lou Gehrig 493 3. Jimmie Foxx 482 4. Fred McGriff 448

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*--* 200 HOME RUNS, EACH LEAGUE AL NL Frank Robinson 243 343 Mark McGwire 363 220 Fred McGriff 222 256

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