Dodgers and Ishii Strike Deal

The Dodgers and the agent for pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii agreed to terms on a four-year, $12.2-million contract Thursday night, and the touted Japanese left-hander will be introduced at a news conference this afternoon.

The deal, according to a source, includes a $1.5-million signing bonus and two option years that could push the total package to about $18 million. A little more than a third of the contract, about $4.4 million, will be deferred with interest.

There will be some no-trade protection--a list of teams Ishii cannot be traded to--but not the blanket no-trade clause Ishii was seeking, a negotiating point that agent Joe Urbon said was “the hot-button issue for everybody.”

The Dodgers will also pay the Yakult Swallows--Ishii’s Japanese team--$11.26 million, the fee the Dodgers posted to acquire exclusive negotiating rights for the pitcher in early January, pushing their total investment in Ishii to about $23.5 million. Had the deal not been completed by 9 tonight, the Dodgers would have lost the rights to Ishii.

Dodger General Manager Dan Evans did not confirm the agreement, but a source said that he and assistant GM Kim Ng have made arrangements to fly Saturday to Tokyo for a Monday news conference with Ishii in Japan.

“We had a very productive day with Joe Urbon and Ishii’s advisors,” Evans said. “As a result, we anticipate an announcement very soon.”

Ishii will be guaranteed about $500,000 this season, $2.25 million in 2003, $2.75 million in 2004 and $3.25 million in 2005. Team options for about $4 million in 2006 and $3.25 million in 2007 can be bought out for about $1 million.

Ishii, 28, spent most of Thursday undergoing an extensive physical exam, which included an MRI test and blood work. Neither the MRI nor the blood tests revealed any abnormalities, and Ishii passed the physical.Ishii went 12-5 with a 3.40 earned-run average for Yakult last season, and he had a 78-46 career record and 3.38 ERA with 1,266 strikeouts in 1,1731/3 innings in nine seasons in Japan.

He is expected to be the No. 2 or 3 starter in a rotation that will include Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby, if the two right-handers recover from elbow surgery, and fellow Japanese right-hander Hideo Nomo.

The addition of Ishii gives the Dodgers eight potential starting pitchers--Brown, Ashby, Ishii, Nomo, Omar Daal, Eric Gagne, Odalis Perez and Terry Mulholland, providing Evans with some depth to trade for a proven closer and Manager Jim Tracy some insurance if Brown and Ashby suffer setbacks.

Infielder David Newhan, the son of Times Hall of Fame baseball columnist Ross Newhan, has signed a triple-A contract with the Dodgers. Newhan, 28, opened the 2001 season with the Philadelphia Phillies but suffered a shoulder injury and underwent season-ending surgery in late May. The former Anaheim Esperanza High, Cypress College, Georgia Tech and Pepperdine standout also has played in the major leagues with the San Diego Padres.