Adams Joins Phillies’ Rotation

Terry Adams, the unsung hero of the Dodgers’ starting rotation last season, joined the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, signing a contract that could be worth as little as $2.7 million over one year and as much as $19.5 million over three years.

Adams, 28, had never started a major league game until June, when injuries to Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby put him in the rotation. He wound up second on the team with 12 victories and a career-high 166 innings.

The Dodgers, fearful last fall that Adams might command close to $10 million per season, did not offer him a contract.

The Phillies’ contract is loaded with bonuses for games started and innings pitched, protecting the team in case Adams was a one-year wonder as a starter, but affording him the chance to cash in--and guarantee the contract through 2004--if he was not.

Adams essentially trades places with Omar Daal, whom the Dodgers acquired from Philadelphia in November.

Daal, 29, who won 13 games and had a 4.46 earned-run average last year, will make $5 million this season. Adams, 12-8 with a 4.33 ERA last year, can make no more than $4.8 million this season.

Adams said he is excited about joining the Phillies and thanked Dodger Manager Jim Tracy for the opportunity to start. He couldn’t say whether he would have pursued a similar contract with the Dodgers, he said, because they never discussed any contract with him.

“[The Dodgers] never talked to us about any deal whatsoever,” he said. “With as much as I did for them, and with all the injuries they had, not to even try to negotiate disappointed me. I laid it on the line for them.”

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By acquiring Odalis Perez in Tuesday’s trade for Gary Sheffield, the Dodgers added leverage during negotiations with pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii.

Even without Ishii, the Dodgers could complete a starting rotation with Brown, Andy Ashby, Hideo Nomo, Daal and Perez, with Eric Gagne and Terry Mulholland also available.

The Dodgers agreed last week to pay $11.3 million to the Yakult Swallows for the right to negotiate with Ishii, who wants to play in the United States.

The Dodgers get their money back if they do not sign Ishii, whose rights would then revert to Yakult, his Japanese club.

The Dodgers made their initial offer, for three years, to Ishii on Monday.

Ishii’s agent said he was unlikely to respond before next week and suggested a sizable gap exists between the money the team is offering and the money Ishii is seeking.

“We need to find out if we’re going to be able to find a middle ground,” agent Joe Urbon said. “I’m confident we will.”

Bill Shaikin

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Right-hander Danny Graves signed a one-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds worth $3,525,000. Graves had a career-high 32 saves last season for the Reds and was 6-5 with a 4.15 ERA.... Robert Fick signed a $1.15-million, one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers. Fick, an outfielder, catcher and first baseman, batted .272 with 19 home runs and 61 runs batted last season for the Tigers.... Detroit pitchers Matt Anderson, Danny Patterson and Jeff Weaver, infielder Shane Halter and outfielder Dmitri Young filed for salary arbitration.... Pitcher Brian Meadows signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins. Meadows was 1-6 with a 6.97 ERA last season for the Kansas City Royals.... Former catcher Mike Stanley was hired by the Boston Red Sox as bench coach. Stanley, 38, played with Boston in two stints between 1996-2000. He batted .270 with 187 homers and 702 RBIs with five teams in 15 seasons.

The Red Sox signed Ryo Kumagai, a submarine-style right-hander, to a minor league contract. Kumagai, 22, did not give up an earned run in 47 innings last season as the closer for Tohoku Fukushi University in Japan. In four college seasons, Kumagai had a 0.91 ERA. Tohoku Fukushi is the school that produced Seattle Mariner closer Kazuhiro Sasaki.... Former Dodger catcher Carlos Hernandez, a free agent, signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies. Hernandez played with the St. Louis Cardinals last year.