Romano Joins the Utility Mix

There will be no shortage of utility players for Dodger Manager Jim Tracy to choose from this spring -- the team added another to its long list of potential reserves Monday, acquiring 23-year-old Jason Romano from the Colorado Rockies for outfield prospect Luke Allen.

The pool of starting pitching candidates remains shallow, though, and General Manager Dan Evans intimated that it may not expand in the two weeks before spring training begins.

Hideo Nomo, Odalis Perez, Kazuhisa Ishii and Andy Ashby are considered locks for the rotation, though Ishii must rebound from a scary incident last fall in which he was hit in the forehead by a line drive and suffered a concussion that knocked him out for most of September. Ashby must bounce back from a horrendous September that tainted a season that had begun with five solid months.

The Dodgers expect Kevin Brown, who missed most of 2002 because of major elbow and back injuries, and Darren Dreifort, who missed all of 2002 because of elbow surgery, to return this spring.

But the team doesn’t appear to have much rotation insurance if either of those right-handers suffers a setback -- their next three most attractive candidates are injury-plagued left-hander Wilson Alvarez and journeyman Calvin Maduro, both nonroster invitees to camp, and reliever Giovanni Carrara, who has experience as a starter.

“I don’t have a real obsession with adding another starter,” Evans said. “Gio could be an emergency guy, and Maduro and Alvarez are options. I think we’re OK with the group we have now.”

Depth in the utility role shouldn’t be a concern. The speedy Romano can play center field, second base and shortstop and could be a right-handed complement to center fielder Dave Roberts if Romano improves against left-handed pitching -- he was four for 29 against left-handers last season.

Romano hit .253 with no home runs, five RBIs and six stolen bases in 47 games for Texas and Colorado in 2002; Allen hit .329 with 12 home runs and 78 RBIs in 137 games for triple-A Las Vegas.