Green Willing to Make First Move

Right fielder Shawn Green said Sunday he would move to first base to help the Dodgers.

“If that’s the best thing for the organization, I would be willing to make changes,” said Green, who plans to undergo surgery on his right shoulder in October.

“No one has said anything to me about this, and it’s one of those things I would want to know sooner than later to get prepared.”

The Dodgers briefly discussed moving Green to first base last winter, but instead signed free agent Fred McGriff. The 39-year-old McGriff was often sidelined because of injuries and is not expected to return.

General Manager Dan Evans is under pressure to improve baseball’s lowest-scoring offense, and asking Green to fill the void at first will be strongly considered, team sources said.

The Dodgers are interested in re-signing left fielder Jeromy Burnitz, who is considered better suited to playing right.

Slowed because of a damaged right shoulder, Green batted .280 with 19 home runs and a team-leading 85 runs batted in.

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Closer Eric Gagne was perfect in 55 save opportunities and led the major leagues in saves. He also set records by converting 63 consecutive save chances dating to last season and by averaging 15.0 strikeouts per nine innings, breaking Billy Wagner’s record of 14.9 in 1999.

Gagne had 137 strikeouts in 82 1/3 innings.

“It was an OK year,” said Gagne, his faced creased by a big grin. “I still want to do better.”