Latest Deal Nets Young Outfielder

General Manager Paul DePodesta continued his search for offense Thursday with his third trade in four days, acquiring outfielder Cody Ross from the Detroit Tigers for left-handed reliever Steve Colyer and a player to be named or cash.

DePodesta added Ross, 23, after also dealing for utilityman Jason Grabowski and outfielder Jayson Werth this week, hoping to bolster an offense that scored a major league-low 574 runs last season.

Grabowski and Werth will open the season on the 25-man roster, and although Ross, the Tigers’ minor league player of the year in 2003, will start with triple-A Las Vegas, he might not be there long given the Dodgers’ need for more production.

Timing and payroll constraints have worked against DePodesta in his efforts to get a hitter, but he’s still seeking smaller pieces to the puzzle.

“We knew going in at this time of the year it was going to be hard to acquire an everyday player at the major league level,” DePodesta said after a 9-0 loss to the Montreal Expos at Space Coast Stadium.

“But we feel like Cody has a chance to be an everyday player in a relatively short period of time. He’s close to being major league ready, and it’s certainly an area of need for us.”

In 520 games spanning five seasons in the minors, Ross batted .273 with 122 doubles, 65 home runs and 299 runs batted in. The right-handed batter hit .287 with 35 doubles, 20 homers and 61 RBIs for triple-A Toledo last season.

Ross made his major league debut with Detroit on July 4 and went four for 19 with a homer and five RBIs in six games.

“I thought it was a bad April Fool’s joke at first,” Ross said on being told he was a Dodger. “I’d never thought I was going to be a Dodger.

“Now that I am, I think it’s great. They have a long history.”

Colyer, 25, is expected to begin the season on the Tigers’ 25-man roster.

“They had a need and we have needs,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “This deal made a lot of sense for both ballclubs.”

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Setup man Paul Shuey has been told he needs surgery if he wants to have use of his right thumb, which he does, because the ruptured tendon must be reattached. He would be sidelined six to eight weeks after the procedure.

Guillermo Mota, closer Eric Gagne’s primary setup man, has pitched only three innings in major league games because of a sore triceps.

Mota faced seven batters and failed to record an out after relieving Odalis Perez in the seventh inning against Montreal, giving up five hits and six runs (five earned).

The Dodgers had hoped to slowly ease Darren Dreifort into a late-inning role, but the converted starter must contribute immediately because Shuey is headed to the disabled list and Mota is still out of sync mechanically.

“There’s no doubt about it, we’re going to need him to take some of the load off,” DePodesta said. “Not only Darren, maybe someone else has to step up too, but he’ll definitely have to take some.”

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Perez gave up six hits and three runs in six innings. He had seven strikeouts and walked one. ... The Dodgers had only three singles while dropping to 12-19. ... The team returned to Los Angeles after the game.