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Dodgers Get a Move On

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Times Staff Writers

The Dodgers are in first place in the National League West and have the third-best record in baseball, but that didn’t stop first-year General Manager Paul DePodesta from essentially taking a stick of dynamite to his roster Friday. And an even bigger blast could come today.

The Dodgers on Friday sent three key players -- catcher Paul Lo Duca, reliever Guillermo Mota and right fielder Juan Encarnacion -- to the Florida Marlins for pitcher Brad Penny and first baseman Hee Seop Choi in a six-player trade. It could trigger deals for Arizona ace Randy Johnson and outfielder Steve Finley before today’s 1 p.m. PDT trade deadline.

Johnson, the subject of persistent trade rumors involving the New York Yankees, Angels and Dodgers, gave up four runs in seven innings against Colorado on Friday night. If the 6-foot-10 left-hander agrees to waive his no-trade clause, the Dodgers are expected to send Penny and pitching prospect Edwin Jackson today for Johnson, according to baseball sources.

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And to fill their void behind the plate, the Dodgers have agreed on a deal for Colorado catcher Charles Johnson, a former Dodger who is batting .258 with 11 home runs and 41 runs batted in and is considered one of the game’s better defensive catchers. But Johnson also has a no-trade clause, and the Rockies were awaiting his approval on the deal Friday night.

Randy Johnson turns 41 on Sept. 10. The five-time Cy Young Award winner, who threw a perfect game against Atlanta in May, is capable of shifting the balance of power in a division race and dominating a postseason series. He reportedly turned down a trade to the Dodgers earlier this week and has been pushing for a trade to the Yankees.

But the Yankees didn’t have enough talent in their farm system to swing a deal with the Diamondbacks, and when asked Friday whether Johnson would accept a deal to the Dodgers, Alan Nero, one of Johnson’s agents, said, “My guess is he would. ...

“There was not a formal request [this week]. It was presented to him as a fly-by, and he turned it down. Since then, he has been approached with another offer from the Dodgers, and he’s considering it.”

Johnson claimed after Friday night’s game that the Diamondbacks had not presented him yet with a trade proposal or formal request to waive his no-trade clause. Tired of the endless questions, Johnson called the ongoing saga “Tradegate.”

“The only thing missing is paparazzi in my backyard plucking garbage out of my garbage can,” he said.

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If Johnson rejects the trade, the Dodgers will gladly keep Penny, an effective right-hander who has an 8-8 record and 3.15 earned-run average. Penny went 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA in the World Series last October, helping the Marlins to their second championship.

“Our goal was, if we were going to add some guys to our team, I wanted to add some guys who have been to the World Series, who have won the World Series,” DePodesta said.

The Dodgers are also trying to pry Finley, who is batting .275 with 23 home runs, from the Diamondbacks. According to sources, the Dodgers would send reserve outfielder Jayson Werth and Bill Murphy, the highly regarded pitching prospect acquired from Florida on Friday, to Arizona.

Choi, who is batting .270 with 15 homers and 40 RBIs, probably will play first base for the Dodgers, pushing Shawn Green from first back to right field.

Packing their bags Friday afternoon in Petco Park were Lo Duca, an All-Star who was considered the heart and soul of the team for several years, Mota, one of baseball’s premier setup men in front of closer Eric Gagne, and Encarnacion, who came to the Dodgers in a trade with Florida last winter.

“It was a little surprising, just because we were playing so well,” said Lo Duca, who cried during an interview. “I could understand it if we were tailing off a little bit, but we hadn’t been. ...

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“This team has a chance to go a long way. We have fallen short in the past, and the fans of L.A. were really excited this year to maybe make it to the playoffs, so it makes it difficult. I felt like I was a decent part of what’s been going on. So it makes it a little tougher.”

Lo Duca, who is batting .301 with 10 homers and 49 RBIs and has spent all 12 of his professional years in the Dodger organization, was a favorite among fans and teammates. Mota, a right-hander whom former GM Dan Evans refused to part with in numerous trade proposals last year, was 8-4 with a 2.14 ERA, and Encarnacion was batting .235 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs.

All of which left some in the Dodger clubhouse shaking their heads.

“It’s risky,” pitcher Odalis Perez said. “Dukie is the favorite for the fans. Mota might be the best setup man in baseball. Seriously

DePodesta said parting with the three players, Lo Duca in particular, was difficult, but that it allowed him to improve the team.

“He’s been a big part of the Dodger organization, it’s the only organization he’s ever been in,” he said of Lo Duca. “It kept me up the last couple of nights thinking of us without him, even just on a personal level, it’s certainly not something I relished doing.

“I know what they meant to us on the field, I also know what they meant to us in the clubhouse. But the guys that we’re bringing in, we’re adding quite a bit. At the end of the day, I felt it was something we had to do.”

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The sting of Friday’s trade could be eased if Johnson, 10-9 with a 2.79 ERA and a major league-leading 180 strikeouts, is wearing Dodger blue by Sunday.

In addition to bolstering the Dodger rotation and providing a huge advantage for them in a short playoff series, acquiring Johnson would be a coup for new owner Frank McCourt, who has been fending off a challenge from the Angels for the hearts and minds of Southern California baseball fans.

Dodger fans steamed when McCourt failed to make an impact move over the winter to bolster a weak offense while new Angel owner Arte Moreno spent $145 million on free agents Vladimir Guerrero, Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar and Jose Guillen.

Trading for Johnson, known as “The Big Unit,” could be the kind of bold move that enamors McCourt more to Dodger fans, the added bonus being that he was able to outbid the Angels for Johnson’s services.

“Randy is in his twilight, but he’s as good as they get,” Moreno said. “If the Dodgers are lucky enough to get him, I think that’s great for them. Any time you do a deal, sometimes it can kiss you on the cheek and sometimes it can kick you in the butt. I’m not disappointed.

“If we did the Johnson deal, we gamble on what we do to our system, and it takes real economic flexibility away from doing some things. I think it was a pretty creative way for the Dodgers to do it. ... They’re in first place, and if Randy gets in there and does the job properly, they could shut the door.”

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Johnson, who turned down the Dodgers and Angels to sign with Arizona before the 1999 season, makes $16 million this season and is signed for 2005 at $16 million, so if the Dodgers are able to complete the deal, they will have their ace for next season as well.

Friday’s deal with Florida netted a considerable savings for the Dodgers -- Lo Duca ($4.07 million), Encarnacion ($3.56 million) and Mota ($1.475 million) combined for about $9.1 million in 2004 salary, compared with $4.03 million for Penny ($3.725 million) and Choi ($310,000).

But if the Dodgers acquire Randy Johnson, Charles Johnson and Finley, their payroll of about $90 million would jump considerably this season, and they would take on a large chunk of money for 2005.

Finley, a center fielder in Arizona who probably would play left field for the Dodgers, is making $7 million this season and will become a free agent this winter. Charles Johnson makes $9 million this season and is signed for $9 million next season.

Encarnacion is signed for $4.43 million next season, and Mota and Lo Duca will get raises in arbitration, but their combined income won’t come close to offsetting that of Randy Johnson and Charles Johnson, who will make $25 million in 2005.

Charles Johnson, who was acquired by the Dodgers from the Marlins in the 1998 Mike Piazza deal, said he won’t make a decision about his no-trade clause until today.

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“They’ve asked me about it, and I still haven’t decided what I want to do,” said Johnson, who did not start Friday night against Arizona. “I’m not leaning one way or another.”

Lo Duca had an idea he might be leaning toward Florida when his agent called him Thursday night and told him there was truth to the rumors he had heard. Still, he was stunned when the trade actually went down.

“It was a surprise, and it is hard,” Lo Duca said. “I’ve always dreamed about being a Dodger for life. This is the team that drafted me. I thought I’d be a Dodger for my whole career, for 20 years, but it didn’t happen. It’s tough because of so many people you meet in the Dodger family. So many friends you make. That, and the fans. That’s the toughest part.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Six Packing

What the six players involved in Friday’s

Dodger-Marlin trade have done this season:

DODGERS ACQUIRE

* HEE SEOP CHOI, FIRST BASEMAN

*--* G AB R H HR RBI BB SO BA OBP 95 281 48 76 15 40 52 78 270 388

*--*

*

* BRAD PENNY, PITCHER

*--* GS IP BB SO W L BAA ERA 21 131.1 39 105 8 8 249 3.15

*--*

*

* BILL MURPHY, PITCHER (AA CAROLINA)

*--* GS IP BB SO W L ERA 20 101.2 59 113 6 4 4.08

*--*

*

FLORIDA ACQUIRES

* GUILLERMO MOTA, PITCHER

*--* G IP BB SO W L BAA ERA 52 63.0 27 52 8 4 228 2.14

*--*

*

* PAUL LO DUCA, CATCHER

*--* G AB R H HR RBI BB SO BA OBP 91 349 41 105 10 49 22 27 301 351

*--*

*

* JUAN ENCARNACION, OUTFIELDER

*--* G AB R H HR RBI BB SO BA OBP 86 324 42 76 13 43 21 53 235 289

*--*

*

True-Blue Lo Duca Traded

The Dodgers traded three players, including All-Star catcher Paul Lo Duca, to the Florida Marlins on Friday in a deal that may allow L.A. to acquire ace pitcher Randy Johnson from Arizona. Others in the six-player deal include Dodger reliever Guillermo Mota, and Marlin pitcher Brad Penny and first baseman Hee Seop Choi.

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