Triple-A Pitcher Sturtze Is Traded

In a move that General Manager Paul DePodesta said shows the Dodgers’ commitment to the best interests of veteran players, the team traded minor league pitcher Tanyon Sturtze to the New York Yankees on Saturday for a player to be named or cash considerations.

Sturtze, who was 3-1 with a 2.50 earned-run average in six starts for triple-A Las Vegas, could supplant temporary fill-in Donovan Osborne in the Yankee rotation while struggling right-hander Jose Contreras works out mechanical difficulties in the minors.

“What this really came down to was doing the right thing for Tanyon,” DePodesta said. “He’s a 33-year-old guy who’s got over six years in the major leagues. If he has a chance to pitch in the major leagues for somebody else, I feel like he ought to be given that opportunity.

“This move makes a significant statement to our players, especially older veteran players we bring in as insurance policies for our major league team, that we’re going to be fair with how we treat them. I think down the line, this is probably going to help us sign more and better players in that situation.”

Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said Sturtze “did everything to pitch himself onto this staff in spring training.” But the Dodgers were unwilling to put Sturtze on their opening-day roster, Tracy said, because they would have had to risk losing either Duaner Sanchez or Brian Falkenborg, who were out of options.

“If he ends up taking one of those spots,” Tracy said of Sturtze, “we’re going to lose somebody. As it turns out, he ends up being traded to the New York Yankees, and we’re going to get value back for him.”

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The mechanical flaws plaguing Kazuhisa Ishii should be simpler to fix than those hindering Hideo Nomo, Tracy said, because the Dodgers have identified Ishii’s problem while they are still searching for answers in the case of Nomo.

Ishii rushed his delivery in the first and fourth innings Friday against the Cincinnati Reds, allowing his body to move in front of his arm. As a result, Ishii issued a career-high seven walks, but Tracy said the left-hander should be able to rectify his delivery while pitching his between-starts session in the bullpen.

The solution is not as simple when it comes to Nomo, who gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings Thursday during a 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

“When you’re searching, you’re looking for an answer and there’s a possible number of different equations involved that you have to sort through to find out in essence what it is that you’re looking for,” Tracy said. “That can take a little more time.”

Ishii said the chest soreness that had delayed his start two days did not contribute to his bout of wildness, nor did the accompanying change in his pitching routine.

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Juan Encarnacion sat out a second consecutive game with his left shoulder still sore from several diving catches and an injection of dye Friday preceding an MRI exam, which revealed some tendinitis but no structural damage. He could return to the lineup today.... Adrian Beltre said the cortisone injection he received Thursday in his left ankle alleviated some of the discomfort he was experiencing from a bone spur but he did not plan to receive another injection “unless it’s pain I can’t handle.” The third baseman said he would wait until after the season to decide whether to undergo surgery to remove the spur, which has bothered him the last two weeks.... Jeremy Giambi continues to recover from the back injuries that plagued him this spring and could report to Las Vegas by the end of the month, DePodesta said.