Hitting Coach Job Offered to Murray

Eddie Murray is strongly considering an offer to become Dodger batting coach and is expected to make a decision today, sources said Monday. If the Hall of Fame slugger accepts, new Manager Grady Little’s staff will be complete.

The third base coach will be Rich Donnelly, who has been a major league coach for 25 years, the last three with the Milwaukee Brewers. Donnelly was third base coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their early 1990s heyday under manager Jim Leyland.

Two coaches will come from the Dodger farm system. Mariano Duncan, a Dodger minor league hitting coach the last two years, will be first base coach, and former Dodger roving instructor Rick Honeycutt, who had a 21-year major league career, will be pitching coach.

Dave Jauss, who has held a variety of positions with the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos and has had a long friendship with Little, will be bench coach. Former San Diego Padre and Seattle Mariner pitching coach Dan Warthen will be the bullpen coach.

General Manager Ned Colletti did not know any of the coaches before taking the Dodger post two months ago.

Jerry Royster will return as manager at triple-A Las Vegas, and John Shoemaker will be back at double-A Jacksonville. Former Dodger players Ken Howell and Steve Yeager have been promoted to coaching positions at Las Vegas, replacing Duncan and Roger McDowell, who recently became the Atlanta Brave pitching coach.

Murray hit 504 home runs in 21 seasons before retiring in 1997. He played for the Dodgers from 1989 to 1991 and part of 1997, hitting 65 home runs. Murray, 49, was fired as Cleveland Indian hitting coach last June, his fourth year on the job. He was a coach with the Baltimore Orioles from 1998 to 2001.

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Shortstop Rafael Furcal will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday to clean up his medial meniscus, a procedure Colletti characterized as minor.

Furcal, who signed a three-year, $39-million contract in November, is expected to fully recover before the Dodgers begin spring training. Colletti said the knee bothered Furcal at times last season, when he played 154 games for the Braves.

“During his physical with us, we knew he would need a cleanup at some point,” Colletti said. “At the time he was asymptomatic, but in his recent workouts he got sore. He probably could have gotten through the season, but we are being proactive.”

The minor surgery on second baseman Jeff Kent’s wrist is scheduled for today.