Dodgers will still pursue pitching

NASHVILLE -- The addition of Andruw Jones could end up providing the Dodgers with more than a bat in the middle of the lineup and 10-time Gold Glove winner in center field. The agreement of a two-year, $36.2-million deal that General Manager Ned Colletti confirmed Thursday could also net the Dodgers an extra arm in their rotation or bullpen.

“It makes our quest for starting pitching more focused, perhaps even more possible,” Colletti said as he was preparing to leave the winter meetings.

Jones hit only .222 last season, but Colletti noted that his power numbers remained solid, as he hit 26 home runs and drove in 94 runs. Colletti said that Jones’ bat made him “a little bit more” comfortable with his options at third base, the declining Nomar Garciaparra and the unproven Andy LaRoche.

“If something comes along that we know is definitively better, we’ll take a shot,” Colletti said. “But I don’t want to use what I may have to use for pitching to take care of that.”

The Dodgers have inquired about Baltimore Orioles left-hander Erik Bedard, but a deal for him probably would take a multi-player package that included Matt Kemp.

“We are not of the mind to give up three or four prospects for one player, I’ll tell you that,” Colletti said. To move Kemp, Colletti added, “I’d have to have a conversation where my jaw drops. It’s got to be something you can’t say no to. I haven’t heard anything like that. In fact, teams have stopped asking.”

That seemed to imply that Andre Ethier could be dealt for a mid-level pitcher.

The Dodgers could also bolster their rotation by landing Hideki Kuroda, a free-agent right-hander from Japan. Kuroda is set to visit Los Angeles next week, along with Seattle and Arizona. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have offered Kuroda three-year contracts; the Mariners have offered a four-year deal.

Acquiring Kuroda would allow the Dodgers to use their extra outfielder to add a middle reliever, which Colletti said is another top priority.

Serious talks for Andruw Jones commenced Nov. 19, the day Jones’ agent, Scott Boras, said he and associate Mike Fiore met with Colletti and Dodgers owner Frank McCourt at Dodger Stadium. The group met again at the ballpark Nov. 25, this time with Jones and Dodgers Manager Joe Torre in attendance.

Boras said he had in mind a seven-year deal and Colletti admitted that upon hearing his demands, he thought he had no chance of signing Jones.

But Jones was impressed with what McCourt told him, according to Boras. The agent said that while no promises were made, McCourt said he would look at signing Jones to a long-term extension if he performed the way he had in past seasons.

“The owner showed a willingness to commit to him long term,” Boras said.

The Dodgers’ contingent also shared their willingness to add pitching to ensure the team would be competitive. Shortstop Rafael Furcal, a former teammate with the Braves, later called Jones and told him about the team and the city, Boras said.

Furthermore, Boras said that most of the teams that contacted him about Jones wanted to sign his client to a mid-range deal in the neighborhood of four years. Jones wanted either a long-term deal that would provide security or something short that would allow him to re-enter the free-agent market in the relatively near future.

Colletti said the two sides “bridged a huge gap” on the first day of the winter meetings Monday, as Boras said he informed the general manager that Jones would be willing to explore a shorter contract. Boras said Jones told him of his decision to sign with the Dodgers on a conference call Wednesday evening.

Jones’ deal will pay him a $12.2-million signing bonus, which will be paid over three years -- $5.1 million next season, $2.1 million in 2009 and $5 million in 2010. He will earn a base salary of $9 million in 2008 and $15 million in 2009.

The deal is pending a physical, which Boras said Jones would probably take Tuesday or Wednesday. Jones is home in his native Curacao.

Jones’ numbers have declined over the last few years -- he hit 51 home runs in 2005, then 41 and 26 in the subsequent seasons, but Colletti said he has no worries that Jones could be named in the upcoming Mitchell report.

Colletti said he never met face-to-face with the other free-agent center fielder he was targeting, Aaron Rowand.

Colletti said that upon coming to an agreement with Jones, he called the incumbent starter in center field, Juan Pierre, and left him a voice message. He also sent him an e-mail.

But Colletti said that the weak-armed Pierre’s likely move to left field -- if not another team -- didn’t mean he regretted signing him to a five-year, $44-million contract last season.

“You can’t look back on what you do like that,” Colletti said. “It’s not fair to anything. Come back to my office and I’ll reconstruct the board and have you look at our club and have you look at the free-agent board at the same time and you tell me what you would do when we’re sitting there with one outfielder, Andre Ethier, who has played four months of big league baseball and no other outfielders.

“It is what it is and we did what we had to do. We signed a player that’s a great guy and a guy that comes to play every day and a great influence throughout the clubhouse. The way the 2007 Dodgers performed was not Juan Pierre’s fault, but when other players don’t produce in the clutch and you lose and you get frustrated, people look at everybody. I never said Juan Pierre is a franchise player. He’s a very good player on a winning team.”

Pierre did not return a voice message. His agent, Mark Pieper, said last month that Pierre preferred to remain in center field, but that he would accept whatever decision the team made and would not allow it to become a distraction.

Staff writers Bill Shaikin and Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com