Ned Colletti pleased with Dodgers’ new additions

By Dylan Hernandez, Los Angeles Times —

The Dodgers didn’t add a top-of-the-rotation arm by the 1 p.m. nonwaiver trade deadline on Saturday. They didn’t add a shut-down reliever. And they certainly didn’t add an oversized personality who could electrify Dodger Stadium the way Manny Ramirez did two years ago.

But General Manager Ned Colletti and Manager Joe Torre insisted the Dodgers were an improved club after the two deals they made, acquiring starting pitcher Ted Lilly and infielder Ryan Theriot from the Chicago Cubs, and reliever Octavio Dotel from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“All in all, we’re pleased with who we’ve added this week,” Colletti said.

Including the $700,000 the Dodgers took on when they traded for Scott Podsednik last week, they have added about $3.6 million to their payroll.

In exchange for Lilly and Theriot, the Dodgers sent the Cubs second baseman Blake DeWitt and minor league pitchers Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach. The Cubs sent the Dodgers $2.5 million to cover about half of what remains of Lilly and Theriot’s salaries for this season.

Lilly, 34, who will become the Dodgers’ fifth starter, is in a contract year. He is 3-8 but has a 3.69 earned-run average in 18 starts.

Theriot, a 30-year-old middle infielder, is under club control for two more years. He is hitting .284 with one home run and 21 runs batted in. The Dodgers are expecting him to replace DeWitt as the Dodgers’ everyday second baseman.

To get the 36-year-old Dotel, the Dodgers parted with right-hander James McDonald and minor league outfielder Andrew Lambo. Once considered the top hitting prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system, Lambo was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for marijuana for a second time.

Of the $1 million still owed to Dotel, half will be paid by the Pirates. Dotel’s contract includes a $4.5-million option for 2011. The option went from being a club option with a $250,000 buyout to a mutual option when Dotel was traded.

Dotel saved 21 games for the Pirates but has a 4.28 ERA.

DeWitt’s departure

Joe Torre said the Dodgers had to give up DeWitt to get Lilly. Colletti said they could have obtained Lilly without parting with DeWitt.

Either way, DeWitt was gone.

“I’m definitely a little surprised,” DeWitt said. “It’s the first time anything like this has happened to me. It’s definitely not easy. I haven’t had time to gather my thoughts yet.”

DeWitt was a favorite of the front office and the coaching staff for his willingness to do anything.

As a rookie in 2008, he became the Dodgers’ opening-day third baseman when Nomar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche were hurt in spring training. He finished the year starting in the postseason at second base, a position he had never played as a professional.

He became a full-time second baseman last season, when he had six stints in the majors.

Ethier returns home early

Andre Ethier was out of the Dodgers’ lineup, as he returned to Los Angeles for the birth of his second child.

Torre said he was unsure of when Ethier would return to the team.

With Ethier out, and DeWitt and McDonald traded, the Dodgers played on Saturday with a 22-man roster. They had only three position players on the bench: infielder Ronnie Belliard, outfielder Xavier Paul and catcher Brad Ausmus.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com