DODGERS DEAL FOR DAAL; SHAW GONE.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

The Dodgers added depth to their starting rotation but lost one of the top closers in baseball Friday in a pair of moves that mark the first substantial changes to the roster under rookie general manager Dan Evans.

In a salary-dumping move by the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers reacquired left-handed pitcher Omar Daal, and his $5 million salary, for a pair of minor-league pitchers.

The Dodgers also announced what was previously reported, that they would pay closer Jeff Shaw a $1.5 million buyout rather than exercise a $7.05 million option. Also as reported, the Dodgers exercised options on infielders Dave Hansen ($675,000) and Jeff Reboulet ($450,000) but declined infielder Tim Bogar's $575,000 option. He received a $25,000 buyout.

The Dodgers have $87.9 million guaranteed to 16 players for the 2002 season, but getting Daal was important to their offseason plans.

A proven left-handed starter is vital in the National League West. Daal, who lost 19 games in 2000, went 13-7 with a 4.46 ERA last season. The former Dodger, who was traded to Montreal in 1995, went 4-1 with a 4.17 ERA against Arizona, Colorado, San Francisco and San Diego. However, he is 9-13 with a 4.62 ERA against those four teams since 1998.

``I really wanted to improve our depth and I think this does that,'' Evans said. ``I look at him currently as a guy who can (start or relieve). It's Nov. 9 so we don't have to put a number on the starters right now.''

Daal, who turns 30 in March, wanted out of Philadelphia badly after a late-season rift with manager Larry Bowa. Daal was scratched from a start against Atlanta and reportedly had an argument with Bowa in the clubhouse.

``It was a factor (in the trade), but it wasn't the factor,'' Phillies general manager Ed Wade said. ``I don't think you can move a player because he and the manager got sideways at some time. Knowing what kind of guy (Daal) is, that could be worked out.''

The Phillies picked up Daal's option Thursday for the sole purpose of trading him.

``He's looking forward to (rejoining the Dodgers),'' said Daal's agent, Peter Greenberg. ``He wanted to get out of Philadelphia. Obviously, things didn't work out with the manager there. (The trade) took him by surprise. He heard rumors about San Francisco, about Boston, about a lot of places.''

Speaking from experience, the Dodgers believe Daal will be fine. Manager Jim Tracy was a bench coach in Montreal when Daal pitched for the Expos. Daal and Dave Wallace, Dodgers senior vice president of baseball operations, go back to their days together in the Dodgers organization.

Daal joins a starting rotation that includes Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby, Eric Gagne and, for now, Luke Prokopec. The Dodgers are prepared to use free-agent right-hander James Baldwin as a fallback if they can't acquire another starting pitcher and are willing to offer a three-year deal worth $19 million to $21 million, sources said.

``Daal's one of the better left-handed pitchers in the game,'' Evans said. ``We were thrilled that he was available.''

Wanting to get something in return for Daal, the Phillies settled on minor-league right-handers Eric Junge and Jesus Cordero. The Dodgers didn't consider either player to be high-level prospects. Junge, 24, was 10-11 with a 3.46 ERA at Double-A Jacksonville, and Cordero, 22, went 8-4 with a 2.47 ERA at Class-A Wilmington (N.C.).

The acquisition of Daal allows Tracy to shift Terry Mulholland to the bullpen, but the remaking of the bullpen is only beginning.

The Dodgers had internal discussions about trading for a number of closers, the most prominent being the Chicago White Sox's Keith Foulke and Anaheim's Troy Percival, sources said. Foulke was 4-9 with a 2.33 ERA and converted 42 of 45 save chances. He has 76 saves in the last two seasons, and Evans, a former White Sox assistant general manager, is said to relish an opportunity to acquire him.

Percival was angered at Angels management for allowing details of contract negotiations to become public and wants out. He went 4-2 with a 2.65 ERA and 39 saves in 42 opportunities last season. He's saved at least 30 games in five of the last six seasons.

When teams can bid on other teams' free agents Nov. 20, the Dodgers plan to pursue reliever David Weathers aggressively to complement Matt Herges in a set-up role, sources said.

``We just felt like there were other options out there that we preferred at this time,'' Evans said of the Shaw decision. ``It's going to be difficult to replace the save total, but I'm confident that we will. We've done our homework and done a lot of research and had a lot of conversations with a number of clubs. I feel very comfortable we'll be able to replace Jeff.''

Shaw, 35, was acquired by the Dodgers on July 4, 1998, from Cincinnati. In saving 43 games during an All-Star 2001 season, he became the franchise leader with 129 saves.

``They wanted to go in a different direction,'' said Shaw, who filed for free agency. ``For that amount of money, they wanted to get somebody younger who's going to be around for two or three years. It's the nature of the game. It is. It doesn't matter how well you do or how poorly you do. It's a matter of one, economics, and two, what other people think. When new regimes come in, there's always a lot of people that get left out.''

For the past year, Shaw has talked about retiring to spend more time with his family. That remains an option, but he'd prefer to play close to his home in Washington Court House, Ohio. Among the teams he's interested in playing for are St. Louis and Cincinnati.

Evans tried to trade Shaw to a team in the Midwest but couldn't find any takers, sources said.

``I'd like to play close to home and on a playoff contender,'' Shaw said. ``I have to see who's out there and who wants my services.''

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Photo:

no caption (Omar Daal)

Box: Daal: career pitching stats