DODGERS NOTEBOOK: GAGNE IS LIKELY TO SIGN SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

Eric Gagne's record-setting, Cy Young Award-winning, eight-year stint with the Dodgers might be over.

Scott Boras, Gagne's Los Angeles-based agent, said Tuesday that the man who once converted an all-time-best 84 consecutive save opportunities might sign a free-agent deal by the end of these winter meetings on Thursday.

That doesn't bode well for the Dodgers' chances of keeping him, given that general manager Ned Colletti had said earlier in the day that club officials will be very cautious before re-signing Gagne. Colletti said Gagne had thrown just once since undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back on July 8.

``We'll have to have some balance of the information and our comfort level (with Gagne's health) coupled with the guaranteed money (sought by Gagne),'' Colletti said.

That will take time, something the Dodgers might not have if Boras is close to getting a deal for Gagne with another club.

``It has been a very aggressive market for Gagne,'' Boras said. ``It's very likely that during these meetings, he could sign with one of the number of teams that are interested.''

Gagne is coming off a two-year, $19 million contract, during which injuries limited him to a total of 16 appearances and nine saves.

Saito signs: Another factor making Gagne expendable is the signing of last year's closer, Takashi Saito, to a one-year, $1million contract, a deal that was finalized on Tuesday. Saito can increase his salary to as much as $1.3 million if he finishes 60 games.

Saito saved 24 games in 26 chances last season. Although he pitched for Japan's Yokohama Baystars  for 14 seasons and was a four-time All-Star, he technically was a 36-year-old rookie for the Dodgers last season, his first in the United States. As such, the club was under no obligation to double his salary from last year's $500,000, but chose to do so anyway.

Tepid interest: Free-agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez, who is seeking a two-year contract but might be willing to settle for a one-year deal, has narrowed his choices to the Dodgers, Baltimore and St. Louis, his agent said. But it is believed that Gonzalez strongly prefers the Dodgers because he lives in the Phoenix area, spent the past eight of his 17 big-league seasons with Arizona and wants to stay in the National League West.