DODGERS TRADE SEO, NAVARRO L.A. GETS HENDRICKSON, HALL FROM TAMPA BAY.

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a tacit acknowledgement that injuries and inconsistency have conspired to make a wreck of their starting rotation, the Dodgers finally acquired a proven pitcher Tuesday, getting left- hander Mark Hendrickson from Tampa Bay, along with catcher Toby Hall and $1 million, for struggling right-hander Jae Seo, Triple-A Las Vegas catcher Dioner Navarro and a minor-leaguer to be named later.

Hendrickson and Hall are expected to join the Dodgers on Friday, when they begin a three-game series at Angel Stadium.

Hendrickson is scheduled to start Saturday against the Angels, with Brad Penny moving up to Friday and Aaron Sele being pushed to sometime next week.

Hall, who was the Devil Rays' primary catcher, will become the Dodgers' main backup behind rookie Russell Martin.

Veteran Sandy Alomar will be relegated primarily to pinch-hitting duties, something the Dodgers can afford to do now that they are carrying three catchers for the first time this season.

Hendrickson brings a career mark of 37-40 with a 5.01 ERA, but he has pitched well in his past five starts despite a lack of run support. Much of those starts has come with Dodgers scouts Bill Lajoie, Mark Weidemaier and Vance Lovelace watching intently.

``Our starting pitching needed a boost,'' Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. ``We have had inconsistency through the rotation for a while. ... (Hendrickson) being a left-hander certainly was a plus, as was the way he has pitched this year. We have had some of our best eyes on him for a while, and they like the fact he is around the strike zone.''

They also like the fact he routinely pitches into the seventh and eighth innings, which should be a welcome sight for what has been a ridiculously overworked bullpen.

A former NBA journeyman, Hendrickson, 32, turned his attention entirely to baseball in 2001 after stints with the Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Because of that, he was drafted six times by five major-league organizations before he finally signed with Toronto in 1997, and the Blue Jays traded him to the Devil Rays in December 2003 in a three-team deal with Colorado.

``With some of the relationships I had in Tampa, this is bittersweet from (that) standpoint,'' said Hendrickson, who at 6-foot-9 becomes the tallest player in Dodgers history. ``It's tough to leave there. But I'm excited and enthusiastic. After 10 years in professional baseball, this is the first time I will have been on a team that has a chance to win it all.''

Hall, 30, is hitting .231 for the season, with eight home runs and 23 RBIs. Dodgers manager Grady Little said Hall will get more starts behind the plate than Alomar was getting, but he wouldn't get more specific than that.

``Toby Hall will enable us to get Russell Martin a few more days off than we might have otherwise,'' said Little, who has started Martin in all but four games since the rookie was promoted to the big leagues on May 5.

``I'm not going to make a schedule, but (Hall) will get his share of playing time.''

Hall, who grew up in Whittier, welcomed the trade despite the obvious fact he is going from being an everyday catcher to a backup who probably won't start more than once or twice a week.

``This is big in my career right now,'' he said. ``To be able to play (in) a pennant race is big, just because I have been with the Devil Rays the whole time and we have had a losing record every year.''

Colletti said Hall was an essential part of the trade because Navarro was the only major league-ready catcher in the organization who could have filled in on an everyday basis if Martin suffered an injury.

Both Hendrickson and Hall are signed through the end of this season.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) HENDRICKSON

(2 -- color) HALL