DREW A BETTER FIT FOR DODGERS' BUDGET AFFORDABILITY KEY TO SIGNING FREE AGENT.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

It was difficult to see J.D. Drew standing at the Dodger Stadium podium Thursday afternoon without thinking about Adrian Beltre.

On the day Drew finalized a five-year, $55 million contract, super agent Scott Boras stood in the background and smiled. Boras also represents Beltre, the former Dodgers third baseman who signed with Seattle last week.

Drew, 29, was one of the premier free agents this winter, finishing sixth in National League MVP voting last season after hitting 31 homers and scoring 128 runs with Atlanta.

Beltre, 25, was even bigger, finishing second to Barry Bonds as the league's top player after leading the NL with 48 homers.

And finally, Drew and Beltre put together breakout seasons that helped them shed the tag of oft-injured underachievers.

``There are some interesting comparisons between the two,'' Boras said. ``But things have a way of working out. It was hard for Adrian to leave here, but fans are really going to enjoy J.D. in Los Angeles.''

The biggest reason Drew, and not Beltre, appeared at the news conference was money.

Beltre's five-year, $64.5 million contract was front-loaded, with the Mariners paying $19 million in the first season. The Dodgers will pay Drew $9 million next season with a $2 million signing bonus. He will receive $11 million in each of the four following seasons.

Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta, who offered Beltre a six-year deal for less money with an option year in 2011, now has $8 million more to play with as he tries to rebuild a club that looks decidedly different than the one that won the NL West.

``A big thing about signing free agents is timing,'' DePodesta said. ``The situation was different last week, but we are ecstatic to have J.D. He is someone we've been looking at for a long time. We never wavered in our enthusiasm.''

Last week, the Dodgers were closing in on a three-team, 10-player trade that would have sent Shawn Green to Arizona and five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson from the Diamondbacks to the New York Yankees.

Unloading Green's $16 million salary would have added greater flexibility to boost the pitching staff, which soon could include another Boras' free-agent client, Derek Lowe.

But with Beltre signed in Seattle and Drew still on the market, DePodesta was looking at a huge hole in his lineup. He pulled out of the three-team trade over concerns that New York right-hander Javier Vazquez did not want to play in Los Angeles and infuriated the Yankees.

``Something that really impressed me was the way the Dodgers called me immediately when the trade broke down and said they still were very interested in me,'' Drew said. ``They could have backed away, but they didn't. I knew this was a place I wanted to play.''

Now, the Dodgers have two left-handed, power-hitting right fielders, but Green is expected to play first base if he isn't traded. Drew also mentioned the possibility of playing center field, where he played early in his career in St. Louis.

``When you play with guys like (St. Louis') Jim Edmonds and (Atlanta's) Andruw Jones you don't get much of a chance to play there,'' Drew said. ``Those guys are the best. But I will play wherever they want me.''

DePodesta likes that. He also knows Drew has reached the postseason in four of the past five seasons. The Dodgers' one playoff victory in October was their first since 1988.

Drew had drawn interest from other teams, including World Series champion Boston and Detroit.

But the hardest part of Thursday's signing might have been getting everyone together at Dodger Stadium. Boras began the day in Orlando, Fla., and left shortly after the Dodgers' news conference for Boston, where another of his free-agent clients, catcher Jason Varitek, will sign a four-year contract today with the Red Sox.

Drew flew in from his home in Georgia and took a physical at the Los Angeles office of team orthopedist Frank Jobe. Then it was on to the ballpark.

``We figured with Christmas the traffic was going to be bad,'' Drew said. ``You always hear that about here, but it was fine.''

Like Beltre, who had a series of injuries during his time with the Dodgers, Drew's career and his character often had been maligned by physical problems.

Most of them centered around a torn patellar tendon in his right knee that first was injured in 1999 and required surgery in October 2002.

The knee was repaired, but rehabilitation was slow due to atrophy in surrounding muscles. Back problems surfaced, and doctors suggested Drew play just a few games per week in early 2003. But by mid-season, even that was too much.

When Drew was traded to Atlanta in a deal that sent pitcher Jason Marquis to St. Louis, he was brought in to replace Gary Sheffield, the former Dodgers outfielder who signed last winter as a free agent with the Yankees.

Now, it is Beltre who needs to be replaced.

``First of all, you aren't going to fill those shoes,'' Drew said. ``I am not going to hit 48 home runs. But I have parts to my game that will help this team. I learned that taking over for Sheffield. Don't think about that stuff. Just know that what you can do is pretty good.''

Matt McHale, [phone]

matt.mchale(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) New Dodgers outfielder J.D. Drew adjusts his cap after his introductory news conference Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

(2) J.D. Drew, left, shakes hands with former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda at a news conference to announce the team's signing of the free-agent outfielder.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer