Another big deal?
Mariners, Dodgers deny Johnson trade is near
Posted: Thursday May 28, 1998 08:43 PM
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Changing places? Both Nomo (left) and Johnson have struggled for their respective teams this season (AP) |
SEATTLE (AP) -- Randy Johnson wants out, and the Seattle Mariners are trying to accommodate him.
Team officials met in Florida on Thursday to discuss possible trade scenarios for one of baseball's most feared pitchers. But the possibility of an imminent deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers was dismissed by both teams.
L.A. general manager Fred Claire told reporters he did speak with the Mariners about Johnson, but the Mariners asking price "was entirely too high." Claire also told reporters that neither Hideo Nomo or outfielder Todd Hollandsworth were ever mentioned in the talks, and he said he met with both Nomo and Hollandsworth before the game to tell them that their positions with the Dodgers were secure.
"It's been a wild day," Woody Woodward, head of baseball operations for the Mariners, said before Thursday night's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. "The phone started ringing early and is probably still ringing at the hotel. The fact is there is no truth to that rumor. The idea that names were given to me for a trade and it was very close to happening are not accurate."
Johnson asked to be traded last fall after the Mariners indicated they would not renew his contract -- worth $6 million this year -- beyond this season. He renewed the request last week. The Mariners say they're talking with several teams about Johnson, but are nowhere near a deal with Los Angeles, which reportedly was on the verge of obtaining the 34-year-old left-hander in exchange for pitcher Nomo and an outfielder.
While Woodward said he had spoken with Dodgers executive vice president Fred Claire on Thursday, he insisted that there was nothing to the Johnson-for-Nomo report by MSNBC.
Nomo started the All-Star Game for the National League in his rookie season (AP) | |
"It was a good conversation," said Woodward, adding that he hadn't spoken with Claire for "some time" before Thursday. "He said he was as surprised about the rumor as I was. I don't anticipate any type of deal while the ball club is here in Tampa. There's not a timetable. Would I like to get something done? Certainly. If we take one player, it's not going to be a big salary player. It's not that type of deal."
Mariners manager Lou Piniella said the meeting that Seattle officials held to discuss trade possibilities had been planned for days.
"We just talked about our ballclub and things that could be done to improve it," Piniella said.
San Diego and Baltimore also have been mentioned as possible suitors for Johnson. Woodward confirmed that he has spoken with several teams, but said that to reveal the exact number would be misleading.
"A heck of a lot of clubs have expressed interest, but not all of them truly have interest," Woodward said. "I'll just leave it at I've got a number of calls on that front."
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Johnson struck out a season-high 15 in his last start (AP) |
Johnson, who is scheduled to pitch against Tampa Bay on Friday night, declined to speak to reporters before the game. The player's agent, Barry Meister, dismissed the speculation as "rotisserie baseball gone public." Dodgers spokesman Derrick Hall told The Associated Press, "I know absolutely nothing about it."
MSNBC said that the Mariners had extensive trade talks Wednesday with the Dodgers about a deal that would send Nomo and perhaps Hollandsworth to Seattle for Johnson. The network reported that the teams had agreed on Nomo, the 1995 NL Rookie of the Year, but were negotiating on who would accompany him in the trade. In addition to Hollandsworth, the reported possibilities include outfielders Roger Cedeno, Thomas Howard, and Trenidad Hubbard, infielder Wilton Guerrero, and pitchers Chan Ho Park and Ismael Valdes.
The 1995 AL Cy Young Award winner, Johnson has been considered the most dominant left-hander in baseball for several years and was a 20-game winner for the first time last season. When he sought a trade last year, the Mariners didn't get an offer they liked. When he repeated his request last week, the team said he would have to pitch better to up the bidding. On Sunday, Johnson (4-3, 6.02 ERA) pitched his finest game of the season, striking out 15 in a seven-hit victory against Tampa Bay.
"You guys think it's easy?" he said then. "The crap I've been putting up with. It isn't easy."
Nomo, 29, also has struggled this season and is 2-6 with a 4.50 ERA. He's allowed only 50 hits, but walked 35 and given up eight home runs. Nomo, who pitched in the Japanese Pacific League for five years, signed with the Dodgers in 1995 and was an immediate sensation, winning rookie of the year.
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