Pitched Battle in West

By JASON REID

July 27, 2000 12 AM PT

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

DENVER — Adding veteran arms to a tight National League West race, the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired right-hander Curt Schilling from the Philadelphia Phillies and the Dodgers reacquired right-hander Ismael Valdes from the Chicago Cubs in deals Wednesday that might help determine the division title.

The Diamondbacks, tied for first with the San Francisco Giants, made the bigger move, obtaining the hard-throwing Schilling in a four-for-one trade. They sent first baseman-outfielder Travis Lee and pitchers Omar Daal, Vicente Padilla and Nelson Figueroa to the Phillies for one of baseball’s top starters.

Schilling and two-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson give the Diamondbacks arguably the game’s best 1-2 punch.

The price for Valdes was considerably less.

The Dodgers parted with two minor leaguers not in their immediate plans and brought a player whom many in the organization disparaged back to Chavez Ravine.

Chicago received triple-A right-hander Jamie Arnold and Class-A outfielder Jorge Piedra for Valdes, whom they acquired from the Dodgers with second baseman Eric Young eight months ago, and were eager to dump because of lingering questions about his desire.

How eager?

The Cubs agreed to pay $500,000 of the $2 million remaining in Valdes’ one-year, $5.7.5-million contract. He can become a free agent after the season, and the Dodgers won’t rush to offer Valdes a multiyear package.

Schilling, making $5.65 million this season, will make $6.5 million next year. Although the Diamondbacks declined to discuss Schilling’s contract situation, baseball sources said the club plans to negotiate an extension in the off-season.

Schilling is scheduled to debut for the defending NL West champions Friday against the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium.

Valdes, with the Cubs in Philadelphia, will rejoin his former team Friday when the Dodgers begin a three-game series at Veterans Stadium. His usual turn would come Friday, but he might be pushed back because Darren Dreifort is scheduled to pitch in the series opener against Philadelphia.

The Diamondbacks and Dodgers were pleased after completing the deals, but the Diamondbacks added someone every team wanted. The Dodgers reacquired someone they recently dumped, and whose trade value had plummeted.

“We’ve been competitive to this point, and we want to stay competitive,” Arizona General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said. “We thought this was a tremendous opportunity to set us up in that regard.

“I think that there are probably only a handful of true No. 1 starting pitchers in baseball. With today’s trade, we have two of them.”

Schilling, 33, has been regaining form recently after undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery in December and sitting out the first month of the season while rehabilitating.

He is 6-6 with a 3.91 earned-run average overall, but 5-2 with a 2.00 ERA in his last eight starts. And Schilling is displaying his signature endurance, working at least seven innings in his last eight outings.

The nine-year veteran is 105-89, has won at least 14 games five times and struck out 300 or more in 1997 and 1998. The Dodgers acknowledged the Diamondbacks made a major move--but said the race is far from finished.

“They had to make that deal,” Dodger Manager Davey Johnson said. “When you have two No. 1 starters in a short series, when you make the playoffs, that’s the way to keep moving on.

“But we’re still in the pennant race. It’s not over yet.”

Some would disagree, considering the potential impact of Schilling.

He has experience pitching under the September/October spotlight, being selected the ’93 NL championship series most valuable player after helping the Phillies win the pennant. He was 16-7 with a 4.02 ERA that season.

Todd Stottlemyre is on the disabled because of slight tear in his pitching elbow, and Daal has struggled, increasing the Diamondbacks’ efforts to acquire another starter. They got the guy considered the best on the market, and it helped that Schilling grew up in Phoenix.

Tired of losing, Schilling pushed to be traded to a contender.

He gave Philadelphia General Manager Ed Wade a list of six teams he would go to, waiving his no-trade clause. The Dodgers were not on his list, though General Manager Kevin Malone repeatedly asked Wade to request Schilling to include them.

Valdes, who turns 27 Aug. 21, is glad to be included in the Dodgers’ plans again.

He has struggled in 12 starts, going 2-4 with a 5.37 ERA after joining Chicago with Young on Dec. 12 in exchange for reliever Terry Adams and two minor league pitchers. He has had shoulder tendinitis, hamstring injuries and recurring blister problems.

“It’s always good to be back home,” said Valdes, who signed with the Dodgers in ’91. “I was surprised because my name was up in the air [in trade speculation] with many teams, but I was never mentioned with the Dodgers. But now that they made the trade, I’m happy to be home with my old teammates.”

The Cubs also are happy.

“Everybody would have preferred for it to work out differently than it did,’ said Andy MacPhail, Cub president and interim general manager. “Both of us would have written a different script, but you have to proceed from where you are, not where you wanted to be.”

Valdes’ former and future teammates are pleased about the deal, but they said the enigmatic pitcher must do his part.

“I’ve seen him when he’s at his best, and we know what he can do,” left fielder Gary Sheffield said. “It’s just a matter of him coming over here and doing it.”

The Dodgers were eager to move Valdes, although he was their No. 2 starter last season. Valdes had pitched at least 196 innings four times--twice eclipsing 200.

He went 61-54 with a 3.38 ERA in his first L.A. stint. But the Dodgers grew tired of waiting for Valdes to become a dominant pitcher, believing it simply wouldn’t happen.

What changed?

Malone and Johnson wanted to bolster the rotation, and the organization lacks the prospects to acquire the premier pitchers available. Valdes came at the right price, so the Dodgers are keeping their fingers crossed.

Valdes is expected to replace struggling rookie right-hander Eric Gagne in the five-man rotation. Gagne is expected to be optioned to triple-A Albuquerque after starting today against the Rockies.

“When all was said and done, guys like Schilling and [Denny] Neagle weren’t available to us because we didn’t have the prospects,” Malone said. “We felt that Ismael was the best guy we could acquire for the L.A. Dodgers. We think in this environment, with this bullpen and our offense, he’s in a position to succeed.

“And the key thing for us is we didn’t have to mortgage the future. We know who he is and what he’s all about. We felt we were at a point where we needed to make a move because we were getting close to the [July 31 non-waiver] deadline, and the cost might have gone up.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

An Arm for an Arm

A look at the 2000 statistics and the totals from 1995-1999 for the pitchers acquired Wednesday by the Arizona Diamondbacks (Curt Schilling) and the Dodgers (Ismael Valdes):

*--*

2000 SEASON CATEGORY 1995-1999 Schilling Valdes Schilling Valdes 16 12 Games Started 137 149 4 0 Complete Games 39 10 1 0 Shutouts 7 5 1122/3 67 Innings 1,0022/3 9962/3 110 71 Hits 848 942 49 40 Earned Runs 363 375 17 17 Home Runs 101 102 32 27 Walks 249 276 96 45 Strikeouts 1,067 728 6-6 2-4 Win-Loss Record 63-46 58-53 3.91 5.37 Earned-Run Average 3.26 3.39

*--*

How Race Shapes Up

The five-man rotations of the top three teams in the National League West, with win-loss records and earned-run averages:

SAN FRANCISCO (55-44)

Shawn Estes 10-3, 3.99

Livan Hernandez 9-7, 4.25

Kirk Rueter 7-6, 3.61

Mark Gardner 7-4, 4.46

Russ Ortiz 5-9, 6.22

ARIZONA (56-45)

Randy Johnson 15-3, 2.16

Curt Schilling 6-6, 3.91