Starting pitcher Randy Wolf and the Los Angeles Dodgers closed in on a contract Monday that would bring the left-hander to his hometown team.
The sides were close to a deal, according to a baseball official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been completed.
Wolf, who is from the Los Angeles area, spent much of last season recovering from elbow surgery with Philadelphia. He went 4-0 with a 5.56 ERA in 12 starts covering 56 2-3 innings after coming off the disabled list on July 31.
The 30-year-old Wolf was 69-60 in eight seasons with the Phillies, who selected him in the second round of the 1997 draft. He was a reliable starter from 2000-03, winning 48 games and pitching at least 200 innings three times. But he began having elbow pain the following season and was limited to 136 2-3 innings, then started 13 games in 2005 before having ligament replacement surgery in his left elbow.
If the Dodgers sign Wolf he could be their No. 4 starter behind right-handers Derek Lowe, Brad Penny and Chad Billingsley. Los Angeles also might try to sign another established starter.
With Wolf apparently headed to Los Angeles, Philadelphia reached a preliminary agreement with starting pitcher Adam Eaton on a US$24 million, three-year contract, another baseball official told The Associated Press on Monday. That deal is contingent on the right-hander passing a physical, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been announced.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
