With Grady Little out of the way in , Joe Torre is the Dodgers’ first choice to take over the club. According to sources, Torre has agreed in principle to a three-year deal worth $14.5 million and could be introduced Thursday, the same day the Yankees are holding a press conference to welcome Joe Girardi, Torre’s successor, at Yankee Stadium.
And Alex Rodriguez could be following Torre from The Bronx to Hollywood. One of the reasons Rodriguez opted out of the last three years on his Yankees’ contract was he wasn’t sure what Yankees life would be like without Torre’s calming presence in the clubhouse and dugout. In the Dodgers, Rodriguez will find a club in dire need of a jolt at the plate and in the stands.
Third-base coach Larry Bowa and Don Mattingly are expected to join Torre in L.A. If hitting coach Kevin Long, who is talking to the Yankees about a rare three-year deal, stays with the Yankees, Mattingly would be the hitting coach. If Long goes to L.A., Mattingly would be Torre’s bench coach. There are whispers Jose Cardenal, a coach under Torre in the early Yankees years, will be part of Torre’s staff. Current Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt is a candidate to remain.
The Dodgers first made contact with Torre’s agent Maury Gostfriend before Torre flew to Tampa two weeks ago and rejected the Yankees’ one-year offer of $5 million with a chance to make $3 million more in incentives. It’s the first time Gostfriend, who usually does endorsement deals for Torre, got involved in baseball negotiations for Torre. Out of respect for Little, who managed the Dodgers for two years and fell victim to a fractured clubhouse and less than solid relationship with some of his coaches, Torre refused comment on the situation.
Little resigned yesterday with $1 million guaranteed for next season. The Dodgers recently picked up a 2009 option on Little for an undisclosed amount of money. The Dodgers started talking to Little about a buyout last week.
Torre, who spurned the Yankees’ one-year, $5 million offer to return on Oct. 18, didn’t return messages last night.
“(Dodgers GM) Ned (Colletti) and I have been in constant communication since the end of the season and decided mutually that this was the best move for the Dodgers to take,” Little said yesterday in a conference call.
Little, who was sacked by the Red Sox following Aaron Boone’s dramatic homer in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, said talk of Torre taking his job didn’t play a part in stepping down.
“None whatsoever; I have personal reasons,” Little said.
Though Colletti contradicted Little saying it was a mutual decision – Colletti said he wanted Little back – the hiring of Torre was believed to be orchestrated by owner Frank McCourt wanting to make a splash with his underachieving club.
“I wanted Grady Little back, I encouraged him to think it through,” Colletti said.
Because Girardi turned down a three-year deal worth $7.5 million from the Dodgers to follow Torre in The Bronx, many believe Torre was the Dodgers’ second choice. However, that hasn’t been confirmed.
“We’ve talked to other people a little bit to gauge their level of interest because talking to Grady at the end of the season I wasn’t sure he was coming back,” Colletti said.