With Grady Little out of the way in L.A., 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 tomorrow, the same day the Yankees are holding a press conference to welcome Joe Girardi, Torre’s successor, at Yankee Stadium.
The Dodgers last night denied a deal had been reached. Sides are discussing the salary for Torre’s potential coaching staff. Historically, the Dodgers have not paid coaches very well.
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 Yankee 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. Hitting coach Kevin Long is staying with the Yankees and is close to signing a three-year deal worth nearly $1 million.
Lee Mazzilli, the former Yankees first-base and bench coach and former Orioles manager, has been mentioned as a possibile member of Torre’s L.A. staff. There are whispers Jose Cardenal, a Yankees coach under Torre in the early Yankee years, will be in the mix, too. Current Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt is a candidate to remain.
The Dodgers first made contact with Maury Gostfriend, Torre’s agent, 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 talked to Little about a buyout last week.
Torre, who spurned the Yankees’ offer 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 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. 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.