VERO BEACH, Fla. — It is not as if the Dodgers are paying Darren Dreifort $252 million, which is what the Texas Rangers are paying Alex Rodriguez. Still, the five-year, $55-million contract they gave Dreifort seemed to cause almost as much industry consternation.
Dreifort had elbow reconstruction five years ago and requires constant physical monitoring at 28. He has a 39-45 record in six major league seasons, and is 33-34 in three years as a starter.
Even now, with Dreifort coming off an impressive 8-2 record over the second half of last season, a potential breakthrough in his evolution from relief pitcher to starter, new pitching coach Jim Colborn expresses caution. Colborn cited the lingering physical concerns and said he simply didn't know if the $11-million-a-year Dreifort can be a 20-game winner.
"I'd like to see Darren be a high-percentage pitcher who wins 15 or 16 games a year," Colborn said. "With the kind of consistency we've seen this spring, I think he can do that. I just don't know how often he can pitch long innings, which may be why he'll have trouble winning 20.
"Prudence requires monitoring [his elbow and physical status]. As long as we have a strong bullpen, if it's a borderline decision between taking him out and leaving him in, I think we would opt to take him out. I don't see him completing a lot of games."
With the average major league salary at $1.9 million, it has become difficult to equate salary to performance, salary to statistics. The market is what it is. For Dreifort, in his first winter as a free agent, it is believed the other serious suitor was the Colorado Rockies, who had already invested almost $180 million in Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle. By getting $55 million for Dreifort, agent Scott Boras, who negotiated the Rodriguez contract and is often accused of inflating the market by telling clubs he has competing offers that he doesn't, received industry credit for another coup.
"Scott never said he had this offer or that offer," Dodger chairman Bob Daly said. "He only said this is where the market is. We definitely paid a high price for Darren, but we're buying into the future. He has unbelievable desire and potential, and we're trying to build a dominant pitching staff, like Atlanta has had and the Dodgers had in the past. If Scott had come in at $70 million or $80 million, we'd have had to pass."
Said General Manager Kevin Malone, "Darren's contract is no different than any other contract, in that you're always paying on the basis of future contributions and results. Some guys have a more established history, but with Darren, we're paying more on the basis of tools, stuff and potential. We know there's a lot of risk. We know we paid a premium price, but that's the market. We obviously felt he was worth the investment."
Perhaps, but there is also a sentiment among some close to the organization that once Dreifort's price started going up, the Dodgers would have been better served by putting that $55 million toward improvements in catching, center field and/or the middle infield.
Malone spent much of the off-season trying to trade second baseman Mark Grudzielanek and center fielder Tom Goodwin, strong evidence of his belief there is need for improvement at those positions. The sentiment is, the Dodgers could have signed Andy Ashby to fill Dreifort's role, signed Ramon Martinez for the fifth starting spot and allowed Eric Gagne and Luke Prokopec to battle for the No. 4 rotation berth. The Dodgers have now closed the door on Gagne and Prokopec, the most promising pitchers in their system, and the chance to lower the payroll.
Of course, the promise in a rotation of Kevin Brown, Chan Ho Park, Dreifort, Ashby and Martinez is indisputable. So is the potential pressure on Dreifort to fulfill the expectations inherent in his contract.
"He's a competitor, a warrior," Malone said. "I think there's a lot of self-imposed pressure anyway. I'm hoping that with the security of the contract, he'll be more relaxed and able to focus totally on his pitching and job. We're looking for continuous improvement, hopeful he can take it to the next level.
"All of the signs this spring are encouraging. He seems to be on the same course he was in the second half. If he gives us 220 innings, and wins half of his 32 starts, I think we can say that we have a bargain."
Dreifort was 12-9 with a 4.16 earned-run average and one complete game in a career-high 32 starts and 192 2/3 innings last year. His ERA in 15 starts during the second half was 3.14.
It should be noted, when citing his sub-.500 career record, that the Dodgers have scored three runs or fewer in 31 of his 87 starts. Asked if he approaches the new season with greater confidence because of his second-half success, the often laconic Dreifort said, "The second half was the second half. It ended five months ago. I always feel confident. I don't think I'm any more confident."
