Sources tells Jayson Stark of ESPN and Steve Henson of the L.A. Times that Randy Wolf has taken less than other teams offered to sign with the Dodgers. The lefthander from El Camino High in Woodland Hills and Pepperdine is said to be getting either $7.5 million (LAT) or $8 million (ESPN) for one season. The Phillies, his old team, opted instead for three years of Adam Eaton. So what are the Dodgers getting?
Wolf had Tommy John ligament surgery on July 1, 2005, missed a year and started twelve games in late summer for the Phillies. He posted his highest ERA ever, 5.56, though scouts apparently saw some bite return to his curve. If he has recovered his old stuff, Wolf looks to be a #3 or 4 starter. In eight seasons covering 194 major league starts, Wolf has won more than 11 games once (he went 16-10 in 2003) and his ERA has not been under 4.23 since 2002. He strikes out just over seven per nine innings, a bit better than Brad Penny and way more than any other Dodger starter except Hong-Chih Kuo. The Times says the Cubs and Cardinals made offers of three years in the range of $21 million to $24 million.
Wolf is another major league alum of the West Hills Pony League and was actually drafted by the Dodgers out of high school, but chose to attend Pepperdine. His signing probably means the Greg Maddux era at Dodger Stadium lasted just a too-brief two months, but you know what, it was memorable while it lasted. Never watched a 300-game winner in a Dodger uniform before.
Earlier today: Tim Brown, the national baseball writer for the Los Angeles Times, jumps to Yahoo! Sports.
