Padres Obtain Rodriguez... If He Approves Trade

TORONTO -- The San Diego Padres will get Aurelio Rodriguez from the Detroit Tigers if the third baseman approves the transaction. He's a 10-and-5 man, meaning he's played 10 years in the majors, 5 with his present club, and is entitled to veto any trade. Baseball people like to reminisce about the days when players didn't get to approve contracts. But with the proliferation of no-trade clauses, making a deal has become considerably more complicated. It was a complication (that's what some people call free agency) that made the Ron LeFlore deal possible. LeFiore is playing without a contract and the Tigers were convinced he wouldn't sign with them. After this season, LeFlore's sixth, he would become a free agent.

Said Expos President John McHale: "We have to worry about 1980. We haven't even talked to him about the possibility of signing a contract." The future is now. LeFlore is a .300 hitter who last year stole 78 bases. He will play outfield for the Expos, who can move Warren Cromartie to first base to take the place of departed Tony Perez. In Schatzeder (10-5, 2.83 ERA), the Expos gave up a 25-year-old with a future. The Expos could afford to lose him after signing free-agent pitcher Fred Norman, also a lefty. LeFlore couldn't believe the trade was one for one. He thought it was a giveaway.

Pittsburgh wanted to trade Bill Robinson to Houston for Joaquin Andujar. Neither has a no-trade contract. But, Robinson is a 10-and-5 man with trade veto power. And he vetoed this one.

The Atlanta Braves had a five-player deal with the Texas Rangers that would have permitted them to unload Jeff Burroughs' $350,000-a-year contract. The deal was Burroughs, pitcher Adrian Devine and infielder Pepe Frias for pitcher Doyle Alexander and infielder Larvell Blanks -- but it required Burroughs' approval. Burroughs said no. So the Braves and the Rangers started over and came up with almost the same trade, minus Burroughs. Devine, Frias and a player to be named later are going to Texas for Alexander and Blanks. The Braves hope the player to be named later will be Burroughs.

General Manager Bob Fontaine was quite frank about the Padres' interest in Rodriguez. "We've been looking for a Mexican player," he said. According to Fontaine, a million Mexican citizens live within 45 miles of the San Diego ballpark. "We'd like to think that a Mexican player would attract some of those people," Fontaine said. "It's no secret that we've been trying to get a good Mexican player for some time." Rodriguez, who has to approve the deal, undoubtedly will ask for more dollars for a yes vote. The Padres wanted to make more deals than that one. They offered pitchers Gaylord Perry and Bob Shirley around but couldn't come up with an acceptable trade. Fontaine said Perry told him he will honor his contract next season but prefers to be traded.

The Dodgers left the meeting in much the same condition as they arrived. They decided against signing free agent Joe Morgan, choosing instead free agent Jay Johnstone as pinch-hitting help. They attempted to trade catcher Johnny Oates, but not very hard. The Angels wanted to get another pitcher but fell short. They got a quality outfielder instead in Al Cowens but lost Willie Mays Aikens in the bargain. They signed free-agent shortstop Fred Patek, who they hope will correct their most glaring weakness.

Not surprisingly, agents were here in force. In some cases, trades couldn't be made without them. Larue Harcourt, who represents Don Sutton, was here to see if Sutton's name had been brought up in trade talks. It hadn't. Sutton, who had talked retirement, has apparently been talked out of it. "Don wants to pitch for three or four more years," Harcourt said. "And he wants to pitch for the Dodgers." Sutton has one year left on his contract and the Dodgers do not seem to be in any hurry to extend it. "This will be a very important year for Don," Harcourt said. Translation: Though Sutton is 35, a good year from him would mean big dollars on the free-agent market.

The funniest thing at the meetings was a hoax perpetrated by Paul Owens of the Phillies. At 3 in the morning he called up several Philadelphia writers to tell them the Phillies had just acquired Sutter. Thinking they had a big story, the writers crawled out of bed (or wherever) to go to Owens' room. Owens then announced the Phillies had acquired Suter, Burke Suter from Pawtucket.

[source: l.a. times]