Joe Torre says Dodgers sign RHP Vicente Padilla

By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES(AP) -- Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Wednesday the
club signed free agent pitcher Vicente Padilla, two days after
the right-hander was released by Texas.

Torre said that Padilla will pitch Saturday at Triple-A
Albuquerque before joining the Dodgers and will make his first
scheduled start for his new team on Aug. 27 at Colorado.

The club later confirmed the 2002 All-Star signed a minor league
contract.

The Rangers put Padilla on unconditional waivers Monday after
being designated for assignment on Aug. 7. He cleared waivers
and became a free agent on Wednesday.

Padilla, who was the Rangers' No. 2 starter when the season
began, was 8-6 with a 4.92 ERA in 18 starts this season.
Originally acquired in December 2005 in a trade with
Philadelphia, Padilla was 43-34 with a 4.90 ERA over the last
four seasons with the Rangers.

The move suddenly made sense for Los Angeles after right-hander
Hiroki Kuroda was hit in the head by a line drive on Saturday in
Arizona. Kuroda went on the disabled list Wednesday as he
recovers from post-concussion symptoms.

If Kuroda hadn't gotten hurt, would the Dodgers have pursued
Padilla?

"That's a good question," Torre said. "I still think we probably
look to be better. We were talking about him before."

The Dodgers had also discussed John Smoltz, who was released by
Boston but the right-hander signed with St. Louis on Wednesday.

The Dodgers will owe Padilla a prorated portion of the minimum
salary for the rest of the season, which comes to about
$100,000. The Rangers must pay the remainder of Padilla's $12
million salary this season.

Padilla joins a staff that has just three healthy starters
remaining from the group that began the season. Chad Billingsley
returned to the rotation Tuesday after missing two starts with a
hamstring injury. Also healthy are Randy Wolf and Clayton
Kershaw, who started Wednesday night after displaying flu-like
symptoms a day earlier.

Padilla angered the Rangers earlier this season by throwing at
hitters, including two incidents involving former teammate Mark
Teixeira in a game on June 2. The next day he was put on waivers
in a move the team hoped would be a wake-up call. Padilla made
his next start on June 7. He hit Oakland's Kurt Suzuki, then was
designated for assignment two days later.

"If he did that on a regular basis on purpose, that's not
something that we do," Torre said. "If someone pitches inside
and as a result, somebody gets hit that's a different story."

In going back to the National League, Padilla will have to bat,
which could make him a target for retaliation, something he
didn't have to face in the American League with the designated
hitter.

Padilla played with Arizona in 1999-2000.

The 31-year-old from Nicaragua had a reputation for distancing
himself in the Texas clubhouse and not having a positive
attitude. Torre said he isn't worried about the possibility of
Padilla messing up the Dodgers' feel-good clubhouse chemistry.

"If he can help us win ballgames, if there's any issues that
come up that are in contradiction to that, then we deal with it.
Until that time, he's going to have a clean slate here," the
manager said.

"I don't think it's a risk. As a team, we're far enough along if
somebody is a bad influence, I don't think that's going to
affect other people."

Manny Ramirez was ready to welcome Padilla upon hearing the
news, even though he said he didn't know the pitcher.

"A pitcher that is going to go out there and protect his
players, I want that guy on my team," he said.

Asked about Padilla's portrayal as a bad teammate by Texas
management and some players, Ramirez said, "That's what they
said about me when I came to L.A. and they were wrong."