When the Dodgers designated struggling righthander Hideo Nomo
for assignment last week, it gave them only 10 days to deal him
and seemed to put a severe crimp in their bargaining position.
General manager Fred Claire had his reasons, though. He believed
that by admitting that Nomo was through as a Dodger, he could
minimize the upheaval in the L.A. clubhouse. Claire was aware
that as soon as Nomo heard his name mentioned in a possible deal
for the Mariners' Randy Johnson, he had demanded a trade and was
planning a press conference on June 1 to state his displeasure.
By designating Nomo for assignment, Claire diffused that
bombshell and avoided having a disgruntled player start another
game for the Dodgers. Nomo (2-7 with a 5.05 ERA at the time of
the move) had given up six runs in 2 2/3 innings after hearing
the report that he might be going to Seattle. "Our objective was
to get things quieted down," Claire says.
Claire correctly gauged that interest in Nomo would be strong.
He got inquiries from about 20 teams. But we'll never know if
Claire could have done better than the deal he got—Nomo and
righthander Brad Clontz to the Mets for righthanders Dave Mlicki
and Greg McMichael—by keeping Nomo in the rotation while
shopping him. "You couldn't have kept this quiet if you tried
to," Claire said. "It would have been a media frenzy after the
first call."
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Issue date: June 15, 1998
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