Signing Frenzy Hits Free Agents Hershiser To Cleveland, Walker To Colorado . . . And Many More

Orel Hershiser, Bob Tewksbury and Andre Dawson switched leagues and Jim Abbott, Dave Stewart and Larry Walker shifted teams Saturday in baseball’s latest big changeover.

Kevin Brown, John Burkett, Bobby Witt and Bill Swift also found new homes, as did Mike Jackson, Terry Mulholland and Tom Browning. A day after there were nearly 50 deals, there were 30 more moves as clubs hurried to reshape rosters by opening day on April 25.

Along with the frenzy to sign free agents, there was one trade in this mini-winter meeting: Months after it was first rumored, Boston sent third baseman Scott Cooper and pitcher Cory Bailey to St. Louis for outfielder Mark Whiten and pitcher Rheal Cormier.

The premium has been on pitching, and the supply of top-name talent may soon start dwindling. But hitters Brett Butler, Mickey Tettleton and Benito Santiago are among those players still available.

Hershiser, a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career, signed with Cleveland. Abbott went to the Chicago White Sox, Stewart went back to Oakland, Mulholland went back to San Francisco, Tewksbury signed with Texas and Brown went to Baltimore. Also, reliever Jackson signed with Cincinnati and Browning went to Kansas City.

“I’ve been on top before, and I want to get there again,” said Hershiser, who got a oneyear contract for $1.45 million, less than half of what he made last season.

“If I’m not the MVP of the World Series, I want to be there to shake the MVP’s hand,” he said. “The Cleveland Indians that win the World Series are going to be a remembered team. I want to be one of those 25 guys.”

The Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins, the last two expansion teams, were the big spenders.

The Rockies signed Walker to a $22 million, four-year contract and got Swift for a $13.1 million, three-year deal.

Walker, 28, hit .322 with 19 home runs and 86 RBIs in the strike-shortened season for Montreal.

Swift, 33, was 39-19 with a 2.70 ERA in the last three years with San Francisco.

“Of all the free agents, these are the two we felt could improve our ballclub the most,” Rockies general manager Bob Gebhard said.

The Marlins bolstered their young staff by signing Burkett and Witt, then boosted their bench by adding Dawson.

Burkett, 30, won 22 games for the Giants in 1993. He was traded to Texas last December for two minor leaguers, but the Rangers did not sign him. He got a two-year deal worth $6.9 million from the Marlins.

Witt, 30, led the Oakland staff with five complete games and three shutouts last season. He got a one-year deal for $1.8 million.

Dawson, 40, had 16 homers and 48 RBIs for Boston last season despite knee problems. A native of Miami, Dawson has 428 lifetime homers and wanted to finish his career at home.

Stewart, who won World Series rings with Oakland, Toronto and Los Angeles, returned to the Athletics with a one-year, $1 million contract. He made $3.5 million last year with Toronto.

The White Sox, trying to fill a void in their rotation left when Jack McDowell was traded to the New York Yankees, signed Abbott to a one-year deal for $2 million, plus a chance to earn $750,000 in bonuses. Abbott, 27, was 9-8 for the Yankees last season.

The Orioles signed pitchers Jesse Orosco, Doug Jones and Brown.

Texas signed Tewksbury, 12-10 with a 5.32 ERA for St. Louis last season. Mulholland, who made $3.35 million during a disappointing year with the Yankees, got a one-year contract for $1.25 million from the Giants, the team that drafted him in 1984. The Giants also signed pitcher Mark Leiter.

Browning, 35 later this month, joined the Royals for $300,000, down from his $3.5 million salary last season with Cincinnati. He broke his left arm while pitching May 9 and did not come back.

In other moves, Cincinnati got reliever Mike Jackson, Boston signed catcher Mike Macfarlane, the Yankees signed outfielder Dion James and the Detroit Tigers, as expected, re-signed shortstop Alan Trammell.

The Cardinals, in addition to making a trade with Boston, re-signed Bernard Gilkey for $975,000, down from his $1.6 million last season. Gilkey, the Cardinals’ starting left fielder for three seasons, can make another $650,000 in incentives.