Griffin, Dodgers at Odds : Shortstop Angry That Club Eased Deadline for Sax, Marshall

ATLANTA —  The Dodgers’ search for a second baseman continued at baseball’s winter meetings Tuesday, but there may be a problem at shortstop as well.

Alfredo Griffin is considering taking action against the Dodgers because of the circumstances surrounding his recent signing. The Dodgers set a deadline of Nov. 4 for signing their free agents, one of whom was Griffin, but later relaxed the deadline in an effort to sign second baseman Steve Sax and right fielder Mike Marshall.

Griffin may seek free agency or financial compensation from the club if he elects to file a grievance under the collective bargaining process or a civil action.

“We’re sorting out the options,” agent Randy Hendricks said Tuesday. “Alfredo believes he was treated unfairly and isn’t happy about it.

“We both feel that that we are dealing with fundamentally good people in (Executive Vice President) Fred Claire and (counsel) Sam Fernandez, but the situation is still something of a mess.”

Claire refused to comment.

Griffin is one of five Dodgers who were eligible for free agency but came to terms with the club before midnight Nov. 4, the deadline Claire had initially imposed for signing his free agents.

Claire, attempting to avoid bidding wars, said he would not negotiate with any of the players who were still unsigned as of midnight, when they became eligible to accept bids from other clubs.

Fernando Valenzuela, Mickey Hatcher, Alejandro Pena and Jay Howell signed during the week before Nov. 4. Griffin signed that day, agreeing to 2 guaranteed years at $900,000 a year and an option year at the same figure.

Two other Dodgers eligible for free agency, Sax and Marshall, failed to sign before midnight and were thought to have been lost to the club.

Claire, however, changed his policy 2 days later and reopened negotiations with Sax and Marshall. Sax eventually decided to sign with the New York Yankees, but Marshall, having gotten a good look at the market, signed with the Dodgers for 3 years at $3.5 million. That amounted to 1 year and $1.2 million more than the Dodgers had been offering before Claire shelved his deadline.

“Alfredo might have come back and signed with the Dodgers anyway, but why should he have been deprived of a chance to test the market if the Dodgers weren’t going to live by their rule?” Hendricks said.

“The Dodgers put the squeeze on those players. I can’t speak for the others, but Alfredo was forced into making a decision before he was ready to make it.”

Hendricks said he has talked with Claire and Fernandez but isn’t satisfied. It is believed that Griffin feels the Dodgers should rewrite his contract and guarantee the third year, as they did with Marshall.

The Dodgers are apparently concerned that if they compensate Griffin, they then will have to compensate Howell, Pena, Hatcher and Valenzuela, although none are known to share Griffin’s dissatisfaction.

“Claire and Fernandez are apologetic,” Hendricks said. “Their defense is that they didn’t plan it, that it just happened, that they felt it was in the club’s best interest to go back after Sax and Marshall.

“Beyond that, they say it’s just too bad, that we didn’t have to accept their word. You know how offensive that is? If they don’t have to live by their word, why should we have to live with their deadline and the contract we signed before it?

“How can they change their mind a couple days later and call themselves thorough professionals?”

Hendricks, who, along with his brother Alan, represents more than 100 baseball and football players, said he did not want to portray the situation as “some horrible grudge.” He said Griffin has been happy in Los Angeles and appreciated the club’s support when he was sidelined by a broken hand last year.

Nevertheless, Hendricks said, Griffin believes that the Dodgers were “terribly unfair and inconsistent” to have gone back on their word after he sacrificed his right to free agency.

“If they’re not duty-bound, are we?” Hendricks asked.

An arbitrator or judge may have to eventually provide the answer.

The Dodgers were no closer to acquiring a second baseman Tuesday night, and the Oakland Athletics may have jumped in as a serious rival for free agent Willie Randolph.

Claire said he spoke with Randolph’s agent, Ron Shapiro, but has yet to make an offer. He said he also talked to free agent Jim Gantner’s agent, Ron Simon, but said that contact was initiated by the agent. Gantner is expected to re-sign with his present team, the Milwaukee Brewers.

The A’s, meanwhile, who made no effort to re-sign second baseman Glenn Hubbard, have stepped up their efforts to sign Randolph, the erstwhile Yankee captain, but they have not made a formal offer.

Dodger Notes

Orel Hershiser, in town to pick up the $5,000 crystal bowl he won for being the Sporting News’ player of the year, said the Dodgers have yet to open negotiations on a new contract for him. Hershiser, who will be eligible for free agency after next season, said he didn’t expect to hear from the team until Dec. 20, when teams send out contract offers. . . . When asked what effect the Dodgers’ signing of Eddie Murray--who will be paid $8 million over the next 3 seasons--might have on his own negotiations, Hershiser said: “It’s just another comparable (factor). Everybody in baseball is comparable. Maybe (Murray’s contract) will have an impact on the ballclub. I don’t know.”

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda was asked what he considered the most incredible thing that happened in baseball this year. Was it Hershiser’s streak, Kirk Gibson’s World Series home run, Mike Scioscia’s homer off Dwight Gooden? Mickey Hatcher? “The most incredible thing,” Lasorda said, “was Scott Fletcher signing for $4 million.”

Times staff writer Gordon Edes contributed to this story.