By KEN PETERS, AP Sports Writer
November 28, 2006

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Randy Wolf and the Los Angeles Dodgers finalized an $8 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.

Wolf gets $7.5 million next year, and the Dodgers have a $9 million option for 2008 with a $500,000 buyout. His 2008 salary would become guaranteed if Wolf pitches 180 innings next season.

"Randy is a veteran pitcher who has proven to be a very effective starter in the major leagues," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "Having grown up in Los Angeles, he knows what it means to be a Dodger, and as a left-hander, we expect him to complement our starting rotation well."

Wolf spent much of last season recovering from elbow surgery. He came off the disabled list on July 31 and went 4-0 with a 5.56 ERA in 12 starts for the Philadelphia Phillies, pitching 56 2-3 innings.

The 30-year-old was 69-60 in eight seasons with the Phillies, who selected him in the second round of the 1997 amateur draft out of Pepperdine. The Dodgers drafted Wolf out of high school, but he did not sign.

Wolf was a reliable starter for Philadelphia from 2000-03, winning 48 games and pitching at least 200 innings three times. But he began feeling elbow pain the following season and was limited to 136 2-3 innings, then started 13 games in 2005 before having ligament replacement surgery on his left elbow.
Wolf could be Los Angeles' No. 4 starter behind right-handers Derek Lowe, Brad Penny and Chad Billingsley. The Dodgers also might try to sign another established starter.

With Wolf headed to Los Angeles, Philadelphia reached a preliminary agreement with starting pitcher Adam Eaton on a $24 million, three-year contract, a baseball official told The Associated Press on Monday. That deal is contingent on the right-hander passing a physical, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been announced.

AP Sports Writer John Nadel contributed to this report.