Green’s Still a Focus of Talk

For a player the Dodgers insist they aren’t shopping, Shawn Green certainly comes up in a lot of trade talks.

Baseball sources said Thursday that the high-priced slugger could be shipped to the Arizona Diamondbacks for catcher Dioner Navarro, whom the Diamondbacks tentatively acquired Thursday from the New York Yankees in the Randy Johnson deal.

Earlier this month, Navarro would have come to the Dodgers in a 10-player proposal that also involved the Yankees and Diamondbacks, but the Dodgers chose to pull out of the deal at the last minute for reasons that had nothing to do with Navarro.

Other players or cash could also be part of a Green-for-Navarro deal. An industry source said Brad Halsey, the young left-handed pitcher going from the Yankees to the Diamondbacks in the Johnson trade, could end up with the Dodgers.

Green, who can play right field or first base, is owed $16 million next season, the last of a five-year contract. He is considered expendable because free agent outfielder J.D. Drew was signed a week ago and General Manager Paul DePodesta would like to give Hee-Seop Choi an opportunity to play every day at first base.

The Diamondbacks are interested in obtaining Green, deferring some of his salary and extending his contract. He has a no-trade clause, but there are signals from his camp that Arizona would be a suitable destination.

Should Navarro, 20, be acquired, he probably would not be ready to take over Dodger catching duties in spring training. But scouts say he should be ready with a little seasoning.

Nicknamed “Pudgito” because he resembles Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Navarro is a 5-foot-10, 190-pound switch-hitter from Venezuela. Scouts consider him a superior receiver with an excellent arm, and Baseball America rates him as the No. 1 prospect in the Yankee organization.

There are questions about his hitting, however. He was three for seven when he was called up in September by the Yankees and has batted .277 in four minor league seasons. He hit .250 after being promoted to triple A at midseason in 2004 and doesn’t appear to have much power, hitting four home runs in 391 at-bats last season.

The Diamondbacks would not appear to have a need for Navarro. They already have two highly touted young catchers in Chris Snyder, who hit five home runs in 96 late-season at-bats, and Koyie Hill, who was obtained from the Dodgers as part of the Steve Finley trade in July.

Should the Dodgers unload Green’s salary, they would have more money to spend on their top priority -- starting pitching. DePodesta could pursue a trade to acquire a proven starter with only one or two years on his contract because there are few quality starters left on the free-agent market.