Dodgers trade for Lilly, Dotel

SAN FRANCISCO - Joe Torre believes his Dodgers can make a playoff run with their latest upgrades. The Los Angeles manager has a familiar face for the push: lefthander Ted Lilly.

Lilly was traded to the Dodgers by the Chicago Cubs yesterday along with infielder Ryan Theriot for infielder Blake DeWitt and minor league righthanders Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach. Lilly pitched for Torre with the Yankees.

Just before the deadline, the Dodgers boosted their bullpen by getting reliever Octavio Dotel from the Pittsburgh Pirates for righthander James McDonald and minor league outfielder Andrew Lambo.

General manager Ned Colletti even fielded inquiries about injured slugger Manny Ramirez.

Yet none of those last-minute calls were ones Colletti considered serious or something that could get done. Ramirez, on the disabled list since July 20 with a strained right calf, has a no-trade clause.

He could rejoin the Dodgers in the next week to 10 days, Colletti said. "We got a call from one team that offered us a very low dollar figure with no players attached to it," Colletti said in a conference call. "We still need him on this club. The club was built with him as the leftfielder . . . That didn't materialize and we're going forward."

Colletti was still plenty busy right up to the deadline. He was looking to bolster his starting rotation and bullpen, and accomplished both.

Los Angeles also received about $2.5 million cash to cover part of what remains in Lilly's $12 million salary. The Pirates will pick up $500,000 of Dotel's salary. Lilly is 3-8 with a 3.69 ERA and hasn't won since June 13. He is eligible for free agency after the season.