Boston’s Wells May Be on Wish List

In one final effort to strengthen themselves for the season’s final month and, perhaps, the postseason, the Dodgers are negotiating with the Boston Red Sox for left-handed pitcher David Wells and the Chicago Cubs for left-handed hitter John Mabry, according to league sources.

Other teams also are involved, particularly concerning Wells, whose big-game experience and recent good health has drawn interest from the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals, as well as the Dodgers.

According to one source, the Red Sox are in the preliminary stages of shopping the 43-year-old Wells so they can move quickly by Thursday, the deadline for teams to acquire players and have them eligible for the playoffs.

“They’re asking a pretty steep price right now,” the source said.

The Red Sox are believed to be demanding a player who could help them next season.

Wells has made six starts since coming off the disabled list July 31 and is scheduled to start again Friday. He sat out more than two months after being hit in the left knee by a line drive but has pitched well since his return. His earned-run average in his last five starts is 2.89.

Wells has pitched in 26 playoff games, 16 of them starts, and is 10-4 with a 3.15 ERA.

Mabry, 35, is batting .214 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 159 at-bats against right-handed pitching.

Both players have cleared waivers and are free agents after the season. Wells is expected to retire.

*

Right-hander Chales Dasni, who was pitching for the Ogden Raptors, the Dodgers’ affiliate in the Pioneer rookie league, has been suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Dasni, a 6-foot-3, a 168-pounder, was founded to have to used boldenone, an anabolic steroid, which can be legally purchased only at veterinary clinics.

The suspension of Dasni, who has been sent home to the Dominican Republic, will extend into next season.

In his fourth year of organized ball, Dasni, 21, was 4-3 with a 5.63 ERA in 13 games. He had struck out 64 batters in 48 innings.

*

The Dodgers are allowed to expand their roster Friday, but General Manger Ned Colletti said he could stagger his promotion of minor leaguers. Colletti said he would bring up four or five players Friday and two or three Sept. 5, after the season of the team’s triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas concluded.

*

With an off day Thursday, the Dodgers will switch right-handers Brad Penny and Chad Billingsley in the rotation against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium over the weekend. Penny will go Saturday on his normal four days of rest with Billingsley moving back to Sunday.