Dodgers considering acquiring Cubs LHP Ted Lilly

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -A person with knowledge of the situation says the Los Angeles Dodgers are exploring a trade with the Chicago Cubs to acquire left-hander Ted Lilly.

The Dodgers were looking Friday night for options to upgrade their pitching staff before Saturday's trade deadline. Los Angeles, in third place in the NL West, already acquired new center fielder and leadoff man Scott Podsednik from the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

Lilly is 3-8 with a 3.69 ERA and hasn't won since June 13 but has started to show signs of coming around. He pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings against Houston on Tuesday and has allowed only four earned runs over his last 16 innings.

If Lilly goes to the Dodgers, he would rejoin the team that originally selected him in the 23rd round of the 1996 amateur draft. Lilly was traded to Montreal in 1998 and made his big league debut a year later. He has also played for Yankees, Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays.