DANA POINT, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Dodgers made Shawn Green one of baseball's highest-paid players Monday, agreeing to a six-year, $84 million contract to complete a deal that sends Raul Mondesi to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Dodgers acquired Green and minor league second baseman Jorge Nunez from Toronto in exchange for Mondesi and pitcher Pedro Borbon.

	With his high salary demands, Shawn Green priced his way out of Toronto.

Green's average salary of $14 million per season is the second-highest in baseball, trailing only the $15 million earned by his new teammate, pitcher Kevin Brown, in a $105 million, seven-year contract he agreed to with the Dodgers in December.

It's the fourth-highest package ever in baseball, trailing only Brown, New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza ($91 million for seven years) and New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams ($87.5 million for seven years).

Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone said Green is a perfect fit for the team.

"The fact that he hits from the left side, and I think most important, his importance and his integrity," Malone said during a news conference at the general managers' meeting.

Green is a native of suburban Tustin, some 35 miles from Dodger Stadium.

"It's something to get a chance to play at home in L.A.," Green said at the news conference. "Everybody who knows baseball knows what a class organization this is."

Mondesi, 28, had asked the Dodgers to trade him last season. The Dodgers and Blue Jays agreed to the tentative deal Friday night, and Los Angeles was given 72 hours by the commissioner's office to work out a contract with Green.

"Shawn Green has a chance to come home to Southern California, where he went to school and spent much of his youth," said his agent, Jeff Moorad. "Raul Mondesi gets a chance for a new start in Toronto."

Moorad, also Mondesi's agent, said he had mixed feelings about the trade because both players would be leaving the teams they had spent their entire major-league careers with.

Mondesi, who had been benched for two straight games, leveled a profanity-laced tirade against Malone and manager Davey Johnson on Aug. 11, saying they were trying to blame him for the Dodgers' poor season.

Moorad said Mondesi told him Monday morning, before the deal was finalized, that he thought it was time to move on.

Bob Daly, the former Warner Bros. executive named the Dodgers' chairman, CEO and managing partner on Oct. 28, pretty much agreed it was time.

"I was disappointed that he didn't want to be a Dodger," Daly said of Mondesi. "We only want players who want to be here."

Toronto general manager Gord Ash believes the deal was a good one for the Blue Jays.

"We got some power, run production and speed, and we also got a left-handed reliever to take the place of Graeme Lloyd, who probably is going to leave us," Ash said.

Asked about Mondesi's lashing out at the Dodgers last season, Ash said, "I think there was some frustration with the club as a whole and some personal frustration. He's a very passionate player and wants to win."

Green, an outfielder who turns 27 Wednesday, made $2.9 million last season, when he hit .309 with 42 homers and 123 RBI. He was eligible for free agency after next season and had turned down a $45 million, five-year offer by Toronto.

He gets a $4 million signing bonus, $8.75 million in 2000, $11.5 million in 2001, $12.75 million in 2002, $15 million in 2003 and $16 million in each of the final two years.

As part of the deal, Moorad said Green will donate $250,000 each year to the Dodgers' Dreams Foundation, which refurbishes youth ballparks in the Los Angeles area.

Mondesi, who hit .253, had two years remaining on a $36 million, four-year contract. As part of the trade, the Blue Jays exercised two option years, making it a $60 million, six-year deal with $44.5 million remaining over four seasons.

Borbon, who turns 31 Monday, was 4-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 70 appearances for the Dodgers in 1999. He missed the previous two seasons after elbow surgery.

Green's former Toronto teammate, first baseman Carlos Delgado, also is eligible for free agency next year and could be available if he won't sign an extension with the Blue Jays. Delgado hit 44 homers, with 134 RBI while batting .272 last season.

It was the third major trade of what promises to be a hot winter for dealing; several other big-name players are on the block, with Ken Griffey Jr. the biggest name available.

ESPN.com says ...

Finally, the Dodgers do something right. Trading the disgruntled and overrated Raul Mondesi for an All-Star like Shawn Green is the best move the franchise has made in years. The best easy method to figure a hitter's overall production is to figure out his OPS -- on-base percentage + slugging percentage. Last season, Green was at .972, 17th-best in baseball. Mondesi was at .815 -- 90th best. Other players similar to Mondesi include Marvin Benard, Chris Singleton, Mark Grudzielanek and Ed Sprague. None of those guys are making $11 million per year like Mondesi. Of course, money is the root of this deal. The Blue Jays couldn't sign Green and knew they would at least have Mondesi for four more years. Simply put, however, Mondesi is not that good. He's paid like a franchise player but doesn't produce like one. It's hard to believe Toronto couldn't get a better deal, say Troy O'Leary and a pitching prospect like Jin Ho Cho from the Red Sox. Is Green worth the second-highest contract in baseball? Do you think Rupert Murdoch really cares? --David Schoenfield

Griffey, who would become a free agent after next season, told the Seattle Mariners he wants to be traded so he could be closer to his Orlando, Fla., home. Atlanta, Cincinnati, Houston and the New York Yankees and New York Mets are considered among the teams interested in Griffey.

Griffey, who can be a free agent after the 2000 season, has the right to veto any trade.

The Mariners also might be forced to trade superstar shortstop Alex Rodriguez, whose contract also expires after the 2000 season.

Rodriguez and agent Scott Boras met with Mariners management last week. Boras said Rodriguez wants to stay in Seattle next season and then become a free agent.

The Mets, Braves and Dodgers are thought to be the leading contenders for Rodriguez, but Boras said his client will not sign a long-term deal until he becomes a free agent.

"We will consider whether somebody out there is worth doing something about now, or whether we will wait until players become free agents," Mets GM Steve Phillips said.

Commissioner Bud Selig, who addressed the general managers' meeting Monday, noted the number of high-impact players available and said the new, quasi-free agency that's going on this winter was expected.

"Clubs don't want to lose players to free agency," Selig said. "It's a development I'm not surprised by, given the system and everything that's gone on.

"That's not to say I'm excited about it."

There have already been two major trades this offseason, with the Texas Rangers shipping two-time AL MVP Juan Gonzalez and two other players to the Detroit Tigers for four players.

The Colorado Rockies, who are looking to trade high-priced pitchers Darryl Kile and Pedro Astacio, sent outfielder Dante Bichette to Cincinnati in a deal for Jeffrey Hammonds and Stan Belinda.