The Associated Press

MESA, Ariz. - After 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers - 15 if you count his time in the minor leagues - Eric Karros is starting over.

He has a new uniform, new teammates and a new manager. Not only is he in a new spot for spring training, he's also in an entirely new state. Once full of familiarity, his career has been turned upside-down.

"Really, it hasn't been that difficult. It's been somewhat refreshing," said Karros, who was traded to the Chicago Cubs in December in a four-player deal. "There are so many new guys here. It's not like I'm out on an island trying to get used to everything by myself."

Still, seeing Karros in Cubs blue instead of Dodgers blue is a little strange. Drafted by the Dodgers in 1988, he seemed destined to spend his career in Los Angeles.

He grew up just down the highway in San Diego and went to UCLA. He was the 1992 NL Rookie of the Year and had five 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons for the Dodgers. His 270 homers rank third on the team's career list and are the most since the club moved to Los Angeles. He ranks in the top 10 in franchise history in RBIs (976) and games played (1,601).

Karros also was a very public face for the Dodgers, active in their charities and in the Los Angeles community.

But slowed by shoulder and back injuries, Karros struggled the past two seasons. He played in 121 games in 2001 because of a lower back injury and hit a career-low .235. He batted .271 last season but had a career-low 13 homers.

"I feel like the last few years I've played half a season when I've been relatively healthy," he said. "I think that had something to do with my inability to play at the level I'd been accustomed to. Then I get the 'washed-up' label."

The injuries couldn't have come at a worse time. After owning the Dodgers for a half-century, the O'Malley family sold the team to the Fox Group in 1998. The people who knew what Karros could do were gone, replaced by a new management team that only saw his big contract and recent numbers.

So when the Cubs were looking to trade catcher Todd Hundley, the Dodgers were interested.

"There's what I've done for the organization and what I've done for the people that are now in charge," Karros said. "I feel like I represented the organization well, but there are new people running things, and they obviously put their own stamp on the team."

Karros could have vetoed the deal, but he decided the time was right for a change. So on Dec. 4, he and second baseman Mark Grudzielanek were traded to the Cubs for Hundley, outfielder Chad Hermansen and cash.

Despite the big change, Karros said he's had only one rough day since the trade. That was the day a friend wrote an e-mail summing up what Karros had done for the Dodgers and what he'd meant to the team.

Reading that really hit home that his days with the only team he'd ever known were over.

"But it's not like I was leaving Mr. O'Malley and Mr. Lasorda. That was the Dodgers organization," Karros said. "It's different now, and that's reality. It's not good, it's not bad. It's just how it is."

Karros is adjusting well to his new team. He likes his teammates, and he's thrilled to be playing for new Cubs manager Dusty Baker, whom he faced dozens of times when Baker was in San Francisco.

Not even the possibility of being a backup to highly touted rookie Hee Seop Choi bothers him. Baker is well-known for playing his entire roster, and he's said everyone can expect a lot of playing time because of the amount of day games the Cubs have.

"What my role's going to be I don't think anybody knows yet. I think I'm going to get a lot of at-bats," Karros said. "My mindset is to stay healthy and just play healthy. I don't have anything to prove to anyone but myself."

• The Cubs agreed to contract terms Sunday with pitcher Bobby Brownlie, their first-round pick in last year's draft.

The Cubs selected the 22-year-old right-hander out of Rutgers with the 21st overall pick.

Brownlie could have returned for his senior year at Rutgers, but in January he announced he would pass up the college season.

The Cubs had until May 26 to sign Brownlie or lose his draft rights. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MARINERS: Catcher Dan Wilson will be sidelined at least two weeks and probably longer with a strained stomach muscle on his left side.

"It's frustrating for sure," Wilson said Sunday.

The Mariners will play two exhibition games in Tokyo against Japanese teams March 22-23, then open the regular season there March 25 against Oakland.

Wilson, who hit a career-best .295 with six homers and 44 RBI in 115 games last season, will have an MRI exam in the next couple of days as a precaution.

BLUE JAYS: Third baseman Mike Moriarty is out indefinitely after he was hit in the face by a pitch, but the team was encouraged after he was re-examined Sunday.

"It isn't nearly as bad as we thought," manager Carlos Tosca said. "There are a couple of breaks, but they aren't displaced fractures."

Moriarty sustained small fractures to his cheekbone and orbital bone when he was hit in the left side of the face by a pitched ball.