SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Diamondbacks are hoping that Commissioner Bud Selig will act this week on the application of Jeff Moorad to become the team's fifth general partner, the team's top official said.

Selig has held the application for months and has sole authority to approve Moorad, because the former player agent isn't currently seeking to take over controlling interest of the team. Selig is in town this week as the owners gather for their first quarterly meeting of 2005.

"The Commissioner instituted a review and had some outside people working on Jeff's background and his heavy involvement of the game on the other side," said Ken Kendrick, the team's lead general partner. "He's now received that report and he's about ready to act on it. He has the right of approval of ownership and that's the issue we're working on."

"He's here this week and we would anticipate that decision being made this week," Kendrick added. "Our plans all along were for Jeff to ascend to ownership around a January date. So we're just there now."

Bob DuPuy, Major League Baseball's No. 2 official, said on Tuesday that Selig is still reviewing Moorad's application. Moorad's situation is not on the meeting agenda and does not, in fact, have to be approved by the owners, although they can still lobby Selig, who often relies on building a consensus.

"I believe that Mr. Kendrick and Mr. Selig have had some conversations about this subject," said DuPuy, MLB's president and chief operating officer. "I wasn't privy to the conversations, but I've heard reports from each of them. I'm sure when the Commissioner makes a decision we'll all be apprised of it."

Kendrick became lead general partner and Moorad was brought in as CEO-elect late last season after Jerry Colangelo sold his controlling share to the current four general partners and stepped down as the team's chairman.

Moorad's participation is part of an overall financial and physical restructuring of the franchise, which is close to $200 million in debt on deferred player contracts, payments on Bank One Ballpark and other loans.

Upon his approval, Moorad will inject about $50 million in capital to the team, which also last year raised $99 million over 10 years by selling 33 minority partnerships.

Kendrick said he's not adverse to Moorad ultimately taking over controlling interest.

"That may be in the future. I didn't sign on for a lifetime contract," Kendrick said. "There's a comfort level that Jeff and I have with each other. We see ourselves as a partnership with me being primarily focused on financial matters and he being primarily focused on baseball matters. This is a step process and the first step is Jeff being approved as an owner."

In his position as CEO-elect, Moorad has had a major influence this offseason on rebuilding a team that lost 111 games last season and finished last in the National League West by 42 games.

Right fielder Shawn Green, who was acquired this week in a trade with the Dodgers, said Moorad's presence was a major reason why he waived his no-trade clause and restructured his contract to three years at $32 million and joined the Diamondbacks. Moorad was once Green's agent.

"Once I saw that my former agent was getting things going here, little ideas started popping into my head," Green said. "I knew he'd put together a great ballclub and put the organization back on track. I couldn't be happier than to be a part of it."

The Diamondbacks were at the nexus this week of two major trades with the Dodgers and Yankees, one of which sent Randy Johnson to New York. In the deals, Arizona netted Green, pitchers Javier Vazquez and Brad Halsey, and $19 million over the next three years paid in increments -- $10 million by the Dodgers and $9 million by the Yankees.

The Yanks will pay the Diamondbacks $3 million a year for the next three years to help offset the $34.5 million remaining on the Vazquez contract.

The Dodgers will pay more than 50 percent of the money they owe Arizona this year, with the remainder split during the following two seasons, Kendrick said.

"The economics of it work very favorably for us," he said. "It puts us in a position to even do more. While we're sorry to see [Johnson] go and we wish him the best, we think we've improved our ballclub. And I'll say that categorically. We're a better team than if we had kept Randy Johnson."

The Diamondbacks are also out from under the $16 million they owed Johnson this season with $6 million of it deferred at two-percent interest. That lessens their 2005 burden and diminishes by $6 million the $60 million in deferred player compensation they hope to pay off completely in six years.

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, are still shooting for a payroll of between $60 million and $65 million this season, Kendrick said.

And that's with the free agent signings of Troy Glaus, Russ Ortiz, Royce Clayton, Craig Counsell, Shawn Estes and the trades for Green and Vazquez.

Kendrick said he is happy with where the team is economically, heading into the season, and the part Moorad has played in that stabilization.

"The low to mid-60s was our goal and we will be there," Kendrick said about the payroll. "As of the moment we are below 60. We haven't completed the team, but we definitely will be able to complete the team within budget. That was the first priority."