The Dodgers have signed 12 more of their 2013 draftees. That group includes 3B third-rounder Brandon Dixon, RHP fifth-rounder J.D. Underwood, SS/2B seventh-rounder Brandon Trinkwon, C eighth-rounder Kyle Farmer, C 11th-rounder Spencer Navin, LHP 14th-rounder Michael Johnson, 2B 18th-rounder James McDonald, SS 19th-rounder Blake Hennessey, RHP 21st-rounder James Baune, LHP 22nd-rounder Jake Fisher, RHP 25th-rounder Kyle Hooper, and SS 38th-rounder Dillon Moyer.

The team is also now running a serious risk of going over the bonus pool cap and losing a first-rounder next year.

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Dodgers 2013 Draft Recap

Round 1 | Round 2 | Rounds 3-5 | Rounds 6-10 | Rounds 11-20 } Rounds 21-30 | Rounds 31-40

Recap & Reaction

Chris Anderson (1), Tom Windle (2), Cody Bellinger (4), Jacob Rhame (6), Henry Yates (9), Adam Law (12), Thomas Taylor (26) Sign

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Dixon signed for slot money at $566,500, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.

It was mentioned previously that fourth-round 1B Cody Bellinger would get third-round slot money, but he actually got more ($700,000), according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. That is the biggest splurge over slot in the draft so far, and that sets the Dodgers up for bonus pool spending problems.

Underwood signed for higher than slot money as well, according to Matt Porter of The Palm Beach Post. His slot assignment was $306,200.

Trinkwon signed for slot money at $171,900, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.

Farmer tweeted out the signing himself, though no bonus money has been revealed yet.

Navin’s signing was announced by Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. The shocking part, though, was that he was given $300,000, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. Why shocking? Because picks after the 10th rounder have a universal limit of $100,000, and anything else counts against the cap.

The team announced the signing of Johnson, McDonald, and Hennessey themselves, according to Eric Stephen of True Blue LA. Baune’s signing is according to Baseball America. Fisher tweeted out his signing himself. Hooper’s signing was also via Baseball America, and he’s been assigned to the Ogden Raptors. Moyer’s mom tweeted out both his signing and assignment (Ogden Raptors). None of these signings have had terms announced, though presumably they’ll all be below $100,000, so it doesn’t affect bonus pool money.

Speaking of which, and I think I’ll look at it soon, but the Dodgers are perilously close to losing their first-round pick for next year.

The Dodgers wrapped up their 2013 MLB Draft a while ago, but reactions are still rolling in. For the most part, pundits seem to agree that the Dodgers went conservative, electing for low-ceiling, low-risk picks. I felt the same way about the team’s selections, so there’s not much to argue back-and-forth with in that regard.

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Dodgers 2013 Draft Recap

Round 1 | Round 2 | Rounds 3-5 | Rounds 6-10 | Rounds 11-20 } Rounds 21-30 | Rounds 31-40

7 Picks Sign

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John Sickels of Minor League Ball only mentions one player (Chris Anderson) that appears to be a potential starter on a Tier 1 team.

Curiously conservative for a Dodgers draft, so perhaps all the money spent on the free agent and international market has pulled things back a bit financially. That’s not to say there isn’t talent here. Anderson is a big hard-throwing horse in the Dodgers mold, Windle is a potential fifth starter or relief option who could advance quickly. Dixon looks like a solid role player but hard to profile as a regular due to lack of power. Community college pitchers Underwood and Rhame should be signable in these spots; Rhame has the stronger arm, Underwood the greater pitchability. The Dodgers liking for bloodlines shows up in the 12th round with the selection of Adam Law (son of Vance, grandson of Vernon) out of BYU. He’s a future utilityman.

ESPN’s Keith Law sees much of the same, though his profile of Jacob Rhame is promising.

This doesn’t feel like a Dodgers draft, with no high-upside high school picks mixed in here at all. Chris Anderson (18) does fit what the Dodgers like in pitchers, as he has size, velocity and has shown a plus slider, hitting a rough stretch in April after the Dolphins overused him in the season’s first six weeks. Minnesota lefty Tom Windle (56) profiles as either a back-end starter or good reliever, a command/finesse pitcher with average stuff but very good feel. Brandon Dixon (92) is currently a third baseman but has to move either to an outfield corner or to first base, and he doesn’t have the power (slugging just .362 away from Tucson) or patience (15 unintentional walks in 247 PA) to profile in those spots.

Cody Bellinger (124), son of former True Yankee Clay Bellinger, is a first-base-only high school hitter with a loose swing and some power potential if you really dream on him, but he didn’t look physically ready for pro ball and was seen by many area scouts as a college guy this year. Right-hander JD Underwood (154) has a fringy fastball with good feel and could end up a three-pitch guy with nothing plus. Right-hander Jacob Rhame (184) has good sink on his low-90s fastball with above-average control, but right now his curve and changeup are both below average. Adam Law (364) is not related to me.

Baseball America adds Cody Bellinger and Greg Harris to the intriguing names from the draft for the team.

Despite a track record of aggressively drafting high school pitchers, the Dodgers landed premium college arms with their first two picks in Jacksonville righthander Chris Anderson (first round) and Minnesota lefthander Tom Windle (second). They went to Arizona for college third baseman Brandon Dixon (third) and prep first baseman Cody Bellinger (fourth), who has drawn Adam LaRoche comparisons. UC Santa Barbara shortstop Brandon Trinkwon (seventh) entered the year as a second-team All-American, but hit just .280/.367/.384 this year and may wind up moving to second base. Southern California prep righthander Greg Harris (17th) has interesting upside and big league bloodlines.

Worth nothing, though, is that the Dodgers were tied for the least amount of players drafted in the Baseball America Top 500.

Dodgers (10 total, 3 top 100, 5 top 200, average: 237)
Chris Anderson (45), Tom Windle (47), Brandon Dixon (154), Cody Bellinger (91), J.D. Underwood (438), Jacob Rhame (172), Brandon Trinkwon (307), Spencer Navin (398), Blake Hennessey (482), Thomas Taylor (496).

So by most accounts, this was a very atypical Dodger draft. And while I would love to disagree with their conclusions about the potential of this class, I said as much about the overall quality of this group last week myself.

Besides Chris Anderson, it really is difficult to profile anybody in this draft as a potential starter on a quality team. However, there are a bunch of potential middle relievers and utility players. Those types do have value, for the reason we’re all watching unfold now as the 2013 Dodgers, but they’re not typically what you want your best projected players from the draft to top out as.

Just hope that everybody is wrong.

The Dodgers have already inked seven of their picks from the 2013 MLB Draft. That group includes RHP first-rounder Chris Anderson, LHP second-rounder Tom Windle, 1B fourth-rounder Cody Bellinger, RHP sixth-rounder Jacob Rhame, OF ninth-rounder Henry Yates, 3B 12th-rounder Adam Law, and RHP 26th-rounder Thomas Taylor.

The team has a bonus pool of $5,211,700 in 2013.

==========

Dodgers 2013 Draft Recap

Round 1 | Round 2 | Rounds 3-5 | Rounds 6-10 | Rounds 11-20 } Rounds 21-30 | Rounds 31-40

==========

Both Anderson and Windle agreed to sign for slot money and were announced by the team.

The Dodgers have quickly announced the signings of their top two picks from last week’s First-year Player Draft, first-rounder Chris Anderson and second-rounder Tom Windle.

Both players signed for the designated slot amount — $2,109,900 for Anderson and $986,500 for Windle. Both will report to Camelback Ranch in Arizona for a weeklong minicamp, then start their careers at Class A Great Lakes.

The Law and Taylor signings were also announced by the team, but with no indication of for how much.

The club also announced the signings of 12th-rounder Adam Law, a third baseman out of Brigham Young University, and their 26th-round pick Thomas Taylor, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Kansas.

Both picks are out of the bonus pool rounds, so it doesn’t matter much.

Rhame broke the news of his signing with the Dodgers himself. He signed for $300,000, according to Jim Callis, which is slightly over the slot value of $229,300.

Bellinger agreed to terms with the team for above slot value (third-round slot value), according to Kyle Odegard. His slot value is $409,000, while the third-round slot value is $566,500.

Yates signed with the team for way below slot money at $5,000, according to Baseball America. His slot value was placed at $143,500.

With the 934th pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, the Dodgers took third baseman Andrew McWilliam out of Westview High School in California. At 6’5″, there’s certainly projection here.

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With the 964th pick, the team took right-hander Rob Rogers of Keystone College. He was selected as a Division III First-Team All-American.

As a senior, he should sign without issue.

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Second baseman Tyger Pederson was taken out of University Of Pacific with the 994th pick. Yes, it’s the brother of Joc Pederson, which makes you think his parents must have had the good stuff.

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Here’s Pacific’s profile of him:

Pederson hit .274 in three seasons with Pacific, after joining the Tigers from Redlands. He scored 60 runs in his career while driving in 44 runs, with 13 doubles. Pederson also drew 49 walks in his career, for a .349 on-base percentage. With a pair of triples and one home run, he posted 16 career extra base hits, with his long ball coming a Klein Family Field on February 24, 2013.

As his senior year came to a close, Pederson reached base safely in 17 of his final 18 games, including a nine-game hitting streak. He posted 22 multi-hit games, including a career-best five-for-five against No. 13 Cal in 2011, sparking the Tigers’ win over the ranked Golden Bears.

Primarily a second baseman, Pederson also appeared in left field, first base and designated hitter at times during his 142-games as a Tiger.

As a senior, he should sign and join his brother in the system.

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With the 1024th pick, the team selected lefty Rob Cerfolio out of Yale University.

Here’s Yale’s profile of him:

Cerfolio is one of 16 draft selections with Connecticut ties and one of 38 selections from his home state of Alabama. In his Yale career, Cerfolio has made 36 appearances with 23 starts. He has recorded 63 career strikeouts over three seasons. His performance in 2013 was his best by far, including a career-best 2.94 ERA and a career-high 29 strikeouts. In 2013, he led Yale in ERA, starts (8) and strikeouts looking (12), and he was second on the team in opponents’ batting average (.273), strikeouts (29), and innings pitched (49.0).

As a junior, he has the option of going back and increasing his stock. Also, the whole graduating from Yale thing.

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Catcher Kaleb Holbrook out of South Georgia College was made the 1054th pick of the draft.

Couldn’t find much information on him, but he has a lot of eligibility left, so he has options besides the Dodgers.

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With the 1084th pick, the Dodgers took outfielder James Lynch from Glendale Community College.

Don’t know much else, but like Holbrook, he has eligibility remaining.

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With the 1114th pick, the Dodgers selected right-handed pitcher Justin Dunn out of The Gunnery High School in Connecticut. An interesting pick here, since he seems to have pro potential.

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Perfect Game profiled him here:

Justin Dunn is a 2013 RHP/IF with a 6-1 160 lb. frame from Freeport, NY who attends Gunnery. Dunn has an athletic body, over the top arm slot, excellent arm speed, good arm strength, seen him up to 90 at previous tournaments, has hard downer curveball which could become a plus pitch, mixed in low 70′s change up, has an aggressive approach, line drive swing plane, fast twitched swing, only hit right handed in cage, but took cuts left handed in cage, showed a raw swing with some upside with bat speed, defensively, good arm strength, ball carries out of hand, interesting follow on mound, signed with Boston College, named to top prospect list, good student.

Since the Dodgers went conservative in the bonus pool rounds, I’d like to see them extend themselves and try to buyout a draftee like this. A solid Boston College commit at the moment.

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Shortstop Dillon Moyer (sound familiar?) was taken out of UC San Diego with the 1144th pick. Bloodlines? You bet (Jamie Moyer).

His school profiled him:

Taken with the 1144th overall pick, Moyer was one of just three Tritons to start all 50 games during the 2013 season, his first in La Jolla after spending his first two years at UC Irvine. He was tied for first on the team with 16 doubles, second in stolen bases (15), and third in runs (33), hits (57) and RBI (28). Moyer hit .298 and earned All-California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) honorable mention.

Moyer is the son of Jamie Moyer, who pitched for over 25 years in MLB for eight different clubs and was chosen to the 2003 MLB All-Star Game. He becomes the first Triton drafted since right-handed pitchers Tim Shibuya (Twins, Round 23, 718) and Guido Knudson (Tigers, Round 28, 857) in 2011. Moyer is the first UCSD position player tabbed in over a decade, since catcher/third baseman Ryan Larson (Astros, Round 38, 1151) in 2002.

Moyer is a junior.

No rush to sign since he can probably play until he’s 80.

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Catcher Jake Sidwell was the 1174th pick out of Olympia High School in Florida. His dad, Rob Sidwell, is a scout with the Dodgers.

Follow Jake Sidwell On Twitter

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To close out the team’s draft, the Dodgers took center fielder Matt Haggerty out of Seton Catholic High School in Arizona with the 1204th pick.

He’s a commit to Grand Canyon University.

Right-handed pitcher James Baune out of Southern Arkansas University was taken by the Dodgers with the 634th pick in the 2013 MLB Draft.

A profile on him via his school:

Baune, an All-America pitcher who went 13-1 with a 3.07 ERA this past season, was the first Mulerider to be drafted this year as the Los Angeles Dodgers took the Rockwall, Texas native with their 21st-round selection (pick #634). Baune is now the Muleriders’ 13th all-time right-handed pitcher taken in the MLB draft since 1976.

As a junior, he can return if he doesn’t get what he wants.

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Left-handed pitcher Jake Fisher was taken out of the University Of Oklahoma with the 664th pick.

He started the year as a reliever but was recently moved into the rotation.

Recently named Oklahoma’s No. 3 in its starting rotation, Fisher currently sports a 2.53 earned run average with a 3-2 record. Fisher, a left-hander, has logged 50 strikeouts compared to only 14 walks this season.

Fisher, who started the season in the bullpen for the Sooners, was inserted into the starting rotation after Dillon Overton was hampered by an arm injury during Big 12 Conference play.

As a senior, he will likely sign without much issue.

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Right-handed pitcher MJ Villegas was taken with the 694th pick out of Seton Catholic High School in Arizona.

Couldn’t find any other information on him.

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With the 724th pick, the Dodgers selected right-handed pitcher Jose De Leon out of Southern University.

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Big League Futures has a scouting report on him:

Fastball 90-94 with good movement
Has relied heavily on fastball in the two games I have seen him pitch
Secondary pitches are inconsistent, but slider shows good potential
Live arm
3/4 arm slot
Some control issues, but reportedly improved as the season progressed

As a junior, he’ll be a tough sign this far down in the draft, I think.

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Right-handed pitcher Kyle Hooper was taken out of the UC Irvine with the 754th pick in the draft.

A senior, he should sign without incident.

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Thomas Taylor, a right-hander out of Kansas University, was taken with the 784th pick.

Taylor was ranked 496th by Baseball America.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder added a little velocity in the second half of the spring, regularly working at 90-94 mph while keeping his fastball down in the zone and throwing it to both sides of the plate. He has a decent slider and also uses a changeup, but neither is sharp enough to keep hitters from looking for his fastball. Taylor throws strikes but doesn’t miss a lot of bats, and he profiles more as a middle reliever in pro ball.

As a senior, he’ll likely sign, so what’s a guy like him doing so far down in the draft? Well, he’s had previous injury trouble and he’s already 23. Plus, as the report says, he profiles as a middle reliever. Still, hard to complain at this position.

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Right-handed pitcher Tanner Kiest, out of Riverside Community College, was taken with the 814th pick.

He has a few more years of eligibility left, so it’ll likely take a decent offer to get him into the system.

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With the 844th pick, the Dodgers took lefty Crayton Bare out of Baylor University.

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I’m assuming he was injured for most of this season, as he made only five appearances.

He’s a senior, so he should sign.

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With the 874th pick, the team took catcher Sam Finfer out of Interlake High School in Washington.

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According to his own site (yes, really), here’s a profile of him:

I am a catcher that hits for average as well as power from the left side for the Interlake High School Varsity Baseball team. I have included a link to my 2012 high school season stats (MaxPreps). I’ve just completed my 2012 summer ball season playing on the 18u O’Brien Autogroup Baseball Club for Head Coach Elliott Cribby and Assistant Coach, Jay Buhner. My pop time is 1.9 seconds, which was recorded at a University of Washington Catcher’s Camp in September 2010, the beginning of my Sophomore year, and has been recorded numerous times since then.

Not hating, that’s pretty smart, actually. Certainly better than the alternative of some others who I have zero information on.

He’s a Seattle University commit.

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Catcher Ryan Scott out of Notre Dame High School in Arizona was taken with the 904th pick.

He too has his own site, which lists extensive bloodlines.

Father: Darryl Scott – Current Pitching Coach in the Colorado Rockies Organization; 11 year Professional Playing Career; Loyola Marymount University ’86-’90
Mother: Elizabeth Scott – Loyola Marymount University Tennis ’85-’89
Grandfather: Tom Mee – Minnesota Twins 1960 to present
Grandfather: Troy Scott – Football & Baseball at Fresno State
Great Grandfather: Leland Scott – Baseball at Stanford
Uncle: Rich Gaynor – Philadelphia Phillies Organization
Cousin: Mike Mee – 2007 16th Round Draft with the Arizona Diamondbacks
Brother: Casey Scott (Arizona Western College); 2011 MLB Draft 47th Round by Colorado Rockies

Chances that Logan White took all of this into account is over 9000.

The Dodgers started off Day 3 of the 2013 MLB Draft by taking catcher Spencer Navin out of Vanderbilt University with the 334th overall pick.

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Navin’s coach had this to say about him:

“Spencer may be the most talented catcher we have had in our program,” Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin told the school’s official website. “He’s tough, durable and possesses overriding arm strength. He competes as well as anyone we have on our club. We will be very reliant on his leadership behind the plate. He is a very competitive hitter as well and a big part of our offense.”

Baseball America ranked him 398th.

A two-year starter for the Commodores, Navin has a solid 6-foot-1, 205-pound frame and has shown he can handle premium stuff from Vanderbilt’s top-flight pitching staff. His best tools are his receiving and solid-average arm strength. He makes a fair amount of contact, draws some walks and has athletic ability, with decent speed. But he probably profiles as a big league backup because of his modest hitting ability.

MLB.com profiled him as well.

The two things that stand out the most for Navin are his overall strength and his arm. The Vandy backstop is strong and durable with an above-average to plus throwing arm that can really control a running game. He’ll occasionally drive the ball because of that strength, but isn’t really a natural hitter. He is a natural leader who still needs to improve his receiving, but looks like he has the tools to do so. Navin isn’t among the top catchers in this class, but college backstops, especially ones for top programs, who show they know what they’re doing behind the plate, tend to do well, even if they profile best as a future backup.

Additionally, Minor League Ball‘s Matt Garrioch ranked him 256th.

He’s a junior, so the option of returning to school is always there.

The backup profile here would seem to be discouraging, but when you look at the Dodgers system, they could desperately use catching depth.

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With the 364th pick, the team took third baseman Adam Law out of Brigham Young University. Bloodlines? You better believe it. He’s the son of Vince Law and the grandson of Vernon Law.

Adam is expected to play third for the Dodgers.

Law’s father, Vance, was also an infielder during an 11-year career from 1980-91 and was an All-Star with the Chicago Cubs in 1988. Law’s grandfather, Vernon, debuted with the Pirates in 1950 and won the 1960 Cy Young Award. The right-hander won 162 games during a 16-year career with Pittsburgh.

While Law was primarily a shortstop and second baseman with BYU, the Dodgers drafted him as a third baseman.

As a junior this season, Law led the Cougars with a .365 batting average, 76 hits, 14 stolen bases and a .440 on-base percentage. He also had 10 doubles, four triples, four home runs and 46 RBIs in 53 games with a .510 slugging percentage.

Not much information out there besides that. As for signability, he’s a junior.

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Left-handed pitcher Ty Damron out of Krum High School in Texas was the Dodgers choice with the 394th selection.

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Here’s some information on him via his high school coach:

Damron is a strikeout pitcher. In a state playoff game in May, the southpaw struck out 17 batters in six innings and did not allow a hit. The only baserunner he allowed came on a walk.

“He’s got an upper-80s fastball from the left side, with, I think, the frame and the potential to throw harder,” Damron’s high school coach, Ray Miller, told the Denton County Record. “He’s got the potential to be a legitimate low-90s guy from the left side.”

He’s a Texas Tech University commit.

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With the 424th pick, the team selected left-hander Michael Johnson out of Dartmouth University.

Not much information on him out there, but here’s a mini-profile:

As a senior, Johnson went 7-0 with a 1.82 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings. The southpaw held opponents to a .208 batting average in nine starts and led Dartmouth to its fourth straight appearance in the Ivy League championship game.

Johnson was 8-2 with a 4.73 ERA during his first three seasons at Dartmouth, striking out 66 in 102 2/3 innings. But he improved dramatically this season and was named to the All-Ivy League First Team.

“I focused a lot more on my legs and my flexibility,” Johnson told the Boston Globe. “I felt, at times, my freshman and sophomore years, my flexibility inhibited me a bit from not getting through to my front side.”

Johnson uses a fastball, slider and changeup. He’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds.

As a senior, signability shouldn’t be an issue.

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Left-handed pitcher Billy Flamion out of Grossmont College in California was taken by the Dodgers with the 454th pick.

He was ranked 331st by Minor League Ball’s Matt Garrioch, but not much information on him is out there besides that.

This season, Flamion pitched seven innings and struck out nine. But the southpaw walked six and allowed six runs on four hits. With the Ducks in 2012, Flamion struck out 12 and walked 11 in 13 innings as a freshman.

While Flamion hit .287 with two home runs, 24 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 36 games this season, the Dodgers drafted him as a pitcher.

He’s a sophomore, so he has options besides signing professionally.

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With the 484th pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, the team took righty Peter Miller out of Florida State University.

He had this to say about being drafted:

“It’s exciting (to be drafted); it’s been a long journey. I am definitely excited but I’m just trying to focus on finishing this year off first before I even worry about the draft. It was a complete surprise to be selected by the Dodgers.”

Signability-wise, he’s a junior, so he could go back to school and try to increase his stock.

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The 514th pick in the 2013 MLB Draft was right-handed pitcher Greg Harris out of Los Almitos High School in California. A bloodlines pick, he’s the son of Greg Harris, who played 15 years in the MLB.

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Second baseman James McDonald was taken with the 544th pick out of Arizona State University.

A junior, he has the option of returning to school.

—–

Shortstop Blake Hennessey out of Arlington Country Day High School in Florida was taken with the 574th pick. His dad, Scott Hennessey, is a scout with the Dodgers.

This was hardly a favor of a pick, though. Hennessey was ranked 179th by Minor League Ball’s Matt Garrioch, and Baseball America ranked him 482nd.

He has a middle infielder’s frame at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds. He’s an above-average runner but not a blazer, and his arm strength should help him stay on the left side of the diamond. He also shows present strength and gap power. His savvy and athleticism should help him get the most out of his tools, but teams may not be willing to sign him away from Oklahoma State.

Perfect Game also profiled him:

Blake Hennessey is a 2013 SS/3B with a 6-2 178 lb. frame from Ponte Vedra, FL who attends Arlington Country Day HS. Long and lean athletic build, good present strength. 6.86 runner, quick feet defensively, good range, works through the ball, good arm strength, looked solid at shortstop and very good at third base. Right handed hitter, very busy load with big leg raise trigger, loose extended swing, timing works well, gap to gap contact, has bat speed, ball comes off the barrel well. Projectable player in all areas. Good student, verbal commitment to Oklahoma State.

So why did he fall so far in the draft? Likely because he’s a strong commit to Oklahoma State University, so his signability is in doubt at this round.

—–

Outfielder Mike Ahmed of Holy Cross University was taken with the 604th pick in the 2013 MLB Draft. His brother, Nick Ahmed, is in the Diamondbacks organization.

Here’s a profile of Mike via Holy Cross Athletics:

Ahmed concluded his junior season with another solid performance on the mound, at the plate and in the infield. Playing in 45 games making 43 starts he batted .279 with 39 hits and a career-high 28 RBIs. His four homeruns ranked second in the Patriot League and he held a 4.11 ERA over 30.2 innings pitched. During his nine appearances and six starts throughout the season, Ahmed posted a 3-4 record. Before the season Collegiate Baseball named Ahmed Patriot League Player of the Year. Ahmed was named to the first team All-Patriot League at the conclusion of the season for the second consecutive season. As a co-captain, Ahmed helped lead the team to their first ever regular season Patriot League championship title.

In his career, Ahmed has played 134 games and holds a .283 batting average with 126 hits, 93 runs, 64 RBIs and 12 homeruns. On the mound, he holds a 5-5 record over 56.0 innings in 28 appearances. He holds a 4.66 career ERA while striking out 54 batters.

A junior, he has options should he choose to not sign.

Leading off with the good news, 2013 second-round pick Tom Windle is set to sign with the Dodgers for slot money ($987,000) next week, according to Darren Wolfson.

Was just w/ @tomwindle38. Him/his family ran to Ridgedale for Dodgers hats. He has a Dodgers Phiten necklace too. Signs next week. #gophers

— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) June 7, 2013

Tom Windle, by the way, will sign for the slot. That’s about $987,000. #dodgers #gophers

— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) June 7, 2013

Always good to get guys locked up early, especially if they’re in your top two and you can keep them within range of the slot total. Should make it easier to get all 10 picks in the bonus pool rounds inked.

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As you read earlier, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the work the Dodgers did on Day 2 of the draft. Apparently neither was ESPN‘s Christopher Crawford.

Questionable value

I wasn’t in love with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first two picks on Thursday night, and that trend continued into Friday. Arizona’s Brandon Dixon probably doesn’t have the offensive upside to stay at third, and may have to move across the diamond as well. Some believe that Arizona prepster Cody Bellinger will develop power at the next level, but that’s asking a lot from a 6-foot-4, 180-pound first baseman. I think the best value of their selections today was Brandon Trinkwon (UC Santa Barbara), a good defensive player who projects as a utility infielder in the big leagues. You generally don’t want your best value in rounds 3-10 to be a utility infielder.

Okay, so I’m not alone on an island in thinking that it was odd how the Dodgers grabbed a bunch of guys who project as fringe players to fill out their bonus pool.

Who knows? Anything can happen as guys develop, but it certainly looks as if most project them as depth more than potential impact guys. Maybe that was plan after watching the 2013 roster?

With the 184th pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, the Dodgers took right-handed pitcher Jacob Rhame out of Grayson County Community College.

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Baseball America ranked him 172nd.

He lives mainly off his fastball, dealing at 91-93 mph with a peak of 95 and good sink. His secondary pitches aren’t as impressive, with his changeup ranking ahead of his curveball, but he does throw strikes with all of his offerings. His ability to refine his changeup and curveball ultimately will determine whether he remains a starter or becomes a reliever in pro ball. His 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame is built for durability.

MLB.com had this to say about him:

Rhame began his college career at Oklahoma, but transferred after pitching just 10 innings as a freshman. He has shown improved stuff this spring at Grayson County and dominated hitters. Rhame’s fastball sits in the low-90s with good sinking action. He also throws a curveball and a changeup, but his secondary pitches need further development. Listed at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Rhame has ideal size for a right-hander. He has good command and can throw all three of his pitches for strikes. Rhame is committed to Texas State should he head back to a four-year college.

Logan White likes his arm and says they’ll use him as a starter for now, but thinks a bullpen role could be in his future.

“He has an electric arm,” said Dodgers vice president of scouting Logan White. “He knows how to pitch. We’ll start him in the Minor Leagues, but he could go either direction because he throws strikes and his delivery is sound.”

As far as signability is concerned, he’s committed to Texas State, so he has options.

He seems to profile best as a reliever, which aren’t generally what you want to draft, but at least he sounds like he has a chance to impact the MLB club.

—–

With the 214th pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, the team took Brandon Trinkwon from UC Santa Barbara.

He’s ranked 307th by Baseball America.

At 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, Trinkwon is undersized, and his power rates as a 35 on the 20-80 scouting scale. His hitting mechanics got out of whack, and he has struggled for much of this spring, hitting .285/.374/.396 with four homers through 53 games. Early in counts he has tried to pull everything, even over the outer half. With two strikes he widens his base and shortens his swing, with better results. When he’s going right, Trinkwon lets the ball travel and drives it the other way into the left-center gap. He has good hand-eye coordination and could be an average hitter with improvements to his mechanics and approach. Trinkwon is a smooth defender at shortstop, with smooth actions and a knack for putting himself in the right position, helping his range and fringe-average speed play up. His arm is also probably a little short, and scouts universally project him as a second baseman in pro ball.

Logan White basically says he can’t hit much and is primarily a defensive guy.

“He’s an absolute baseball gamer,” said Dodgers vice president of scouting Logan White. “He’s probably more suited to play second base, but we’ll give him an opportunity to play short. He handles the bat OK, but he’s really a defensive guy.”

He’s a junior, so he has the option to return in terms of signability.

Well … uh … seems like his ceiling is as a utility guy, and the trend of low-risk, low-reward picks continue. I dunno, but when the thing you lead off with about a player is his intangibles, it’s generally not a great sign.

—–

Shortstop/catcher Kyle Farmer was taken with the 244th pick in the 2013 MLB Draft out of the University Of Georgia.

Don’t know much about him, as he wasn’t ranked or profiled as a prospect anywhere, though that might be because the Dodgers see him as a catcher, not a shortstop.

Kyle Farmer will be fulfilling his dreams of playing professional baseball not as a shortstop, but at catcher.

The former Georgia baseball standout was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 244th overall pick in the eighth round of the MLB First-Year Amateur Draft on Friday, listed as a catcher by the organization and implying that he will change positions at the professional level.

Well, it’s worked in the past.

Signability-wise, he’s a senior, so it’s either this or playing independent ball.

—–

The Dodgers took outfielder Henry Yates out of Texas Wesleyan University with the 274th pick in the 2013 MLB Draft.

Logan White touts his bat, though the power upside isn’t there.

“He’s an offensive player with a quality bat,” said Dodgers vice president of scouting Logan White. “He hits line drives from gap to gap. He’s got a little bit of power and has a chance to stay in the outfield.”

Baseball America didn’t rank him but had this to say:

Righthanded hitters rarely are described as having a pretty swing, but Yates is an exception. The 6-foot-2, 190 pounder has occasional power and plus speed, though he was slowed by a hamstring injry this spring. He profiles best as a corner outfielder and has an average arm.

A corner outfielder without power generally isn’t the best profile to have. Or at all.

He’s a senior, so he should sign without issue.

—–

Nick Keener ended the team’s day as the 304th pick of the 2013 MLB Draft. The right-handed pitcher was taken out of Mansfield University.

Logan White tabs his ceiling as a reliever out of the pen … maybe.

“He’s got really good fastball sink, good command and a good slider,” said Dodgers vice president of scouting Logan White. “He competes his tail off and has a bulldog mentality. If he keeps battling, he may end up at the big league level out of the bullpen someday.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

A junior in college, he has the option of returning.

—–

Overall, it’s not an impressive haul, and much of that conclusion is built off words from Logan White himself. Apart from Chris Anderson, whose ceiling is as a #2 starter, there isn’t a ton of upside. A few potential utility/platoon guys, a few potential relievers, and a few projects that don’t have loud tools.

That’s not to say the Dodgers have necessarily done poorly, as I think it reflects on the draft itself more than anything, but it’s also fair to say that the Dodgers have stayed safe so far and it doesn’t look like there’s much impact talent here.

The Dodgers drafted University Of Arizona third baseman Brandon Dixon with the 92nd pick of the 2013 MLB Draft.

His ceiling appears to be limited a bit, but the team is counting that the tools he does have will play up.

“He’s a really quality athlete,” said Dodgers vice president of scouting Logan White, who thinks Dixon can also play second. “The kid can fly. He should be able to steal 20-30 bases in the big leagues and play a quality infield position.”

“We think he’s going to hit for average and have some power potential,” White said. “He uses the whole field.”

Dixon was not ranked by Baseball Prospectus, MLB.com, ESPN, or Minor League Ball.

Baseball America ranked him 154th.

He has a quick swing with strength and shows above-average power in batting practice, though in games he shows a flatter stroke. He’ll be more of a doubles hitter than a home run threat unless he adds more leverage and loft into his swing. He has a strong build at 6-foot-1 and 213 pounds. While he’s a solid-average runner, he’s not particularly quick on his feet at third base and has a below-average arm, meaning he’ll likely wind up in left field as a pro.

MLB.com had this to say about him.

Though he delivered the game-winning hit in Arizona’s 2012 College World Series triumph, Brandon Dixon was primarily a defensive replacement in the Wildcats’ championship run. That has all changed this season. Dixon underwent Lasik eye surgery in the offseason and broke out at the plate. He took over as the Wildcats starting third baseman and became just the fourth player in program history to score 40 runs, drive in 40 runs and steal 30 bases in one season. Dixon has a good approach at the plate and a compact swing that allows him to spray line drives from gap-to-gap. He is a steady defender with an average arm. The biggest question mark in Dixon’s game is his power. He will need to add more loft to his swing to add power, but, if he does, Dixon could be an everyday third baseman.

As far as signability goes, he says he wants to go play pro ball, but as a junior, returning to college is always an option.

Seems like a bit of a reach at this spot, and that’s three college players in a row for Logan White, which is honestly shocking. The reason I’m not thrilled is that the profile doesn’t seem to be all that striking. By most accounts, the tools aren’t loud, and while it’s a plus that he can maybe move to second, the first projection that comes to mind is utility infielder.

—–

With the 124th pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, the Dodgers took first baseman Cody Bellinger out of Hamilton High School in Arizona.

Follow Cody Bellinger On Twitter

A tall, lanky first baseman, Bellinger is a bloodlines pick (Clay Bellinger), which White loves in his players.

He was not ranked by Baseball Prospectus, ESPN, or MLB.com.

Minor League Ball’s Matt Garrioch ranked him 84th, and he wasn’t alone, as Baseball America put him 91st.

Cody, who played in the 2007 Little League World Series, is still thin and lacks strength in his rangy 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame. Scouts like Bellinger’s lefthanded swing and just want to see him get stronger. He has natural timing and puts together solid at-bats with good pitch recognition. Scouts who believe in him see above-average power potential. Bellinger is also a well above-average defender at first base. He is light on his feet and shows smooth hands. He also pitches, and his fastball sits in the 87-89 mph range.

Perfect Game had this to say about him:

Long and lean slender build, extremely projectable. Left handed hitter, tall stance, loose aggressive swing with plus bat speed, sound hitting mechanics, ball comes off the bat very hard, can dream on his bat speed with 20-30 more pounds of strength. 6.82 runner, smooth actions at first base, good range, soft hands, has tools to play corner outfield with no problem, lots of arm strength. Also pitched, raw mechanics with some effort, long arm action, loose out front, fastball topped at 88 mph, some spin and bite on 74 mph curveball. High ceiling athletic talent, defines projection in a hitter.

MLB.com profiled him as well:

He played in the Little League World Series in 2007 and has developed into a sweet-swinging first base prospect. Listed at 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, Bellinger is a lanky left-handed hitter with an easy swing. Scouts expect him to develop good power as he physically matures. Some scouts compare him, especially his swing, to a young Adam LaRoche. Bellinger has good range and is an advanced defender. He also pitches, occasionally touching 90 mph with his fastball.

Signability is a bit of a concern here, as he is a solid commit to the University Of Oregon.

Hard to question a pick when you admittedly haven’t seen much of him, but it’s also hard to recall the amount of players who were drafted as first basemen and ended up as MLB regulars on Tier 1 teams. The reason for that should be obvious, because the player is either stuck at 1B defensively, or forced to DH, so the pressure on the bat to be special is immense.

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With the 154th overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, the Dodgers took right-handed pitcher J.D. Underwood out of Palm Beach State Junior College. If it shocks you that he’s another bloodlines pick (Tom Underwood), you haven’t been paying much attention.

He wasn’t ranked by Baseball Prospectus, ESPN, or MLB.com.

He was, however, ranked 318th by Minor League Ball’s Matt Garrioch, and Baseball America pegged him 438th.

He had seven complete games and maintained his stuff through most of the season thanks to a strong 6-foot-1, 205-pound frame and efficient delivery. Underwood is a pitchability righty who throws his fastball in the 87-90 mph range, touching 91-92, and throws a lot of strikes with his slider and curveball.

MLB.com had this to say about him:

A two-way player in the junior college ranks, should Underwood go pro instead of head on to Miami, he’d focus soley on the mound. Like many sons of former big leaguers — Tom Underwood spent parts of 11 seasons in the Majors — J.D. Underwood has a pretty good feel for pitching. He has a feel for three at-least average pitches with his fastball, curveball and changeup. He tops out at around 92 mph, but goes right after hitters and gets high marks for his makeup, with an upside of a mid-to-back of the rotation type starter.

A commit to the University Of Miami, he has alternatives if things don’t workout with the Dodgers.

You can see how the draft lacks depth with this type of pick, in my opinion. I mean, right off the bat, it’s admitted that he’s not a ceiling guy, and whenever you see “pitchability” being prominently mentioned, it’s generally code-word for “mediocre stuff”, which seems to be the case here. Pitchability is great and all, but stuff still rules the day for me, because for every Greg Maddux, there’s a billion failed 87-90 command-and-control types.

—–

With the Dodgers money, I thought the plan would be more boom-or-bust types considering the relative lack of upside in the draft, but the team seems to be going extremely conservative early.

With the 56th pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, the Dodgers selected left-handed pitcher Tom Windle out of University Of Minnesota.

Follow Tom Windle On Twitter

Tom Windle was ranked above 56th by most publications, but like I mentioned with the last pick, there’s less depth in this draft after the initial flurry of talent, so the tiers aren’t as defined.

Perhaps most surprising is Logan White going after two college pitchers, especially one that seems to profile as a future back-end reliever. To begin his pro career, though, the team will let him start.

The 21-year-old junior overcame a 2012 left shoulder injury, performed well in the Cape Cod League as a starter and continued to advance this year. He throws three pitches — fastball, slider and changeup — while pitching more to contact.

“We’re going to let him start,” said Logan White, Dodgers vice president of scouting. “He has good size [6-4, 210] and a plus slider. He just needs to be more consistent. If we put him in the bullpen, yeah, he could get here real fast. That’s not our intention. We’ll err on the side of caution, but we’re not afraid to move him or (first-round pick Chris Anderson) to fill in the gaps behind Zach Lee and Chris Reed.”

Doesn’t sound as enthusiastic about him as Chris Anderson, and it might be partially because they’re looking to sign him below slot. Or at least that’s what I’m hoping.

—–

MLB.com ranked him 32nd.

There are pitchers with arm strength who generate velocity because of arm speed. Then there are those who don’t have an overly quick arm, but just use strength to power through. Windle fits into the latter category.

The Minnesota lefty threw very well in the Cape and was up to 93-94 mph there to go along with a slider and a changeup. He was a Cape League All-Star as a result of his performance.

That continued into his junior year, where he continued to throw strikes and show he has an idea of what he’s doing on the mound. Those kinds of college lefties, even those in cold-climate areas, tend to do well when the Draft rolls around.

Baseball Prospectus ranked him 47th.

With an athletic, repeatable delivery Windle pitches to contact with a polished three-pitch repertoire. He uses his 89-91 fastball, that touches 93 in the early innings and drops to 87-89 in the later frames, to set up his 82-84 mph slider well. He also throws an improving 80-82 mph changeup, maintaining his arm speed, and overall does a nice job inducing weak groundballs off the bats of opposing hitters.

While he doesn’t have the highest ceilings of those available for this year’s draft, he does have one of the highest floors, and is a relatively sure bet to develop as a solid 3-5 starter.

Baseball America had him 47th as well.

He has a strong 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame and a pair of plus pitches in his fastball and slider. He usually works at 90-94 mph with his heater, delivering it on a steep downward plane. His slider is an out pitch in the mid-80s, and he can bury it on the hands of lefties or the back foot of righties. Scouts don’t love Windle’s delivery, which features some stiffness and recoil, and some wonder if he has the third pitch, athleticism and command to be a big league starter. He has improved his arm speed with his changeup and his ability to locate his pitches this year. He has the ceiling of a No. 2 starter, or of a closer if he winds up in the bullpen.

ESPN (Keith Law) had him ranked 60th.

He’s a fastbal-changeup guy with a fringy slider, and has an arm-heavy delivery that may project him for the bullpen in the long run. His fastball is usually 88-92 without a ton of life, although he throws it for strikes. He throws a soft-breaking, fringy slider at 78-84, and a solid-average changeup at 82-83, but when I saw him he preferred the slider even in changeup situations. Windle stays tall over the rubber with a moderate stride; a short, choppy arm action; and little hip rotation, meaning he’s generating more of his velocity with his arm than with his lower half.

Windle isn’t a projection guy per se, but a 6-foot-4 lefty with a solid-average fastball and chance for two average off-speed pitches is usually a late first-round pick if a team believes he can remain a starter in pro ball.

Minor League Ball‘s Matt Garrioch had him ranked lowest at 65th, and John Sickels had him as the 27th best pitcher.

Here’s a profile from Sickels.

His Cape Cod performance impressed scouts enough that he’s a first round candidate entering the spring of 2013. Windle has a solid southpaw fastball at 90-93 MPH. His slider was his best secondary pitch as a freshman, but his curveball and changeup showed great improvement over the last year. Although his command was problem last spring, he had no troubles throwing strikes on the Cape. If that remains true this spring, he’ll project as a mid-rotation starter.

Windle is an interesting comparison to Ziomek. The Vanderbilt lefty has received more press attention, but Windle’s profile is quite similar: a strong freshman season, followed by some rough patches as a sophomore, then an apparent breakthrough with command in summer ball. Their stuff is comparable and they were born within two weeks of each other. The Minnesotan has a cleaner, more classic delivery, and for that reason Windle ranks slightly ahead on most pre-draft lists.

And here’s a game report.

Tom Windle was a completely different pitcher. His velocity was average to above for a lefty at 88-92. He controlled it well and while he allowed a lot of contact, no one made much solid contact off of him. Yes, Twins fans, he pitched to contact. He just doesn’t have that extra gear that Manaea has.

Windle has a slider that is a 78-82 MPH offering. It is an average pitch that he commanded well. His change is very good. It was in the 80-84 range but was thrown with the same arm speed. It kept hitters very off balance.

He didn’t blow it by hitters like Manaea did. Hitters were able to make contact but most of the time they were weak grounders and rarely amounted to much. For this reason, he is more of a back of the rotation type, not a front line guy like Manaea projects to be. I liked the fact he worked inside and made hitters uneasy. He did hit two batters but not due to lack of control but more that the hitters were sitting on the dish and he wasn’t going to not work his game. I appreciated that.

Physically, he is strongly built and could use his lower half more. His stride is short and he throws more over the top. He uses his shoulder and elbow a lot and due to that and he could have a couple more ticks in him if a team would want to tinker. I’m not a fan of that idea, just saying it’s potentially an option.

Last but not least, here’s a scouting report from Nick Faleris of Baseball Prospectus.

A durable lefty with a chance for two plus pitches, the largest concerns surrounding the Cape Cod standout revolve around a stiff delivery shy on athleticism and fluidity, which produces sporadic lapses in control and command, as well as an abrupt stop to Windle’s arm action.

His fastball is a low-90s offering that has reached as high as 95 mph late in starts, and he pairs it with a low- to mid-80s slider that, when on, comes on a tough angle with late action and tilt. His changeup vacillates between well below average and solid average, in large part because of his abrupt arm action and choppy finish. Proponents view it as a third average or better pitch, while detractors see it as further evidence that the lefty is destined for the pen.

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Just like Chris Anderson, this was a bit of a surprise for the Dodgers. Everybody assumed the Dodgers would be taking high school pitchers because of Logan White’s track record, but he decided to go with back-to-back college starters. The velocity reports matter in his case, because at 88-91 he needs to be more of a command and control guy — or somebody who goes max effort out of the pen — but at 92-94, he profiles more as a power lefty. Where he eventually ends up on that spectrum will affect his profile and his future, but since he’s a college guy, a lot of the projectability is already gone.

Tom Windle is a college junior, so he has leverage in negotiations, but like with Anderson, there haven’t been any whispers about signability problems. I’m assuming they see him as starter, but they could fast-track him like Paco Rodriguez if they see him in relief, though the pick would make infinitely less sense to me if that were the case.

With the 18th pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, the Dodgers selected right-handed pitcher Chris Anderson out of Jacksonville University.

Follow Chris Anderson On Twitter

Chris Anderson wasn’t ranked near 18th by the most respected publications, but because of the lack of clear-cut tiers in this year’s draft, it’s hard to say this was a reach.

Logan White, for one, seemed like he got his man.

Vice president of scouting Logan White said he was really excited to get the guy he really wanted in Anderson, and even though that’s what they all say, White said he really, really means it.

“I didn’t even want the guys in the room saying his name,” said White, who said Anderson reminds him of “guys like Clemens, Schilling — physical with good stuff and that bulldog mentality and makeup.”

“He throws 92 to 97 with a plus slider and a plus change,” said White. “He has three Major League pitches on the right day. His command is good but needs to be refined. I’ve been real happy with a lot of our picks, but I’m terribly excited about this pick. He can be a front-line guy throwing 200-plus innings.”

“I think we could get him here fast if we wanted him in the bullpen this year, but in our situation we’ll take care of the player,” said White. “He ran up some high pitch counts and went deep into games and we have to monitor him. There’s no hurry to get him here.”

Even if this was a reach, with White’s solid track record with pitchers, it’s a definite plus that he got the guy he targeted.

—–

MLB.com was most optimistic by ranking him 16th.

There might not have been another college arm who shot up Draft boards more than this Jacksonville University ace during the spring. His rise slowed a bit with some struggles, perhaps caused by fatigue, in April. But he still has the size, stuff and command to potentially be a frontline starter at the highest level.

Anderson’s fastball will touch 97 mph and is consistently at least above average with good sink. He throws a nasty slider, and his changeup projects to be a legitimate weapon as well.

Anderson has above-average control and command and the ideal athletic frame scouts love to see in a pitcher. There’s room for gaining strength, which gives him a high ceiling as well.

ESPN (Keith Law) ranked him 25th.

He was 90-95 earlier in the year and 89-93 later, showing below-average command and allowing more hard contact as the season went on. His 82-85 slider remained sharp, breaking hard down and away from right-handed hitters, with Anderson showing enough control of it to generate chase swings. His changeup is solid-average at 81-84 with a little tailing action, and he has a curveball that he should probably junk when he gets to pro ball.

He’s a big, physical kid, with strong legs and a good delivery that makes some use of his legs, including a long stride and early pronation of the pitching arm. He’s a little young for the class, turning 21 two weeks after the signing deadline in July.

I happened to see one of his worst starts, where he showed a lack of poise on the mound as well, which is hard for me to erase from my mind but could have been a one-time event. I prefer several other college right-handers but the potential for two plus pitches could get him into the middle of the first round.

Baseball Prospectus ranked him 27th.

Anderson was a virtual unknown coming out of a Minnesota high school in 2010 and hardly raised his profile during his first two years at Jacksonville. He began to attract scout’s attention last summer in the Cape Cod League and vaulted into first round status early this spring when his fastball was topping out at 96 mph to go with a present plus slider.

Baseball America had him 45th, but recently moved him up to 36th.

Early in the season, under a heavy workload, Anderson showed scouts a front-of-the-rotation fastball, pitching downhill and touching 96 mph. He’s usually in the 90-94 mph range, holds his velocity and throws strikes. He got strikeouts early both with the fastball and slider, which flashed plus. He also throws a much-improved changeup. Anderson generates velocity more from strength than arm speed, and most scouts see him as an innings-eater in the middle of a rotation. His timing helps, as a consensus starter in a year short on college arms.

From Minor League Ball, Matt Garrioch ranked him 25th, and John Sickels ranked him as the 13th best pitcher.

Additionally, our own Dustin Nosler had him 13th on his big board of realistic Dodger picks.

—–

I have to be honest and say I’m not all that familiar with Chris Anderson. Of all the research I did on potential prospects leading up to the draft, he wasn’t one of the guys that was necessarily thought to be on the radar of the Dodgers, as evidenced by the low priority he was given by Dustin.

I’m surprised the team went with a college arm over a high school guy like Ian Clarkin, who they had been connected to leading up to the draft. However, it’s hard to complain about a guy with three legit pitches who can touch the upper portion of mid-90s.

As a college junior, he has leverage in negotiations, but there haven’t been any whispers about signability problems, especially with him being taken at this slot. He should get to Los Angeles sooner than later, which may have been a factor in his selection.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Dodgers third baseman/shortstop Luis Cruz has bone spurs in his throwing elbow.

Dodgers infielder Luis Cruz said he was available to play Sunday after being unavailable Saturday night because of a bone spur flare-up in his right elbow.

Cruz said he has three spurs in his throwing elbow, and they occasionally pinch a nerve.

“Since I was 11, I can’t straighten my arm, and once in a while, this happens, and I just have to let it rest,” said Cruz. “My brother has it and my father has it. But it’s good today. I took swings, it’s fine.”

Convenient timing since Cruz has literally been the worst hitter in the MLB in 2013, and because there’s about to be a roster crunch as veteran players return from the DL.

No conspiracy theory to see here, though, say the Dodgers:

Manager Don Mattingly assured reporters that Cruz’s injury had nothing to do with the need to clear a roster spot for the activation of infielder Mark Ellis.

“This is real,” Mattingly insisted, moments before the club optioned catcher Tim Federowicz back to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room for Ellis.

Of course they have to say that, and I believe Don Mattingly and Cruz when they say that he’s hurt. However, put it this way, I doubt this would have been brought up as an issue if he was hitting .320 with five homers.

Plus, with Jerry Hairston Jr., Scott Elbert, and Ted Lilly due back sooner than later, something will have to be done with Cruz, as he’s clearly the absolute last option off the bench. It seems the team has settled on a DL stint, which is dandy and all, but I fail to see the risk of just designating him for assignment once and for all.

Honestly, what’s the big loss if another team decides they want to take a chance on him?

MLB doesn’t want to see things get ugly between the Dodgers and the Padres on Monday, and Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the league will try to make their ruling on the matter by the time the series rolls around.

Major League Baseball is speeding up Carlos Quentin’s appeal of his eight-game suspension — a suspension that stems from his recent dust-up with Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke — so that he can begin serving his time before his Padres and those same Dodgers meet in Los Angeles on Monday. Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a ruling on Quentin’s appeal could come as soon as Sunday.

“Major League Baseball is very aware of the situation,” a league source told Center on Saturday. “I think everyone would like to see a little time between the incident and Quentin’s next appearance at Dodger Stadium.”

Given all that’s transpired, it’s probably for the best. To be frank, the last thing this team needs with Zack Greinke out is for another pitcher to get suspended or hurt fighting meaningless grudges with a last place team (Clayton Kershaw, that’s you).

——

The thing about this that irks me though, is that Carlos Quentin charging the mound has created a situation exactly like Greinke speculated Quentin may have been trying to accomplish, where now Dodger pitchers can’t go inside on him. Not because they’re intimidated by him, but because they risk getting thrown out or suspended by the MLB.

For most batters, that wouldn’t be an issue. For Quentin? It absolutely is. He’s been hit 116 times in 2801 career plate appearances, or about 4.1% of the time. Since he averages around four plate appearances a game and there’s three games in the upcoming series, it gives him 12 chances to get hit. The likelihood that he would get hit in the upcoming Dodgers/Padres series AT LEAST once is 39.5%. Skipping this upcoming series, assuming he serves a suspension during it, the teams meet seven more times in 2013, which comes out to a 69.0% chance he gets hit again by the Dodgers this year with no intent (assuming he plays normally, of course).

That is to say that even if the Dodger pitchers had zero interest in any revenge plunking, there’s actually a pretty good chance he would get hit at some point anyway, and the same holds for any future meetings. So not only did he get to take Greinke out of that game, and out of the rotation for two months, but now he’s made himself bulletproof as far as worrying about diving over the plate against the Dodgers in future match-ups.

Justice.

I like Yasiel Puig. I like him a lot, actually. I even ranked him as the top prospect in the Dodgers system for 2013.

However, if you follow me on Twitter, most of what I tweet about him is sort of dismissive. That’s not because I’m not excited about him, but rather because he seems to make people incredibly stupid.

For example, look at the tweets just from the last couple of days replying to Dylan Hernandez when he mentions Puig, and you can find shit like this:

@dylanohernandez bench Kemp and put Puig in

— Ryan Perez(@WreckItRyan) April 7, 2013

@dylanohernandez if only we had an outfield spot or two occupied by sorry ass players (Etheir/Kemp) where Puig could be plugged in to.

— Herbie Verstinks (@HerbieVerstinks) April 7, 2013

Bench Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier after six games in 2013! Sounds like a rational plan!

@dylanohernandez Can he play an infield position?

— Julio Ojeda (@Julio_SportsFan) April 7, 2013

@dylanohernandez try 3B for Puig.

— Monstarr (@rancimo) April 7, 2013

“Can he play positions in the major leagues that he’s never played before and never trained for?!”

I mean … what?

Hanley Ramirez is athletic and talented and has played shortstop in the MLB and MILB forever … and he’s still widely known by most everybody as a horrid defender. Fans can’t stand to watch his slow turns at second base or Dee Gordon throwing the ball away, but Puig? Well shit, he could do it, right? WHY NOT?! How hard could shortstop or third base be?

Ugh.

I would legitimately sooner try Adrian Gonzalez at third. It’s far less dumb.

—–

But those are just four examples and it doesn’t mean anything, right? Yeah, I wish. Feel free to Twitter search for him or just read the replies to mainstream writers whenever his name is brought up. You’ll be amazed by how insane some of the stuff is.

Look, all prospects have promise, and, more than most, I get the excitement. But the Dodgers have had guys who jumped levels and showed flashes of an elite future before, most recently Rubby De La Rosa, but they have never generated anywhere near this type of excitement/delusion.

So while Puig will likely produce in the majors, and he has star upside, what is it exactly about him that makes people lose their goddamn minds? Seriously though, as a meme, it’s entertaining, but people are getting serious about it and I have to implore you to please stop before anything short of a stellar MLB debut/Hall Of Fame career leads to people incessantly booing him … as if he was Kemp after an 0-4 outing in 2013 even after back-to-back .900+ OPS seasons.

The Dodgers announced the cuts of eight players yesterday, moves that essentially set the Opening Day roster for the team.

The club reassigned right-handers Kevin Gregg and Peter Moylan, utility man Alfredo Amezaga and catcher Matt Wallach to Minor League camp.

In addition, the Dodgers optioned outfielder Alex Castellanos, right-hander Stephen Fife, utility man Elian Herrera and right-hander Josh Wall to Minor League camp.

Welp, this turned out completely differently than what I had assumed was going to happen, with some moves for the better and some for the worse. However, the primary reason that happened was because the Dodgers basically pushed back the tough decisions for a week or two.

—–

Lineup

C – A.J. Ellis
1B – Adrian Gonzalez
2B – Mark Ellis
3B – Luis Cruz
SS – Justin Sellers
LF – Carl Crawford
CF – Matt Kemp
RF – Andre Ethier

Bench

B – Tim Federowicz
B – Nick Punto
B – Juan Uribe
B – Jerry Hairston Jr.
B – Skip Schumaker

DL – Hanley Ramirez

Rotation

1 – Clayton Kershaw
2 – Zack Greinke
3 – Josh Beckett
4 – Hyun Jin Ryu

Bullpen

CL – Brandon League
ST – Kenley Jansen
RP – Ronald Belisario
RP – J.P. Howell
RP – Paco Rodriguez
RP – Matt Guerrier
RP – Chris Capuano
RP – Aaron Harang

DL – Chad Billingsley
DL – Scott Elbert
DL – Ted Lilly

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So that’s the Opening Day roster barring a sudden injury or trade.

I still don’t understand why Justin Sellers needs to be the starter when a platoon at third would work just fine. Regardless, nothing we can do about it now except hope that Sellers hits a lot of balls on the ground and those balls find holes over the next couple of months.

Pleasantly surprised though that Paco Rodriguez makes the staff over Kevin Gregg and friends, as he’s probably the fourth-best reliever on this team right now.

As I alluded to earlier though, the bad part is that this is temporary. Scott Elbert and Hanley Ramirez are out months, but Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly can come off the DL soon because their stints are retroactive, so moves will need to be made similar to what I speculated earlier.

Basically, trades needs to happen, and soon. I struggle to see a way they make carrying seven or eight starters work long-term without damaging the potential of the bullpen, because they’d have to make moves like sending Paco down because he has options.

So all in all, while the Opening Day roster is set, what the team has really done is just push the tough decisions back, so it’s now in a week or two that we’ll see what the team truly plans on doing for the rest of the season.

The legend of Yasiel Puig continues to grow, and speculation that he will start with the year with the Dodgers went from 0% just a week ago to … something non-0% recently. 2013 aside though, the long-term question remains where he’ll end up playing for the team if he does live up to the hype.

Sure, Carl Crawford is out for a week or two (or a month) and he could get injured again, but it’s no guarantee. Plus, Adrian Gonzalez is anchored at first, so no moving Andre Ethier there.

So maybe a trade, right?

So do the Dodgers, though the decision on Puig involves enough people that it can’t take place in the keep-your-25-best vacuum. Crawford’s return from Tommy John surgery complicates things. If he is ready April 1 for the season opener against the defending champion Giants, Puig is far less likely to stay. The Dodgers want him to play every day. Their current outfield of Crawford, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier have contracts worth a combined $387 million.

“We’ve got a pretty sexy outfield even without him,” Dodgers starter Zack Greinke said.

Indeed, though freeing up a spot for Puig by trading Crawford or Ethier is a possibility. One of the great advantages of the $7 billion local-television deal the Dodgers signed this offseason is paying the freight for trading partners in exchange for a greater haul of talent. Which means that if the Dodgers find a shortstop or third baseman they like – because Luis Cruz and Juan Uribe aren’t exactly bright spots for the highest-paid team in the history of professional sports – they could offer players and cash.

“Send me Ethier and $85 million,” said one GM, referring to the amount owed on the right fielder’s five-year contract, “and I’ll give you whoever you want.”

Basically the beginning of this then:

No matter how much money a team has, there are limited roster spots, and the more the team invests big money in players they might not really want, the harder it is to move them to teams who DO care about money without operating at an extreme loss … and really horribly stupid.

Perhaps the scarier thought though is that the Dodgers might actually be willing to do something close to what’s proposed by the opposing GM, because if Puig is as good as advertised, they might not have a choice.

So a couple days ago, I asked Eric Stephen of True Blue LA to ask Carl Crawford about his hitting mechanics, and he did so for me, primarily because he’s awesome.

Why, you ask? Because of my article for Baseball Prospectus back in October broaching that exact subject. Basically, I wanted to know if I was right so I could pat myself on the back.

:o

Anyway, he allowed me to publish the convo.

—–

Are you going back to your style and/or stance from 2010?

“I’m pretty much trying to get back to how I was doing things then.”

“When I got to Boston, my stance was more open. I’m trying to get back to being more square to the pitcher, and my batting stance isn’t as wide. Those are two of the little things I’m trying to focus on.”

On Going The Other Way

“Batting more square, more closed, instead of being more open. When I’m open the ball away looks far away, so I’m trying to get more square so everything looks closer to me.”

—–

I AM A GENIUS!

But seriously though, it’s positive that he’s trying to get back to his 2010 stance, because there’s a gigantic difference between his approach then and in 2011.

My hopes that he would carry on with his 2012 adjustment seems valid, as he appears to acknowledge that it’s something he could benefit from. Now all that’s left is to see whether he can stay healthy enough to implement it and whether or not he can stick to the plan.

—–

Amazingly, the evil dictator Mike Petriello picked up on Crawford’s comments and wrote about Crawford’s mechanics as well, though he picked up on one thing that I didn’t.

So what impact did the stance shenanigans have? Among other things, it made him unable to get to the outside pitch. Using the Baseball Prospectus heat maps, we can see that when Crawford was having his career year in 2010, with his stance slowly opening up, he was quite good at getting to pitches on the outside part of the plate. In 2011, fully open, he had absolutely no prayer. (And, it should be noted, even in September of 2010 he was beginning to have trouble getting to outside pitches.)

This is a cool finding because it expands on my point that he was struggling with hard stuff due to his timing errors. So now we have another specific thing to watch, which is his plate coverage.

In the end, a major-league player confirmed that I am an absolute genius…

…or maybe that he’s just trying to go back to the last time he was successful.

Why hasn’t Dee Gordon emerged as a useful MLB player yet, right?

Well one play from yesterday’s game sort of summed up why he’s having so much difficulty.

On a clean single to left-center from Carl Crawford (yes, really), Dee freezes like it’s hit to the shortstop or something, then completely turns his left shoulder to look at the ball and identify the center fielder, which is something the runner should be doing before the pitch is thrown.

Thanks to the combination of his late jump and outstanding speed though, he’s sent home and is basically dead to rights at the plate, when he does whatever this is:

A hilarious, bumbling tackle/slide/dive fall into Miguel Montero‘s glove somehow works, and he gets the Dodgers a run.

Notice how after the fact he just lies there prone without touching the plate until Elian Herrera yells at him and points out that hey, maybe he should touch home.

The intangibles are off the charts, folks.

—–

All jokes aside, that’s Dee Gordon in a nutshell.

His tools allow him to be sent in the first place and give us a glimpse into the 3-4 WAR potential player that scouts see (used to see?), while his lack of awareness and knowledge (of the rules?) on the play show why he’s a -2 WAR player in reality.

On the plus side, Gordon has a .405 OBP this spring, with eight walks and five strikeouts, plus seven stolen bases against no caught stealings. On the negative side, he’s hitting .241 with a .241 slugging for a grand OPS of .647.

Not that it really matters anyway, since he went .379/.446/.485/.931 last Spring Training, making the conversation before the 2012 season primarily about how many All-Star teams he was gonna make, not whether he can ever have any utility in the MLB like it is now.

Surely you’ve heard by now that Mexico and Canada got into a brawl yesterday during the World Baseball Classic, and in the video above, you can see all the incidents that led up to the fight.

Basically, it was a bunch of physical but legal plays … yet it was a bunt single that set everything off.

Because of the way the rules are setup, Canada just beating Mexico wasn’t enough. The tiebreaking format provides incentive for teams to run up the score and claw for every run. Just ask Korea, who was 2-1 in the tournament but is watching at home now anyway.

As such, with their fate still very much up in the air, Canada bunted for a hit in the ninth inning while up six, which is when Luis Cruz did this:

So yeah, the guy bunted, Cruz obviously had no idea what was going on in terms of the context of the play, felt offended, and told his pitcher to drill the next guy, which the pitcher did … on his third attempt, even after being warned.

Getting past the ridiculous nature of the fact that it’s acceptable to hit a batter with a fastball because a professional getting paid to play baseball got his widdle feelings hurt by a bunt*, the more important part of it is whether or not suspensions would be in order, especially after the incident escalated into a bench-clearing brawl.

*I’m not the only one who finds it hilarious that behind all of this macho bravado front is the simple fact that these fights get started because grown men catch feelings over legal plays that hurt their egos, right?

So Cruz took offense, told the pitcher to hit the next batter, and then threw the first punch in the fight. Awesome. Suspension for sure, I figured.

Nah, somehow he wasn’t even ejected, and NOBODY involved was suspended. Not from the MLB, not even from the WBC.

The seven ejected — Team Mexico’s Arnold Leon, Oliver Perez, Eduardo Arredondo, Andrew Albers and Alfredo Aceves and Canada’s Pete Orr, Rene Tosoni and Jay Johnson — will not face discipline beyond the ejections, according to a statement released by the World Baseball Classic, Inc., late Saturday night.

“Because at least one club — and potentially both — will not advance to the second round, WBCI has determined that disciplinary measures would not have a meaningful corrective impact. Thus, discipline will not be imposed beyond today’s seven game ejections. It is our firm expectation that the members of Team Mexico, Team Canada and all the tournament’s participating teams will learn from this incident and set a better example — one that befits the sport they share — in the future.”

A bizarre decision since there’s evidence that it was on purpose, it happened a pitch after a warning was issued, and there was a huge brawl with punches being thrown and people being tackled.

Oh well, the main thing is that Cruz won’t be suspended, thus avoiding any temptation the team may have in regards to keeping Juan Uribe around, which is what really worried me about all this.

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As for Adrian Gonzalez, Larry Walker had that angle covered for us.

Larry Walker said he pulled Adrian Gonzalez out of the way of the brawl. “You’re too important to the game,” he told him.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 10, 2013

Thanks, Larry.

—–

As a bonus, here’s Javy Guerra being an idiot on Twitter.

You know how fights in baseball get avoided ??? U play the game right! Who bunts there? Whats the score? That’s how people get hurt!

— JavyGuerra54 (@JavyGuerra54) March 9, 2013

Pretty sure people get hurt when you throw at batters and then punch people in the face, but I guess that’s just me.

If you hadn’t seen it yet, then … that happened with Matt Guerrier.

Then Mike Petriello tweeted out this:

“I don’t always give up homers, but when i do, they travel really, really goddamn far.” — @mattygrrr

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) March 5, 2013

And I think he’s on to something.

Paco Rodriguez, Alfredo Amezaga, and Peter Moylan, three Dodgers with shots at making the Opening Day roster, have withdrawn from the World Baseball Classic to focus on making the club.

With Scott Elbert rehabbing, Paco in particular is competing for the spot of left-handed reliever, though J.P. Howell would appear to be the front-runner there. Moylan is in the running for the bullpen as well, no matter how deep it is, simply due to the fact that he’s a veteran (see: Jamey Wright). Amezaga would appear to be a long-shot to make the outfield reserves on a team with such a high payroll, but the Dodgers don’t actually have a lot of options there, especially those who can play center field. Barring a trade, it basically boils down to him, Tony Gwynn Jr., Elian Herrera, and Jeremy Moore. In other words, hopefully there’s a trade.

Paco was slated to compete for Spain, Amezaga for Mexico, and Moylan for Australia, but at the risk of missing most of Spring Training, all three Dodgers on the roster bubble decided against participating. That leaves five Dodgers who are still in the WBC in Hanley Ramirez (Dominican Republic), Adrian Gonzalez (Mexico), Luis Cruz (Mexico), Nick Punto (Italy), and Ronald Belisario (Venezuela), none of whom figure to be in danger of losing spots.

The Dodgers pitchers and catchers report to Camelback Ranch today, on Feb. 12, which officially kicks off the baseball season for the team, and tomorrow, on Feb. 13, they’ll have their first workout, in which I like to imagine Aaron Harang lumbering through conditioning drills like a monkey.

The rest of the team will report to camp on Feb. 15, and Spring Training will be in full swing the following day, on Feb. 16, as they get their first team workout in, which hopefully includes Josh Beckett running around a lot, so he doesn’t look like this:

The team’s first Spring Training game will take place a week after the whole team reports, on Feb. 23 against the White Sox, who they share the facility with. On March 5, the minor-league portion of pitchers and catchers report, while everybody else comes in on March 11.

The last game of Spring Training will come on March 29 against the Angels (ANAHEIM!), with Opening Day following shortly at home against the rival Giants on April 1. I’m eternally glad that the Dodgers open with them at home, because I would puke all over myself if I was forced to watch the Giants having a celebration or something.

—–

The daily schedule on game days, via Dodgers press release:

Afternoon Games (1:05 p.m. starts):

Dodger BP: Until 11:15 a.m.
Visitor BP: 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Visitor Infield: 12:20 p.m.-12:30 p.m.
Dodger Infield: 12:30 p.m.-12:40 p.m.

Night Games (7:05 p.m. starts):

Dodger BP: Until 5:15 p.m.
Visitor BP: 5:15 p.m.-6:15 p.m.
Visitor Infield: 6:20 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Dodger Infield: 6:30 p.m.-6:40 p.m.

That’s not all that’s going on during this spring though, as on March 1 the World Baseball Classic will start with Australia playing Taiwan. The tournament is primarily relevant to Dodger fans because of players like Adrian Gonzalez (Mexico), Luis Cruz (Mexico), Hanley Ramirez (Dominican Republic), Ronald Belisario (Venezuela), Nick Punto (Italy), and Paco Rodriguez (Spain).

Not sure it affects Punto or A-Gon much, and it’s a miracle that Belisario is even in America at this time, but I doubt Cruz or Paco will benefit from not being in camp for their first Spring Training ever with real expectations, plus Hanley not ever playing shortstop the spring after playing horrible shortstop in 2012 is bad news (as has been said over and over).

—–

Additionally, via Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy, here are the Dodgers home and away Spring Training caps.

Loving the home caps.

The Dodgers have officially converted former starting pitcher Chris Withrow to relief and former third baseman Pedro Baez to pitching.

FINALLY

Personally, I’ve seen both Withrow and Baez in those roles for a couple years now (maybe Baez for longer given his swing), and I think most evaluators began to agree within the last year, so it’s good to see the Dodgers follow suit.

Withrow, the Dodgers’ No. 1 pick in 2007, had early bouts with the yips and more recently chronic back problems. Withrow responded to a bullpen move late last year, and Honeycutt said it’s now permanent, hoping the role change can work Eric Gagne-like wonders for Withrow, whose electric arm is undisputed.

Maybe management recalls a hard-throwing second-rounder that struggled as a starter and was never tried as a reliever. Instead, the Dodgers let Joel Hanrahan leave as a free agent and he went on to be an All-Star closer. “Chris wanted the change,” Honeycutt said. “He likes attacking more. He reminds me a little of Gagne, somebody who might throw three or four innings as a starter but have one [bad] inning, and you can eliminate that if you’re only asking one inning of relief from him. Maybe one- or two-inning stints will be easier on his back. He’s got the arm.”

Withrow’s bouts with command and a lack of development of a solid third pitch would have led down this road eventually, so getting ahead of the curve here and giving him a chance to be a dominant back-end reliever is a positive.

Baez, a .247 hitter in six Minor League seasons, is starting over as a hard-throwing reliever a la Jansen, who came out from behind the plate to emerge as a bullpen strikeout king.

“They put him on the mound in instructional league and that fastball is really strong,” Honeycutt said of Baez, who turns 25 next month. “You talk about Kenley when you see the ball come out of his hand. He hasn’t been overwhelmed by thinking too much about pitching. He just sees the glove and throws it and that’s kind of refreshing.”

Universally, scouting reports have put Baez’s arm as plus or plus-plus, with some clocking him consistently in the low-90s across the diamond. As such, his arm strength shouldn’t be a surprise, and though he’s already 25, he now has the same chance Kenley Jansen did, which is better than languishing in A-ball as a hitter who struggled to hit.

—–

The Dodgers have 17 non-roster invitees coming to major-league camp in 2013.

The ones of note I would say are Tony Gwynn Jr., Alfredo Amezaga, and Ramon Castro, ordered in likelihood that they actually make the roster. The rest of them seem to fill positions that the Dodgers already have a backlog of, especially the relievers.

The Dodgers have not had their TV deal with Time Warner Cable (for SportsNet LA) cleared by the MLB yet, as I mentioned yesterday, and chances that it’ll be allowed to stand as is are bleak, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Major League Baseball has major concerns over the Los Angeles Dodgers’ record new TV deal, and unless an agreement can be reached within a few months, their differences may have to be resolved in federal court, according to a high-ranking MLB official with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

When the Dodgers emerged from bankruptcy in April, their agreement stipulated that the club’s fair-market TV value would be set at $84 million a year, with 4% increases each season. MLB teams with high revenues are required to share 34% of their local TV rights with low-revenue teams.

But the $7 billion, 25-year deal with Time Warner, as reported by Sports Business Journal and the Los Angeles Times, would provide the Dodgers roughly $280 million annually, leaving some $196 million not subject to revenue sharing at the outset of the contract.

In the revenue-sharing agreement among the 30 teams, if teams assume the risk of ownership in their own TV network, they are permitted to keep their revenue. Still, MLB has the right to establish a fair-market broadcasting rights fee to those teams, and require teams to contribute 34% to revenue sharing, such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, with the YES Network and NESN, respectively

MLB argues that the Dodgers won’t be taking a significant risk since Time Warner Cable is guaranteeing $7 billion. Time Warner announced it plans to be the exclusive advertising affiliate sales network of the channel, vowing to cover affiliate fees from distributors who refuse to carry the channel.

So basically, a billion dollars are at stake here, which is ~$40 million a year and hardly pocket change. The difference comes down to whether or not the parties involved can agree on how much risk the Dodgers are actually taking by creating their own network/channel. From the viewpoint of a totally uninformed layman (me), it honestly doesn’t seem like the team is taking much risk at all considering what Time Warner Cable is guaranteeing them at the outset, but we don’t know all the intricacies of the deal yet either, so maybe it looks different in court.

Regardless, it seems highly unlikely that things are allowed to stand as is. What the exact changes will be though? No idea.

—–

Unfortunately, that’s not the only issue still left unresolved, as whether any games will be broadcast for free on local television is still at odds, according to Bill Shaikin.

The Dodgers declined to comment beyond prepared statements that did not say what non-Dodgers programming the channel might carry, sports or otherwise. Also, even as a statement said the new channel would be the “exclusive local home” of the team, the Dodgers would not say whether they might broadcast any games on free local television.

I always hated games on KCAL because it meant that I literally couldn’t watch, but I’m not sure how many people would be affected if those free games were taken away. To me, it seems like you’re a dinosaur if you don’t have cable, or maybe that’s just in my world?

—–

Additionally, as I alluded to in the previous post on this agreement, TWC still has to negotiate with other carriers over rights, and that could always take a while/get ugly.

Millions of Lakers fans could not see the team at the start of this season because of extended negotiations between Time Warner Cable and rival cable and satellite distributors. Such negotiations are typical when a new channel starts, so it is possible millions of Dodgers fans might not be able to see their team on opening day in 2014.

“There’s always some variation of the distribution dance,” Time Warner Cable executive vice president Melinda Witmer said. “I would expect this won’t be any different.”

So yeah, don’t expect a resolution soon, as it might not even be resolved until we’re into the 2014 season, much like the Lakers situation in 2012.

The Dodgers new ownership group created American Media Productions in December of last year with the goal of launching a regional sports network dedicated to the team, and now they’ve announced that the network will be called SportsNet LA and will be home to the Dodgers starting in 2014, according to a Time Warner Cable press release.

The press release also gave some plans for the programming apart from games, which I wanted to know about, and talks about the involvement of TWC.

In addition to being the exclusive local home for all of the Dodger games, SportsNet LA will provide comprehensive behind-the-scenes Dodger programming, featuring more insights, analysis and commentary about the team than ever available before.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) has agreed to be SportsNet LA’s charter distributor, and will carry the new network for its customers throughout Southern California and Hawaii under a long-term affiliation deal. In addition, in return for agreeing to make payments over the life of the deal, TWC will be the exclusive advertising and affiliate sales agent for the new network and will have certain branding and programing rights with respect to the network. TWC will also provide certain non-game production and technical services to AMP.

This has been a bit of a foregone conclusion for almost a week now, but the part we’re all still waiting on are the exact terms of the deal, which have not been released yet. Also, I guess I don’t care as much since I get TWC in Hawaii, but for those who don’t have TWC, it’s yet to be seen how negotiations with other carriers will work out.

Regardless, it’s nice to finally see this officially confirmed, even if it does still need MLB approval.

The #Dodgers do not yet have MLB approval for TV deal. The pending revenue-sharing issue does not involve Time Warner.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) January 28, 2013

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Update

John Ourand of Sports Business Daily reports that the deal is for $7 billion over 25 years.