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.

Clayton Kershaw‘s extension has been widely anticipated by Dodgers fans for a while now, and most (including me) seem to want it done as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as if that’s necessarily going to be the case.

A week ago, Dylan Hernandez said nothing was imminent:

Clayton Kershaw’s agent was at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, but a new deal between the Dodgers and their ace didn’t appear imminent, according to people familiar with the situation who weren’t authorized to speak on the matter.

He was right on the money, as no deal has been reached yet and figures are still being thrown around, though the $200 million price tag seems about right, according to Ken Rosenthal.

Clayton Kershaw’s people and the Dodgers are still talking with the season underway, but no one really knows what’s going on behind closed doors. At the same time, no one should be surprised if Kershaw winds up being the first true $200MM pitcher. Inking him for a total of ten years would keep him locked up through his age 34 season and even though that length sounds crazy, Felix Hernandez is signed through age 33 and Justin Verlander through age 36. Rosenthal’s guess is an eight-year, $200MM extension on top of the two years of control that he has left.

If that sounds nuts though, then this might sound even more so, as Kershaw’s price might be getting higher, according to Jon Heyman.

“I hear they’re already over $200 million,” one baseball official said.

Regardless, the encouraging thing is that everybody is reporting that the Dodgers and Kershaw’s agent are deep in negotiations, and that rarely ends without an extension getting done. It figures to be especially true with these new owners and their deep pockets.

The Dodgers have sent Matt Magill, Steven Ames, and Matt Palmer to minor-league camp, removing them from contention for a 25-man roster spot.

Not surprising for any of the three, as Magill and Ames are still a year-plus away from being legitimate roster contenders – especially considering the depth of the Dodgers staff and pen – and Palmer recently underwent knee surgery and was never a true threat to begin with.

Additionally, Brian Barden, Hector Luna, and Jeremy Moore all got their tickets to minor-league camp as well. Like the other trio, all three were slated to be in Albuquerque in 2013.

—–

In addition to the cuts, the team released left-handed pitchers Victor Garate and Wilmin Rodriguez, along with catcher Angelo Ponte and right-handed pitcher Hector Correa.

—–

The team inked right-hander Pablo Gonzalez and outfielder Robbie Garvey, presumably to minor-league deals.

—–

Shocker of all shockers: Don Mattingly doesn’t consider Yasiel Puig a candidate to make the big-league squad out of Spring Training.

Is Yasiel Puig a candidate for opening day roster? “Not really in my mind,” said Don Mattingly

Anyone who thought a guy with just 23 games and 95 plate appearances of professional ball – none above high-A, to boot – was a real threat to start the season in the bigs was just kidding themselves and focused on Puig’s freakish physique.

“It’s probably not the best thing for him. People probably don’t want to hear that, but realistically it’s not the best thing for him,” said manager Don Mattingly. “I don’t think our organization thinks it would be the best thing for a guy with as few at-bats as he’s gotten.”

He should be good, but he needs time in the minors to learn and grow like anybody else.

—–

Speaking of roster decisions, Tim Federowicz appears to have the inside track on the backup catcher job, which is what the team was probably hoping for all along.

—–

Watch Kenley Jansen in the World Baseball Classic tomorrow against the Dominican Republic, as he was called up to the Netherlands squad for the semi-finals.

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Dylan Hernandez relays the 2013 salaries of Dodgers with under three years of major-league service time. The salaries apply only when these players are up in The Show, as they make significantly less if sent down to the minors.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

Clayton Kershaw related to Dylan Hernandez that the hip injury which felled him during the 2012 campaign has not been an issue this offseason.

“It was never a problem for me,” said Kershaw.

The Dodgers allowing Kersh to pitch on the balky hip late last season – in what was a lost season towards the end, no less – still does not sit right with me. Luckily for them and all of us, Kershaw’s injury never progressed to a more serious state.

—–

A.J. Ellis tells Steve Dilbeck that he has fully recovered from knee surgery and will be ready to start the season as usual.

Catcher A.J. Ellis said he feels fully recovered from left knee surgery and is already partaking in all baseball drills.

“I’m doing all my regular baseball activities,” Ellis said. “It looks like a normal January for me.”

In a season that already has a lot of injury question marks, having him declared healthy is a boost.

—–

Chad Billingsley, whose uncertain health spurred the Dodgers to their offseason spending spree for starting pitchers, said he’s had no issues with his right elbow during the winter.

With less than two weeks before the first pitchers-and-catchers workout, Billingsley said he feels “absolutely great.”

“Tomorrow I’ll throw off a mound for the eighth time and I’ve had no issues,” he told Jorge Jarrin on AM570′s DodgerTalk Thursday night. “It’s just like any other offseason.”

“Everything’s been great,” he said. “I’ve had no issues, no setbacks. Everything is looking good going into Spring Training.”

Hate to continue harping on it, but while it’s great that he insists he’s healthy as normal, there’s minimal reason to be confident in an issue-free 2013.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

The Dodgers have talked about moving Dee Gordon off shortstop and into the outfield, according to Dylan Hernandez.

The Dodgers have talked about moving the fleet-footed Gordon to the outfield but appear inclined to keep him at shortstop for now. Gordon figures to start the season at triple-A Albuquerque.

“I hate to give up on him at short,” Mattingly said.

Dylan sort of snuck that tidbit in there, but it’s interesting information because teams that were rumored to be interested in trading for him had the same idea.

At the time, while analyzing those deals, I briefly touched on why I thought moving him would be a bad idea:

I’m not seeing the upside in moving him to the outfield. The potential for him to be an MLB regular contributor came with the value of him playing shortstop, where his bat could be decidedly below average but he could still have value. In center or, even worse, left or right, he would basically be relegated to the upside of a poor man’s Juan Pierre. Say what you want about Pierre, but Gordon’s talent with the bat isn’t anywhere close to Pierre’s right now, and I’m not sure it’ll ever get there.

The general point still stands now.

In recent memory, the only player I can think of that made the same transition that Dee is attempting is B.J. Upton, and while he perhaps hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations some had for him, he’s absolutely been a consistent 3-4 WAR player. They both share the traits of being toolsy, error-prone shortstops, so the move seems to make some sense for Dee defensively. Of course, the difference is that B.J. has a 107 wRC+ in his MLB career, whereas the last time Dee has topped 97 wRC+ in the minors was back in 2009 at A-ball. Hence, I have a general skepticism about this outfield move unless Dee’s bat can improve significantly.

Rather than unrealistically projecting a 125-175 point jump in OPS, perhaps a better goal would be to look at a Juan Pierre-esque performance offensively, right? Well, if that’s the case, then Dee has the tall task of needing to become an elite center fielder. In order to be a league-average regular (~2.0 WAR), he would have to be about a +10 run defender in center, and that’s assuming a bounceback offensively to an OPS around .630 or so. The problem with that goal is only two or three players are at that level in center field, so it’s a long-shot since he’s already 25, and learning a new position isn’t as simple as being fast and athletic.

While it’s conceivable that Dee could start hitting significantly better or excel defensively in center (or some combination of the two), adding even more moving parts to his already multi-faceted struggles hardly seems like a viable solution to his woes. After all, B.J. moved off short to mask a deficiency in one part of his game, while Dee has to fix basically everything. As such, the best bet for the Dodgers figures to be hoping that he hits like Juan Pierre at short and learns to use his defensive tools to become around average. It may be a long-shot at this point, but it’s still a better shot than he would have roaming the outfield.

The Dodgers have agreed to sign left-handed reliever J.P. Howell on a one-year deal worth $2.75 million, with performance bonuses that can take that salary higher, according to Dylan Hernandez and Buster Olney.

If finalized, J.P. Howell’s deal with the #Dodgers would be worth $2.75 million: lat.ms/1398TrN

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) January 5, 2013

J.P. Howell agreed to terms with the Dodgers. A left-hander for a very deep bullpen.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 5, 2013

Howell gets a one-year deal with LAD, for just under $3 million in base salary, and performance bonuses.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 5, 2013

After missing the end of 2009, all of 2010, and parts of 2011 with a shoulder injury, Howell remains a bit of a mystery, but one with upside. From 2008 to 2009, he was a ~2 WAR reliever annually, which is rather remarkable for a reliever who was generally not a closer. He always struggled with control a bit, but his success was powered by his ability to miss bats.

That segues perfectly into my concerns about his performance going forward. Since he has returned from injury, his strikeout rate his plummeted, which is understandable in 2011, but there wasn’t any significant improvement in that area in 2012. Thus, while his ERA improved significantly from 2011 to 2012 (6.16/3.04), his FIP didn’t (5.41/4.78), resulting in a replacement-level player WAR (-0.75/0.25).

His fit with the Dodgers doesn’t make a ton of sense on the surface, as the team does have Scott Elbert, Paco Rodriguez, and probably Ted Lilly, but the Dodgers can afford to spend money on a veteran and use one of Elbert/Paco as depth in the minors. As such, there’s little risk here, and some upside if he ever gets back to his previous healthy state. However, projection-wise, it’s hard to imagine him providing a significant upgrade over the demoted options, so this is a move that’s made more for depth than anything else.

Dylan Hernandez reports the Dodgers have acquired Skip Schumaker from the Cardinals, sending minor-league shortstop Jake Lemmerman the other way. Chad has more on the deal here.

My reaction: meh.

—–

The Dodgers have designated Scott Van Slyke for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster for Schumaker. Van Slyke was the Dodgers’ 2011 Minor League Player Of The Year.

Van Slyke is unlikely to clear waivers, so there’s a good chance he gets traded in a minor deal.

—–

Tony Gwynn Jr. has received an invitation to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, as he’s still under contract for 2013 but is not on the 40-man roster.

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The Red Sox will send $11.7 million dollars westward to the Dodgers as part of the mega-deal centered around Adrian Gonzalez. The payments will come in three equal installments of $3.9 million, to be made in 2013, 2014, and 2015, and they will conclude the deal.

—–

Zack Greinke‘s contract with the Dodgers is $147 million guaranteed, but it could increase to $158 million with incentives.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

After expected rumors of the Dodgers and Hyun Jin Ryu’s agent Scott Boras being far apart, the two sides eventually agreed to a contract worth $36 million over a six-year span, according to Jon Heyman. As far as incentives go, Ryu can earn up to $1 million per year based on innings pitched and can increase his base salary (via Dylan Hernandez) if he does well in the Cy Young Award voting. Additionally, Tim Brown reports that if he throws 750 innings over his first five years, he can opt out of the deal. The Dodgers won the rights to negotiate with Ryu for $25.7 million via the posting system, and that money will now be sent to the Hanwha Eagles.

We’ve gone over this on the site previously, but reports on Ryu’s potential range from a middle of the rotation starter to a middle reliever, but most agree he has the talent to slot in around #3/#4 in a rotation. Granted, he hails from the KBO and has no MLB track record, so he’s riskier than those on the free-agent market, but given the current market and the Dodgers payroll, it seems to be an acceptable risk to take for an investment that totals a little over $10 million annually to lock up all of his prime years.

—–

As for the state of the rotation, this now means that, in addition to Ryu, the Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Chad Billingsley, Josh Beckett, Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano, and Ted Lilly in the stable. Furthermore, rumor has it that the team isn’t done yet and would still like to acquire another starter.

The acquisition of yet another starter would leave Ryu potentially questionable to enter the rotation right off the bat, especially if Billingsley is healthy and they can’t find trade partners for both Capuano and Harang. Still, that’s an awful good problem for the Dodgers to have, and given Billingsley’s questionable health, the stockpiling of starters is obviously by design as well. Regardless of where Ryu starts off the season though, he should slot into the back of the Dodgers rotation at some point if he’s as good as most expect him to be.

The Dodgers made an offer to Hyun Jin Ryu, but it was rejected by Scott Boras, according to Ned Colletti.

The Dodgers made a long-term offer to Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin on Tuesday, but it was rejected by agent Scott Boras.

“Predictably, it fell a tad short,” said general manager Ned Colletti.

The Dodgers have until Sunday to sign Ryu or they lose exclusive negotiating rights and their $25.7 million posting fee is refunded.

“We’re debating our next step,” said Colletti. “I don’t believe we’re close right now.”

As I said yesterday, I still think this is all posturing by both sides to get the best deal possible.

For his part, Boras later clarified the situation to Dylan Hernandez.

[Updated at 5:35 p.m.: Ryu's agent, Scott Boras, said he presented the Dodgers with a counteroffer. "We exchanged offers, and negotiations continue," Boras said.]

Boras, said his client should be compensated like a major league No. 3 starter. So, presumably, he’s looking for something in the $50-million range. [Updated at 9:45 p.m.: This estimate was high, according to a person familiar with the discussions.]

The reasons for the Dodgers wanting to wait should be obvious, because if they sign Zack Greinke and trade for James Shields or something of the sort, then their leverage in negotiations with Ryu becomes extremely one-sided.

For now? Just have to wait it out.

—–

Speaking of Greinke, the Dodgers and Rangers are apparently in a bidding war of sorts, according to Jon Heyman.

The Dodgers have been viewed as a fairly clear favorite for Greinke, but Texas is showing signs of determination, according to major-league sources.

The Dodgers are seen as having an almost unlimited payroll, but people familiar with the happenings now suggest the derby could go either way. Not many teams could hope to go dollar-for-dollar against the Dodgers, but the Rangers are trying to do just that.

The bidding is said by major-league officials to be “quite high” now, with two people pegging the dollar amount at about $160 million. And that’s with the deal not done yet. There seems an extreme likelhood now that Greinke will not only set a record for righthanded pitcher but for any pitcher, which is currently held by CC Sabathia, who signed for $161 million and seven years with the Yankees.

Some have suggested they could even see the Greinke deal reaching toward the $175-million mark.

This situation, however, could be severely impacted by the Rangers negotiations with Josh Hamilton, according to Danny Knobler, as they probably won’t sign both.

But one scenario they don’t see happening, according to sources, is a double free-agent signing of both Greinke and Hamilton.

And they certainly seem on pace to sign one or the other, according to Ken Rosenthal.

For his part, Jon Paul Morosi is of the belief that the Dodgers are the clear favorite, while Bill Shaikin adds that this drama may not be over by the time the Winter Meetings conclude.

—–

Connected to Greinke in a way, the Dodgers are apparently shopping Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang to whoever.

One exec says “Dodgers shopping Capuano and Harang around lobby. Greinke and Rhu, or Greinke and Sanchez or Dempster?”

#Dodgers becoming aggressive in shopping Harang and Capuano, source says. Could be a sign of confidence in landing Zack Greinke. @MLBONFOX

I doubt either of them would be hard to deal at any point in the off-season. Both are on short-term deals, the Dodgers could eat money if necessary, and the return demands probably won’t be significant.

—–

COMEDY BREAK

The Dodgers are running around shopping Juan Uribe!

One of the agendas the Dodgers are pushing aggressively in the lobby is to find a trade partner to take utility infielder Juan Uribe. Needless to say, the Dodgers are garnering little interest unless they’re willing to pay his entire contract. Uribe, who has batted .199 the past two seasons combined, is entering the final year of a three-year, $21 million contract.

What a disaster.

Asked an MLB official if #Dodgers might be able to interest #Yankees in Juan Uribe with A-Rod injured. The guy chuckled.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) December 4, 2012

It’s become a punchline, as it should, really.

—–

Dee Gordon appears to be a popular target for teams, including the Mariners.

The Dodgers are fielding tons of inquiries on shortstop Dee Gordon, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports, though they’re not looking to deal him. The Mariners are among the teams hitting the Dodgers hard on Gordon, tweets Miller.

I’ve given my thoughts on Dee previously, though I’m not sure what the Mariners have that the Dodgers want.

No, it’s not Felix Hernandez. Stop.

I’m thinking more along the lines of Kyle Seager, Corey Seager‘s older brother. The Mariners have Alex Liddi and Vinnie Catricala.

—–

Perhaps the R.A. Dickey rumors have some legs after all?

Hearing Dodgers thinking big, have strong interest in Dickey even if they sign Grienke. But they don’t have good young OF to trade.

— John Harper (@NYDNHarper) December 4, 2012

Source says Mets could get speedy SS Dee Gordon and top pitching prospect Zach Lee from Dodgers for Dickey. But that doesn’t help OF.

— John Harper (@NYDNHarper) December 4, 2012

That would be … a lot for a rental.

Still not sure I buy the interest as legit either. Not yet, at least.

—–

In interest of filling out their bench, the Dodgers are apparently interested in trading for Skip Schumaker, according to Danny Knobler.

He plays second, left field, center field, and right field, so there’s versatility there, but he’s a terrible defender at second, a bad one in center, and just solid-average in the corners. Over the last three seasons, since he turned 30, he’s had an OPS+ of 88.

Not so thrilled, really.

—–

Oh, and Colletti shot down those rumors from yesterday about them seeking starters at SS/3B. But there’s no reason to think he’s being truthful either.

The MLB has confirmed that the Dodgers won the bidding on the rights for Korean left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu, just as Mike Petriello said yesterday, despite ESPN refusing to credit him.

—–

Since Scott Boras is his agent, Boras won’t care about the posting fee and will look to gouge the Dodgers for as much as possible, and his PR campaign has already started.

Dylan Hernandez spoke with him and the quotes by Boras gave insight into why I previously said this is just the start of things.

Ryu Hyun-jin could immediately be a No. 3 starter in a major league rotation, according to his agent.

“He’s ready to pitch in the big leagues right now,” Scott Boras said. “He’s not a developmental project.”

Translation: “He can help you from Opening Day, so pay him more money.”

“We have to strategically plan out his career,” Boras said.

Among the considerations: compensation and when Ryu can become a free agent.

Because Ryu is only 25, he could sign a shorter contract that would allow him to enter the free-agent market while still in the prime of his career. Or he could remain in Korea for two more seasons, after which he would be a free agent and wouldn’t be subjected to the posting system.

“Is it a good business decision to make the jump now or wait for free agency?” Boras asked.

Translation: “Here is our leverage angle, so pay him lots of money otherwise we’re taking our ball and going home.”

More Boras: “If he doesn’t sign, the posting fee will dramatically increase next year.”

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) November 10, 2012

Translation: “Here’s more leverage foundation! Plus a vague monetary threat!”

I’m not sure I understand this logic though, because technically he would lose leverage due to being a year closer to out-and-out free agency. But hey, he has to say whatever he can to give his client bargaining chips in a situation where he has little to none, especially given the Dodgers finances and rotation situation.

Ryu Hyun-jin wants to be a starter in the major leagues, according to Boras.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) November 10, 2012

Translation: “He will throw a lot of innings, so pay him more money.”

This makes sense though, since he’s a starter and always has been.

I’ve observed people arguing over whether or not he’s a starter or a reliever, but I don’t see this as up for debate. Even if you think he has reliever stuff, as Keith Law does, nobody would be so dumb to drop $25.7 million on rights if they saw him as a situational lefty. He’ll start in the MLB if signed, and rightly so.

All in all, nothing out of the ordinary here, though I do have concerns that he wants #3 starter type money, as apparently those types feel they can demand six years and $90 million in this market.

Clayton Kershaw has an impingement of the right hip and threw off a mound on Friday prior to making the start Sunday. I’ve made my feelings on the topic known before: they should shut him down.

Don Mattingly, via Dylan Hernandez, said:

“The last thing I want to be involved with is pitching Clayton Kershaw hurt. If I knew something … I couldn’t sit here for it.”

And yet, that’s exactly what he and the organization did.

Though doctors said Kershaw couldn’t hurt his hip any worse, but he could have hurt his arm compensating for the injured hip, which Chad explained earlier and Orel Hershiser explained during the game.

We all should remember how well compensating for an injured body part worked for another dynamite hurler, Eric Gagne. I’ve said it a thousand times, but again, there is baseball beyond 2012.

—–

Hanley Ramirez left Sunday’s game after fouling a ball off of his leg. X-rays on his shin were negative.

Despite his struggles of late, the last thing the Dodgers needed was another serious injury at the end of the year.

—–

Chad Billingsley played catch with medical director Stan Conte on Friday. Ted Lilly underwent shoulder surgery Friday and can resume throwing in 6-to-8 weeks.

The Dodgers have to hope both will be healthy for 2013 or the rotation might be a bit of a mess, at least initially.

—–

Shane Victorino missed the series against Cincinnati with a sore wrist.

I suppose this is an indictment of both his performance and the offense of late (since Juan Rivera did nothing), but it was hard to say anybody even noticed much that he was gone.

Matt Kemp left Tuesday’s game in Colorado after smashing into the center field wall, somehow managing to stay in, and soon thereafter diving for a ball and landing awkwardly. If you’re so inclined, GIFs of the collision can be seen here. Tests revealed no concussion or concussion symptoms, and Matt walked away from the incident with nothing more than a bruised left knee. He returned to the lineup a few days after the frightening incident.

—–

Kenley Jansen was unavailable for the series in Colorado after experiencing recurring issues with his heart, which felled him for a month or so in 2011 and earlier in 2012 during Spring Training. These new issues are related to the old ones, reports Dylan Hernandez. The Dodgers and Jansen await test results, as his season could be over.

—–

Chad Billingsley‘s season also hangs in the balance as he awaits what could be season-ending surgery. These fears were expressed earlier in the week by Stan Kasten. Bills’ right elbow was treated with an injection of platelet-rich plasma in an effort to avoid missing the stretch run. Tommy John surgery seems like a possibility if our worst fears come to fruition.

—–

Scott Elbert was placed on the 15-day DL once again with left elbow inflammation. Shawn Tolleson was recalled to take his place. Don Mattingly is cautiously optimistic that Elbert could return when the 15-day period concludes.

—–

Matt Guerrier was activated from the 60-day DL, sending Josh Wall back to AAA and Dee Gordon from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL in the process. Gordon won’t be gone for long though, as he is eligible to return now that rosters have expanded.

—–

Alfredo Silverio was transferred to the 60-day DL in order to free up a spot on the 40-man roster to allow for John Ely‘s call-up. Silverio is on the DL after suffering multiple injuries in a car crash earlier this year.

—–

In minor league injury news, Arismendy Ozoria, Luis Vasquez, Mike Antonini, Jarret Martin, Aaron Miller, Greg Wilborn, Casio Grider, Charlie Mirabal, Bobby Coyle, and Tyler Henson were all placed on the 7-day DL, while a host of others – most notably Chris Reed and Bobby Abreu – were activated from the 7-day DL.

Chad Billingsley is back on the 15-day DL for the second time this season, and once again it’s due to right elbow soreness. Bills had an MRI that revealed inflammation and will have further tests once the inflammation has subsided.

Chad left his last start early after feeling something in the elbow on a pitch. He had been on quite the run since returning from his first elbow injury, and will be replaced in the rotation by newly-acquired Josh Beckett.

—–

Shane Victorino was scratched from Saturday’s game due to tightness in his back. Dylan Hernandez reports there may be some hip tightness as well, though the club only reported the back issue. Shane returned to the starting lineup on Sunday.

—–

Ted Lilly, rehabbing with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, felt “something … in his back or something”, according to Don Mattingly, and will have his next scheduled start skipped.

—–

Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers highly-paid Cuban import, was out of the lineup for a few games due to a bruised right heel, according to the Quakes official Twitter page. He returned to bang out four hits on Sunday though, so he should be fine.

—–

Matt Guerrier continues rehabbing in Rancho.

—–

Jerry Hairston Jr. is done for the season, as he’s scheduled to undergo surgery on his ailing left hip.

—–

Blake Hawksworth had arthroscopic shoulder surgery and is done for the year.

—–

Within the last two weeks, Chris Withrow, Chris Reed, Matt Wallach, and Angelo Ponte have all spent time on the 7-day DL, while Kazuya Takano was placed on the 60-day DL.

While the Dodgers didn’t haul in any big names, in line with what was previously speculated, they did ink five players.

Ben Badler of Baseball America reported that the Dodgers signed 16-year-old shortstop Cristian Gomez out of the Dominican Republic.

Gomez, 16, is 5-foot-10, 180 pounds and stands out in the field with soft hands, good range and an average arm. He’s an instinctive player in the field and has gap power from the right side of the plate. Terms were not available but Gomez was expected to sign for a low six-figure bonus.

The Dodgers themselves officially announced the signings of four 16-year-old players: pitchers Lenix Osuna, Victor Gonzalez, and William Soto, and catcher Julian Leon.

“We’re pleased to announce we have been extremely active in the July 2 signing period and have signed multiple players with more on the horizon,” scouting director Logan White said. “We are able to get three fine young arms with bright futures.”

Osuna is the son of former Dodgers pitcher Antonio Osuna, who went 24-21 with a 3.28 ERA over six seasons as a reliever. Osuna, Gonzalez and Leon are all from Mexico, while Soto is from Venezuela.

Always loved Antonio Osuna and signing his son is just perfectly typical of Logan White‘s bloodlines obsession.

#Dodgers spent about $1 million on the four international amateur players they signed today.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) July 2, 2012

Probably leaves the team around $1.8 million to $1.5 million to sign other players, but it doesn’t seem like they’ll get close to the cap unless they come out of nowhere on some of the remaining bigger names.

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier agreed to an extension with the team yesterday, and he’ll now be locked in with the franchise for the next five years for a sum of $85 million. Additionally, there’s a vesting option for a sixth year for an additional $15 million.

Ethier close to deal with #Dodgers that would be guaranteed for $85M over 5 yrs. Vesting option for 6th yr that would raise value to $100M.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) June 12, 2012

Ethier is a popular Dodgers player and fans are excited for good reason. Barring last year’s struggles, he’s been one of the few offensive constants for the team, and although he was born in the Athletics system, it feels like he was raised as one of the Dodgers own core players like Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw.

Sentiment, however, doesn’t win games, so it’s worth looking at the contract to see whether or not the deal was the correct move.

For his career, his slash line is .291/.363/.482/.845, and barring 2011, it’s been quite stable. If you discard 2011 as a fluke due to injury (as I’m prone to agree with), then you end up with player having an OPS around .850-.860, which is good for a .360-.370 wOBA. Ethier’s a better baserunner than you might expect, being of neutral value, if not slightly better.

Defensively, he has shown improvement and gets credit for that, but he’s still a below average defender when taking into consideration a larger sample size. If you like, he can be average, but that should be the extent of it. Scouting wise, I think it checks out. He has above average arm strength with plus accuracy, but his mediocre range hurts his value. He tries to compensate for that by taking quality routes, and he has average hands. I think where he loses a lot of value is in cutting balls off and on balls hit over his head. As long as the play is in front of him though, he’s a solid defender. For the sake of this analysis, I took the conservative approach and looked at it like he has always been an fringe/average defender rather than assuming he managed to magically go from a terrible defender to a good one in the midst of his injury prone 2011.

For playing time, I awarded him about 580-590 plate appearances, which seems fair to me, considering he has topped 600 plate appearances just once in his career, and I’ve given him that playing time in right field.

All of that is the explanation for the following calculation:

24.5 oWAR + 0.4 bWAR + -3.3 dWAR + 19.5 REP + -5.0 POS = 36.1 = 3.6 WAR

So 3.6 WAR is his estimated true talent level for 2013, which is the starting point of the contract.

—–

As you can see on the surplus value chart for Ethier that I posted above, the regression of his WAR starts immediately in 2014. That’s because he’ll be 31 years old at the start of the extension, and batter aging curves aren’t all that friendly.

I know everybody is excited right now, and I’m not trying to be negative, but when players are signed into their mid-to-late 30s, bad things do tend to happen more frequently. In fact, the standard WAR regression is 0.5 per year, but I thought that was a bit harsh. So if anything, I’m being kind to Ethier in the realm of his aging pattern, because I do think that the linear regression model is a bit much.

Furthermore, as pointed out elsewhere, Ethier’s similar batters at this point in his career are a bit frightening to look at.

Every single player on that list saw their production plummet by their age 34 season, and most were out of the league the year after. I wouldn’t read too much into it, but suffice to say, it’s more than fair to have concerns.

—–

A popular feeling out in the Dodgers fandom is that Ethier was a necessary signing, unless the Dodgers wanted their offense to suffer immensely in the coming years. However, that’s never wholly true, is it? I doubt they would feel the same way if it cost the Dodgers a chance at signing Cole Hamels or Zack Greinke or Mike Napoli or B.J. Upton. Or if it prevented a trade and sign with David Wright or similar type deals. In the same vein, I doubt Ethier would be viewed as a necessity if the deal was five years for $110 million or something similar.

The point is not to say that those things would or could have happened, but that there are always limits to how much any team absolutely needs any player. Every team has a budget, and all the contracts count, so getting value out of every one of them is of the utmost importance to continued and sustained success.

Most fans appear to agree that the contract overpays Ethier at least a bit, and I simply don’t accept the logic that everything is alright with that as long as it feels like it takes care of a need on the immediate horizon. Primarily because that’s the attitude that got the Dodgers linked with Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones and the likes to begin with.

—–

With that said, for all the criticism he takes from people like me, Ned Colletti has done a solid job with extending players under team control to this point, and the proprietary information they have on Ethier would lead me to hope that they re-signed him because they think he could beat the existing odds. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that history is on Ethier’s side.

I don’t feel the need to take a strong stance either way on this extension, because there are solid arguments for both sides, but I think the overwhelming optimism among fans right now might need a bit of blunting. There’s definitely considerable risk that comes along with this contract, and if there’s one thing we all learned from the Frank McCourt era, it’s that sacrificing future returns for immediate needs rarely ever works out like you want.

We learned last night that Dodgers outfield prospect Alfredo Silverio had Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the 2012 season. This marks yet another blow to Silverio that has come as a result of his January car accident.

—–

Silverio had a breakout 2011 season with the Lookouts, posting a .306/.340/.542 line with 16 home runs, 42 doubles, and a Southern League-leading 18 triples. He was ranked as highly as No. 4 in prospect rankings over the winter (Baseball America). I had him rated as the Dodgers 12th-best prospect when I did my rankings in November and Chad him him at #11 in March.

—–

The surgery, as Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweeted, was related to the car accident. So not only did Silverio have to suffer through concussion symptoms after the accident, but his injuries required Tommy John surgery as well, which explains why the team was so concerned.

Silverio was primed to make an appearance with the Dodgers this season after a strong 2011 showing, but now the timetable for his return after Tommy John surgery sits at around 12 months, barring any further complications. At 25, this is going to be a setback for Silverio — more significant than it would be for a younger player — and it will be interesting to see if he can bounce back and re-establish himself as a legitimate prospect after this ordeal.

—–

Silverio is the second Dodger outfield prospect to suffer a significant injury, as Angelo Songco had offseason surgery to have a metal rod inserted in his leg. He could be back as early as July.

Luckily for the Dodgers, outfield is the deepest position in the system this side of right-handed pitching. With Scott Van Slyke recalled yesterday, and guys like Alex Castellanos (despite playing 2B), Jerry Sands, and guys in Double-A like Kyle Russell and Blake Smith, the Dodgers should be okay without Silverio.

Regardless, here’s to a speedy recovery for him, because lord knows Silverio’s been through a lot in the last five months.

Los Angeles Times: Bill Plaschke (barf) talks to the key figures in the new Los Angeles Dodgers ownership.

For now, as the initial celebration fades and the close examination begins, Dodger fans need to see proof that this dream team won’t just turn into another nightmare.

“You know I’m going to do this right,” promised Johnson. “I would not be putting millions of my dollars into this if we weren’t going to do it right.”

The questioning started here with Johnson. Will he be more than just a new Dodger face and voice? Will he have the freedom to help run the Dodgers with his considerable business acumen and competitive spirit?

“You want to know Magic’s title? It’s owner,” Kasten said.

Johnson confirmed that he has already picked out a Dodger Stadium office and that, while he still has other business interests, this will be his main job and focus.

“I take, very seriously, the honor of being a minority owner in an organization where Jackie Robinson played,” Johnson said. “I’ll be there every day, fans will see me every day, I’ll be working hard to spread the word about how we’re going to make this a great franchise again.”

I think we’ve known all along that he was a figurehead, but he’s an awesome figurehead, so whatever.

Walter said he will remain in the background of the club’s daily operations, allowing Kasten to oversee baseball and business matters while Johnson is the caretaker of the image.

“I’m a baseball fan, but I’m not qualified to make baseball decisions, and I don’t want to pretend to be,” said Walter. “I’m here to support and help my people as much as I can. I’m here to cheer as loud as I can.”

But since he still controls the purse strings, the bucks still stop with him, no? Will he give Kasten the freedom to spend them? How does he view the idea of paying the sort of big money for the sort of big free agents that the Dodgers have avoided signing during most of their 14-year championship drought?

“Stan has a very proven formula for building a team that doesn’t win one year, but wins 12 years in a row [Atlanta Braves], so for me to tell him how you build that is completely inappropriate,” said Walter. “But having said that, we really want to win, and it’s OK if, while we’re producing the best players in the world, we also have the best players in the world on our field.”

In other words, said Johnson, “We are going to have all the resources available to us to put a championship team on the field.”

Oh dear, I think I’m in love.

“We understand what we just bought, we understand what it needs to be,” said Kasten. “We make more money when we win. We are real cognizant of that. While we want to build a long-term plan, we want to have a winner now.”

To understand Kasten’s baseball philosophy, check out his Atlanta Braves team that won the 1995 World Series. His front office was led by powerful General Manager John Schuerholz. His starting rotation was led by a high-priced free agent, Greg Maddux. His everyday lineup was filled with homegrown stars like Chipper Jones, Ryan Klesko and David Justice.

“I believe in scouting and player development, and a starting rotation,” Kasten said. “With both, anything is possible. Without both, nothing is possible.”

It’s just words, and I prefer actions, but they are saying literally everything right so far.

Haven’t been this excited about the team since they swept the Chicago Cubs in the 2008 NLDS.

Los Angeles Times: Walter Hamilton takes a look at the Guggenheim Partners.

Guggenheim Partners is connected to the family of Meyer Guggenheim, who came to the U.S. in the 1840s and made a fortune in mining. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is named after the family.

Peter Lawson Johnston II, a great-grandson of the Guggenheim’s patriarch, launched the financial services company in 2000. The company is run day to day by chief executive Mark Walter and executive chairman Alan Schwartz, the former CEO of Bear Stearns & Co.

The firm is a full-fledged investment bank in the mold of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Guggenheim has become a big player in commercial real estate debt, managing the type of investments that tripped up so many big Wall Street firms during the global financial crisis.

Guggenheim has varied holdings, including being a co-owner of the company that operates the Hollywood Reporter.

It has a large investment operation in Santa Monica, with more than 200 of its 1,700 employees based there. The firm manages about $125 billion in assets.

Mining, huh? It’s like they’re trolling Josh Macciello.

MLB.com: Richard Justice with a nice profile on Kasten.

He has some unshakeable core beliefs about running a baseball team. He believes the fan experience should be pleasant, that teams must be accountable to their customers. And he believes teams should be built from the inside through scouting and player development.

If he’s approved, he’ll surely use the work done by Cox and Schuerholz with the Braves as a blueprint for how to run the Dodgers.

He’s also a student of the game’s history and will almost certainly both understand and tap into the things that have made the Dodgers special, from the former players who created the team’s aura to the ballpark that is one of the signature destinations in Major League Baseball.

In both Atlanta and Washington, he told his employees that there really was no magic formula to succeeding. It was a matter of doing things right and getting better every single day.

Awesome.

Fox Sports: Ken Rosenthal believes Kasten will be the difference maker for the product on the field as well.

Wall Street Journal: Scott Austin has short blurbs on all those involved in the new ownership of the Dodgers.

—–

ESPN Los Angeles: Jon Weisman has a to-do list for the new owners.

The bottom line is, you can’t expect perfection, but you can demand excellence. Every effort must be made at making the best possible decision a thousand times over.

The new owners might fail. But, finally, Dodgers fans can at least say there’s hope.

Word.

Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness: Mike Petriello gives 19 random thoughts on the new ownership of the team.

—–

Dodgers Now: Dodgers players give their thoughts on the new owners, including Juan Rivera and Juan Uribe, who hadn’t heard of the deal until Dylan Hernandez told them.

Dodgers Now: What do Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol think about Magic Johnson‘s involvement with the Dodgers?

The question reminded me of this:

Why does Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times look so emo in his Twitter profile picture?

In fact, he’s so emo that he brought this emo mess on himself.

Masochist, if you ask me.

Anyway, I investigated the root cause of his emo nature, but I’ve only come up with three reasons thus far.

I leave the rest to you.

Juan Uribe tells Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he’s IN THE BEST SHAPE OF HIS LIFE, YOU GUYS!

Juan Uribe’s face brightened when he was told he looked different than he did last year.

“Skinnier?” he asked.

Uribe said he lost weight over the winter, though he wouldn’t specify how many pounds he dropped.

His arms and shoulders looked as if they gained definition.

“I feel good,” Uribe said in Spanish. “I worked hard to regain what I lost last year.”

I’ll believe it matters when I see it working.

Besides the SHOCKING NEWS of a baseball player coming into Spring Training and declaring that he’s in wonderful shape, Andre Ethier is still acting like a surly dick.

Andre Ethier appeared at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring-training complex on Saturday, taking a few swings off a tee in the indoor batting cage before returning to the clubhouse and holding a curiously contentious interview with a handful of reporters.

Ethier eventually got around to saying he feels fine now, but not before responding to a friendly greeting of, “Did you have a good winter?” with a curt, “We’re not here to talk about that.” He later responded to another question about why he was being so abrupt by saying, “I’m not your buddy. You’re not my buddy. We’re not going to sit here and have a bar-type conversation.”

“I can’t tell you anything about any of that,” Ethier said. “I’m just here today to play baseball and help the team win. I’m here for today. I lifted some weights, I ran the bases, and I hit some balls off a tee. … I can’t control the past or control the future. The only thing I can control is the way I play right now.”

To an extent, I think he’s always sort of been this way. Just an intense guy, but he does seem to have crossed the line between wanting to succeed to being a dick a couple years ago.

—–

In injury news, Clayton Kershaw seems fine.

Clayton Kershaw’s delayed bullpen session went off without a twinge on Friday.

Kershaw, whose scheduled workout on Wednesday was scratched because of mild back tightness, threw 36 pitches to new backup catcher Matt Treanor and pronounced himself healthy.

“I’m fine,” said the left-hander, who seems reluctant to talk about his health. “Got everybody out.”

Plus, Ted Lilly and his brother beat each other up.

Dodgers left-hander Ted Lilly reported to camp on Friday with a blackened right eye.

Lilly, who remained in California for the birth of his daughter on Tuesday, said he received the injury from his brother’s elbow in a basketball game on Thursday.

“The timing wasn’t good,” Lilly said.

Lilly was nonetheless thrown right into action on Friday, pitching a bullpen session within a half-hour of reaching the field at Camelback Ranch-Glendale.

“I’ve been throwing almost every day the last two weeks,” Lilly said. “I can see — it just looks like I can’t.”

I thought we would have learned from Zack Greinke last season, no?

—–

In Spring Training news unrelated to the Dodgers, Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins is going to give it one last shot this year, but acknowledges that he might have to hang it up if the concussion symptoms don’t subside.

“I don’t think there will be a career if it’s something I’m dealing with,” he said. “That’s the reality of the whole thing. I’m obviously not going to continue to mess around with this if it continues to be a problem. There comes a point where you can only torture yourself for so long.”

That’s why you shouldn’t call athletes who sit out after concussions soft, and that’s why the leagues trying to reduce head injuries isn’t making the games soft, it’s making them smarter.

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that Clayton Kershaw will throw a bullpen session on Friday after getting his original bullpen session postponed due a sore back on Wednesday. Additionally, Mike MacDougal postponed a bullpen session due to a back injury.

Ah, Spring Training!

—–

Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that the Los Angeles Dodgers have claimed Matt Angle off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles and moved Rubby De La Rosa to the 60-day disabled list.

My question? Why him?

He’s a 25-year-old outfielder that hit .177/.293/.266/.559 in the majors last year, and only .271/.347/.344/.692 in the minors. Plus, Ned Colletti signed enough outfielders to have five or six of them on the roster, and all the Dodgers have in the minors is potential reserve outfielders.

Confusing.

—–

Don Mattingly thinks Chad Billingsley can do much better, which isn’t surprising given his 2011, but the mechanics part off the story is interesting.

“I think there’s more there,” manager Don Mattingly said. “Honey [pitching coach Rick Honeycutt] thinks there’s more there. I think Chad thinks there’s more there. That’s the thing we want to help him with, just to get a little better.”

According to Honeycutt, scouting director Logan White provided video of Billingsley pitching in high school, when he dominated Ohio preps, leading to his first-round selection by the Dodgers. Back then, he kept his foot under his body as he lifted his lead leg. In recent years, he kicks out the foot before shifting his body weight from right leg to left. He worked during the winter on regaining his high school form.

“I’m trying to keep my foot closer and that allows me to be more consistent in my rhythm and timing,” Billingsley said. “We looked at some video and noticed that it was different from a few years ago. It doesn’t seem like a big thing, but a little adjustment can make a difference.

“It’s not really about confidence. My confidence is fine. It’s more like when you’re pitching or hitting and it doesn’t feel effortless. There are times when I feel I have to force my body to get into position and I have to work at it. I fight myself, kind of. We all try to throw the fastball down and away. For me, to do that, I feel like I’m throwing across my body and it leads to cutting the ball.”

Would love to have that video of him in high school so I can compare, but it’s still something worth monitoring.

Enjoyed how he threw in that part about his confidence just so that people can get off that schtick for once.

Clayton Kershaw is injured! Everybody panic!

Dodgers Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw missed his first bullpen session of Spring Training on Wednesday as a precautionary measure due to mild back tightness.

Oh, it’s just back tightness.

Speaking of injuries, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that Rubby De La Rosa is progressing quickly.

Rubby De La Rosa is a pitcher, not a doctor, but he’s declared his Tommy John elbow reconstruction a success and predicts a return this season “after the All-Star break.”

“It’s unbelievable, perfect,” said De La Rosa, whose meteoric rise to the Major Leagues last year was derailed by one bad pitch that tore his ulnar collateral ligament. “I’m going to be a lot better. No doubt I’ll be 100 percent.”

De La Rosa, six months into recovery, said he hasn’t had any setbacks and is throwing 90 feet on flat ground with a target of April to be throwing off a mound. He said he feels healthy enough to air it out, but the training staff has him reined in to throw easy.

“I have to wait,” he said. “I want to be healthy. Sometimes I want to throw hard.”

Can’t wait to see how he performs upon returning. I’m guessing it’ll be out of the pen initially.

As Ronald Belisario‘s world turns, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times has an update that involves cocaine.

Back with the Dodgers after a yearlong absence, reliever Ronald Belisario said Wednesday that he was prevented from entering the United States last year because he tested positive for cocaine.

The positive drug test also resulted in a 25-game suspension issued by Major League Baseball that Belisario will serve at the start of the upcoming season.

Standing in front of his locker before the pitchers and catchers’ first workout of the spring, Belisario said he didn’t have a cocaine problem and that he had ingested the drug only once.

“I don’t have a problem with any drugs,” he said.

The failed drug test was the latest incident in a series of personal setbacks that have derailed the 29-year-old right-hander’s once-promising career. In 2010, his last season with the Dodgers, Belisario left the team for more than a month to receive treatment in a substance-abuse program.

Belisario didn’t offer specifics about the treatment he received other than saying it wasn’t for cocaine abuse.

“That’s in the past,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Only did cocaine once and was in the substance abuse program for a different issue that he doesn’t want to talk about. Wonderful, sounds legit. Maybe he should have checked himself into a top private drug rehab in Los Angeles, CA instead.

—–

Could Andre Ethier platoon with Jerry Sands against lefties? Don Mattingly leads us to believe in the possibility.

“Jerry was really good against lefties last year, but we’ve got to be able to get him x number of at-bats. I hate the thought of saying that we’ll platoon guys, but the numbers say (James) Loney and (Andre) Ethier weren’t good against lefties. We’ll mix and match.”

So who tells Ethier about this and how big of a fit does he throw?

Naturally though, it’s the correct move.

—–

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus reported on Twitter that the Dodgers signed Brent Leach, who was once a prospect in the Dodgers system before he left to Japan.

Lefties galore.

Spring Training is here, which means all other sports matter less, and wow, there’s way too much news out of the Los Angeles Dodgers camp already.

=====

Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that Clayton Kershaw will start on Opening Day, which is basically the biggest Captain Obvious moment of the season.

Then Matt Kemp told the media that he doesn’t want the 2011 NL MVP Award if Ryan Braun is suspended.

“I would want to win by them voting me,” Kemp said. “I wouldn’t want them to just, ‘Oh, this person did that so how about we just give the award to this person?’ I don’t think it should work that way.

“If it is that way, then it should be a vacant award for 2011, no one should win the MVP award in the National League.”

Kemp said he hopes Braun is vindicated.

“I know Braun,” he said. “We’ve always been cool. We’ve been friends. He’s been one of my favorite players in the big leagues. I hope it’s not true.”

Kemp has handled this situation extremely well up to this point and that just cements it.

It wasn’t all rainbows and kittens though, as Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reported that Blake Hawksworth won’t be ready to start the season because a second operation was necessary to clean up his elbow.

—–

As far as roles and playing time go, Eric Stephen of True Blue LA has a ton of news.

“Javy, to me, didn’t do anything last year to say he shouldn’t be that guy,” manager Don Mattingly said on Tuesday. “More than anything, Kenley was saying ‘Hey I can do that too’ by the way he pitched. It’s a good problem for us to have.”

“Javy has been here one year,” said Mattingly. “It’s a competition, you still have to perform. There have been a lot of guys in their first year were really good and struggled the next year. Kenley was a perfect example, as he wasn’t himself [to start 2011] that he was the year before. It took him a half a season with little problems here and there, and he was in the minors for a little bit, but next thing you know he emerged back to what we had seen the year before.”

Javy Guerra will be the closer over Kenley Jansen to start the season, and while Jansen is the better pitcher, I don’t have a problem with this, as it gives the team better flexibility in regards to Jansen’s usage.

“It’s not like he’s a bad guy, or you don’t like him. But to this point he’s been tough to count on,” Mattingly said of relief pitcher Ronald Belisario, who is here in camp, but was not available for reporters as he left for a dental appointment. “It’s a step in the right direction that he’s here.”

The much maligned Ronald Belisario was actually there in person in real life at Spring Training and it’s important because if he looks anything like his old self, Hawksworth’s injury might have just opened up a spot.

—–

In the world of position players, both starting and backup roles are at stake.

Jerry Sands doesn’t necessarily need to win an everyday spot in the lineup to make the opening day roster, but Mattingly said he needs to have a certain number of plate appearances to justify a spot on the big league roster, as the club wants Sands to play nearly every day. While Mattingly shied away from committing to a plan of sitting Andre Ethier and Loney against southpaws, the manager said that figuring out a way to get Sands enough at-bats will be one of his projects in camp.

I have a way to get Jerry Sands at bats: don’t play Juan Rivera.

The backup shortstop will be Jerry Hairston Jr., as Mattingly wants to keep Juan Uribe at third base. Should Dee Gordon go down for any extended period of time, the club would turn to Justin Sellers.

Jerry Hairston Jr. is a fine utility infielder, but that paragraph makes me want to barf. Juan Uribe at third all the time and Justin Sellers is the backup in case Dee Gordon doesn’t take off like they expect.

Could be bad.

Finally, it was announced that Gordon will hit first, while Kemp hits third.

I’ll explore this later, but this could be a bad idea. Gordon got better later in the season, but it was a tiny sample size, and as a whole, he has always struggled at taking a walk. Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, putting your best hitter in the three hole is not optimal either.

The official Twitter account of the Los Angeles Dodgers just announced that the team has signed Clayton Kershaw to a two-year contract, thus avoiding arbitration.

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports the deal is for 19 million dollars.

Here’s the breakdown:

Kershaw will receive a $500k signing bonus, $7.5 million salary in 2012, $11 million salary in 2013.

MLB Trade Rumors projected his arbitration salary to come in at $8.4 million, and they are usually on point, so it seems like a good deal for the team. Plus, if Kershaw performs anywhere near as well in 2012, I think he would get a ton more than $11 million.

For comparison, Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants got two years and $23 million his first time through arbitration as a Super Two, which Kershaw is not.

As I mentioned earlier, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed right-handed relief pitcher Todd Coffey to a one-year dear that will carry a team option for 2013.

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that Coffey’s 2012 salary will be $1 million and will come with a $300k buyout clause on the 2013 team option. If the team option is exercised, it will be worth $2.5 million.

—–

Fat jokes aside, he’s a middling relief pitcher who carries a 4.08 career ERA and a 4.17 career FIP, both of which represent his skill level, past and present. His strikeout rate is average (~17%-18%) and his walk rate is average (~7%-8%), basically everything is around average or below average.

So why sign him? Probably to eat innings (har har) and because his career platoon split looks like this:

Coffey has 2.0 career WAR, so it’s not exactly a stretch that he’ll end up in the 0.2-0.4 WAR range in 2012 when looking at his season-by-season numbers.

Little reason to get excited, little reason to criticize.

It’s about a neutral move, which is all too appropriate for Coffey.

—–

As Mike Petriello points out though, it will cost the Dodgers somebody off the 40-man roster, and we all seem to agree that it’ll probably be Trent Oeltjen.

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that reliever Blake Hawksworth will have surgery on January 11th.

Dodgers reliever Blake Hawksworth is scheduled to undergo a minor surgical procedure Wednesday to remove scar tissue and shave down a bone spur in his right elbow.

Hawksworth is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks. He should be pitching at some point in spring training and could be on the team’s opening-day roster, according to a team spokesman.

Mike Petriello wondered whether or not he was pitching hurt.

To be frank, I had the same immediate thought.

Upon further review though, it seems to primarily be normalization.

Click To Enlarge

Basically everything remains the same as far as his peripherals go except his BABIP, which was extraordinarily low in the first half.

Hawksworth is simply not as good as his first half and not as bad as his second half.

Boring but probably true.