Chris Withrow, Scott Van Slyke, Alex Castellanos, John Wall, Stephen Fife, Michael Antonini, and Alfredo Silverio were optioned to minor league camp, while Russ Mitchell and Shane Lindsay, both non-roster invitees to camp, were reassigned to the minor league side.

No surprises there.

However, one surprise is third baseman Josh Fields, who apparently now has a good shot at making the roster.

Fields is Mitchell with a history of Major League success, a corner infielder who slugged 23 home runs as a rookie for the Chicago White Sox in 2007, only to have his career get sidetracked by knee and hip surgeries.

His road back to the Major Leagues hasn’t been an easy one and included a detour to Japan last summer. He’s in Dodgers camp on a Minor League contract, but he’s made enough of an early impression that he leaped past Mitchell as an insurance candidate at third base if Juan Uribe should fail again, and at first base behind James Loney.

Fields, Jerry Sands and Justin Sellers are probably fighting for the last roster spot, barring injury.

If that’s true, then Fields is making the team, I think.

Now I’ve basically come to terms with the fact that the Dodgers won’t be keeping Jerry Sands, because … Dodgers. Plus, carrying Justin Sellers would mean taking eleventy trillion utility infielders on the roster, so I’m pretty sure Fields ends up as the odd man in.

While I guess that’s a nice story, let’s get one thing straight here: Fields has a career rWAR of -1.3 and a career fWAR of -0.1. To say the reason his career is currently on the brink is due to injuries is asinine because even in that breakout season he was worth 0.9 rWAR and 0.6 fWAR.

My point is that people should stop pretending like he has a ton of upside because it isn’t true, and he’s far more likely to end up as the 2010 Garret Anderson than 2006 Olmedo Saenz.

After the surprise signing of Todd Coffey, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a decision to make in regards to the 40-man roster, and Ken Gurnick reports that the Dodgers decided to designate Russ Mitchell for assignment.

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In other news, Blake DeWitt was designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs, and while he hardly set the world on fire (or even made a fire), I do remember him playing good defense with a passable bat, and the Dodgers basically have zero depth at third base.

That said, Russ Mitchell could play third base and they choose to designate him over Trent Oeltjen and friends, so I’m guessing they aren’t going to bother giving him a looksy.

Andre Ethier

My my my, what a few walk-off home runs and a 30-game hit-streak will do to a man’s reputation in relation to his actual production.

After a pinkie injury cut short his 2010 campaign, which was shaping up to be a career year for Dre, 2011 began with a lack of power but improved on-base skills while hitting in front of Matt Kemp in the three-hole. During the aforementioned 30-game streak, he hit .397/.462/.560/1.022 with a wholly unsustainable .462 BABIP. However, his end of the season line was .292/.368/.421/.789. Not bad, of course, but not a guy you want to sign long-term as he quickly nears thirty years of age.

Yes, I realize he had a balky knee that led to an entirely humorous back-and-forth with the staff and management. That knee doesn’t take away from the fact that Ethier has never been a great fielder (career UZR/150 of -7.5) nor has he been able to hit southpaws (career .242/.302/.359/.661). At his age with the balky knee and a troubling decline in key areas ( 2010/2011: SLG % – .493, .421; wOBA – .367, .343; ISO – .201, .129; XBHs – 57, 41), Ethier is potentially living on borrowed time as both a solid offensive player and a Dodger.

In 2012, we have to simply hope for good health and his solid production of the past, or that he gets dealt for some younger pieces as another team takes a chance on him. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for at this point.

Others Of Note

8 Dodgers made an appearance in right field in 2011. Jerry Sands and Juan Rivera will be covered in full in the Left Field Season Review, while the rest of the motley bunch are undeserving of more words than these.

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FUN FACTS: Jay Gibbons started 4 games in right, and Russ Mitchell played an inning at the position.

Credit: The LFP

Glad the Dodgers participated in the “It Gets Better” campaign.

Wish they would make that promise to Dodgers fans in 2012 too.

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Vin Scully Is My Homeboy: Rookie hazing pictures are always awesome for future chops.

Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness: Mike Petriello thinks Don Mattingly has done well this season. Agreed.

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MLB: Will Hiroki Kuroda stay or go? Even he doesn’t know.

MLB: Russ Mitchell will need wrist surgery, but he should be back in the winter.