MLB.com: Outfielder Jamie Hoffmann was claimed by the Rockies off waivers, which makes it unlikely the perennial sixth outfielder in the system will be back.

MLB.com: Remember Ronald Belisario? He wants back in.

Ronald Belisario, not seen by the Dodgers since 2010, is again working on obtaining a work visa that would allow him to return to the United States and compete for a Dodgers bullpen role next season.

General manager Ned Colletti wouldn’t characterize the odds of Belisario actually showing up at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in February, but he confirmed that the right-hander has been working with government officials to allow his return.

Everybody has wishes, I suppose.

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MLB.com: Logan White has been interviewed for the Astros vacant GM position.

The Astros have interviewed Dodgers assistant general manager Logan White for their vacant general manager position, a Major League Baseball source told MLB.com.

Just as Ned Colletti is about to be shown the door.

Los Angeles Times: Pat Gillick would have interest in being the president of baseball operations for the new owners.

Pat Gillick, one of the most successful executives in baseball history, said he would consider joining the Dodgers if a new owner wished to consider him.

Gillick said he has been approached by prospective bidders for the Dodgers but said he would not align with any potential ownership group. Once a new owner is selected — and if that new owner is interested — Gillick said he would consider a position as president of baseball operations.

It’s an upgrade, but his history is a bit spotty.

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MLB.com: Dodgers are in negotiations for minor league contracts with five players.

The Dodgers are in discussions with four non-roster players on Minor League contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training — three of them pitchers — and are close to a deal with another.

The four are: Jose Ascanio, a right-handed reliever; Jeff Baisley, a corner infielder; Wil Ledezma, a left-handed reliever; and Shane Lindsay, a right-handed reliever.

A tentative agreement has been reached with Alberto Castillo, a 35-year-old left-hander from Cuba who had a 2.31 ERA in 17 games in 2011 for the D-backs, his eighth organization. He missed August with shoulder tendinitis.

Wil Ledezma had been rumored to be signing for a while now, but the rest are new and rather uninspiring, which is to be expected.

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True Blue LA: Eric Stephen wrote a great article about how risk aversion can end up being risky as well.

In order to get these five marginal upgrades in 2012, the Dodgers will pay something like $26.5 million in 2013 for a group of older players ($23 million if Rivera’s option is not exercised). We could be paying $13 million in 2013 for three hitters who hit a combined .257/.314/.369 in 2011. Keep in mind, this group includes two players who were so bad in 2011 they were designated for assignment and dumped by their original teams, and a pair of homer-prone pitchers who made opposing hitters look like All-Stars outside of their friendly home parks.

I get not wanting to dive into the deep waters of the free agent market. Long-term commitments can be scary, and carry with them a lot of risk. But sometimes too much risk aversion can leave you saddled with the equivalent of a superstar price tag without anything close to superstar production.

Perhaps after all the dust settles, I’ll look at how everything actually shook out, but what this replacement level player spree is costing the Dodgers in 2013 was an eye opener for me.

Los Angeles Times: Magic Johnson will front a group that is saying all the right things.

In searching for the right fit for his Dodgers dreams, Johnson researched six prospective bidders, then interviewed each of them, beginning each session with one question.

“I asked them, ‘What is your play here; do you want this team for the baseball or the real estate?’” Johnson said. “I wasn’t interested in anybody who wasn’t going to make baseball the priority.”

If they answered the first question correctly, Johnson asked a second question.

“I would then ask them, ‘OK, once you buy it, do you have enough money to turn them into champions?’” he said. “There are groups that will spend everything just to buy the team, and I didn’t want that.”

When Johnson met Mark Walter, Guggenheim’s CEO, he was convinced.

“The first thing I asked Walter was, ‘Do you want to win, and do you want to put money in?’” Johnson said. “He said, ‘Absolutely.’”

That passage makes even a skeptic like me optimistic about the group and I think that’s partially because of the money backing the partnership and because of the presence of a solid baseball operations person, but mainly due to the way Magic Johnson goes about instilling confidence and excitement.

Should be interesting, to say the least.

Los Angeles Times: Mark Cuban states that he still has interest in buying the Dodgers.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt subsequently agreed with Major League Baseball on a deal in which he would sell the team and its stadium but keep the surrounding parking lots, subject to a lease that would guarantee the new owner could use the lots on game days.

As part of his due diligence, Cuban said, he would explore whether the exclusion of the parking lots might reduce the purchase price of the team.

He “will take a look and determine if one impacts the other,” Cuban wrote.

Honestly? He doesn’t seem too serious about it yet, probably just probing to see if the price comes down because Frank McCourt maintains the parking lots.

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MLB: Dodgers declined to offer arbitration to any free agents. I didn’t run a post about it because none of it was a surprise at all.

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MLB Trade Rumors: Reliever Wil Ledezma will apparently sign with the Dodgers. It’s only a minor league deal, so whatever, but he has a career ERA of 5.40 and hasn’t had an ERA below 6.75 since 2009.

MLB Trade Rumors: Middle infielder Luis Cruz inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers. He is…not so good, so this is probably AAA depth.