Repko wants out

Dodgers' outfielder Jason Repko, after agreeing to a $500K salary for the 2009 season plus incentives, says he's been asking to be traded for the past two seasons according to his agent.

When asked about Repko's request, Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti's response was, "It's all about production. That is all I'm going to say."

Repko is going to have to fight if he's going to beat out Andre Ethier, Delwyn Young and Matt Kemp for a starting spot in the outfield.

Randy Johnson won't be ready for Opening Day

According to Owen Perkins of MLB.com, Randy Johnson has made progress but not enough so to be ready for Opening Day.

So far during Spring Training, Johnson has pitched between ace Brandon Webb and new acquisition Dan Haren, but manager Doug Melvin isn't convinced that it'll stay that way when the season opens.

Manager Doug Melvin, "I think there's a good chance it's Danny Haren on Day 2. And probably Doug on Day 3. And then we'll see where we go from there."

On Friday, Johnson threw 63 pitches in 3 2/3 innings allowing 3 runs (2 ER) on five hits and walking three against the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Wednesday, he's scheduled for 5 innings and a 75-80 pitch count against the Colorado Rockies.

Left-hander Randy Johnson, "Right now I've got eight innings in. I think it's safe to say that if I was to go five innings against Colorado, that would give me 13 innings, and that's still not quite enough."

If Johnson isn't ready to go in the #4 slot for Arizona, manager Doug Melvin could consider Micah Owings but with his lack of command so far, that spot will probably go to Edgar Gonzalez with his 2-0 spring record and 1.64 ERA in 3 starts and 1 relief appearance.

Nomar to miss Opening Day

According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, 3rd baseman Nomar Garciappara is now "doubtful" for Opening Day.

Team officials are saying that his broken right hand is worse than first thought. After Nomar had undergone an MRI on Wednesday, the results revealed a microfracture of a bone at the base of his right hand.

Nomar Garciappara, "Everybody wants to predict. I'm not. I have no control over it. I'm looking one day at a time. That's all I can do."

Manager Joe Torre, "I don't anticipate him being ready for Opening Day." Though Torre did list Tony Abreu as the logical choice to be the Opening Day starter at 3rd, but he also listed Blake DeWitt and Chin-lung Hu as candidates as well.

Bill Shaikin of the LA Times

Bill Shaikin of the LA Times stopped by Pro Sports Beat to talk about the China trip and the Dodgers interest in a 3rd baseman, here's just an excerp from that interview.


Todd Kaufmann: Were you surprised that Andre Ethier, Russell Martin and maybe a Kuroda didn't go on the China trip?

Bill Shaikin: No. It is common for established major leaguers to be excused from long spring trips, particularly when a split-squad game is available at home. In regards to Kuroda, the Dodgers did not send him -- or Brad Penny or Chad Billingsley or Derek Lowe -- because the team believed all that travel would have hampered the starting pitchers as they prepared for the regular season.

Wes Helms heading to San Francisco?

The San Francisco Giants are looking for a 3rd baseman, could that guy be Phillies' Wes Helms?

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, the Giants and Phillies are apparently talking trade. The deal would send Wes Helms to the Giants in return for reliever Steve Kline.

Kline wanted to sign with the Phillies during the offseason, and the Phils did offer him a 1-year deal, but when the Giants offered him 2-years, he took it.

The Dodgers are also looking for a 3rd baseman, mostly because they don't trust the health or glove for that matter, of Nomar Garciappara, so the Dodgers could also get into the mix for Helms or even the Tigers' Brandon Inge.

Dodgers' Schmidt will try pitching through pain

According to Kevin Baxter of the LA Times, Jason Schmidt doesn't seem to have recovered fully from shoulder surgery last season.

Instead of taking time off and trying to let it heal, Schmidt says he's going to try and pitch through it.

"Instead of babying it, we're going to push it," he said. "It's a weird thing. I'm the same as I was a few days ago. I can't quite get to the next level."

Whether or not that's a good idea, I'm not sure, but the Dodgers seem unconcerned about his comeback. Though, I have a hard time believing that the Dodgers are just a little concerned that Schmidt will go into the 2008 less than 100%. I guess we'll find out when the season opens, just how effective he'll be.

Also, 3rd base prospect Andy LaRoche underwent surgery on Monday to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb and is expected to miss 8-10 weeks.

Andruw Jones promises to lose weight

Like the Dodgers needed any further disappointments in free agent signees right? Signing Jason Schmidt prior to the 2007 season, just to have him on the bench for majority of the year.

Now, they have another headache. New Dodger Andruw Jones reported to camp overweight according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He weight in at a wopping 240 lbs, 20-30 lbs heavier than last season with Atlanta. He's apparently promised manager Joe Torre that he will shed the pounds as the season progresses.

Money well spent huh?

Wells' agent contacts Cardinals

Looks like David Wells just isn't ready to call it a career just yet. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Wells' agent Gregg Clifton contacted the St. Louis Cardinals to gauge their interest.

"He'd like to continue his career and felt that he would be a perfect stopgap for them as they got their guys healthy and ready. "At this point, the Cardinals seem like they want to see how their younger guys look at camp," said Clifton.

Wells needs to hang 'em up. He struggled with the San Diego Padres last season before being released, he ended up finishing the season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. I can't imagine that Wells has anything to offer any team out there. I just don't think he has enough in the tank left.

Nationals sign Odalis Perez

According to a press release from the Washington Nationals, they have signed free agent right-hander Odalis Perez, though there have no details of the deal released as of yet.

Perez finished the 2007 season with an 8-11 record with a 5.57 ERA in 27 starts for the Kansas City Royals.

A return to the National League may not be such a horrible thing for Perez, who faired pretty well with the Braves and Dodgers, including a trip to the 2002 All Star Game as a Dodger.

Looking Forward to 2008: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers come off a disappointing 4th place finish in 2007, they needed needed a new look, not only on the field, but in the dugout as well.

After the Dodgers fired manager Grady Little, like the Lakers, they brought in a familiar face to the sports world, former long time Yankee manager Joe Torre. Could this mean a new era in Dodgertown, especially with the team in it's final spring training season in Vero Beach, FL, making the move to Arizona in 2009.

Torre wasn't the only big move the Dodgers would make, bringing in former Braves' CF Andruw Jones (2-years $36.2M) to be their new center fielder, possibly forcing Juan Pierre to left field or possibly to a bench role.

Arrivals:

CF Jones

RHP Kuroda

C Gary Bennett

Departures:

OF Luis Gonzalez

LHP Mark Hendrickson

RHP Roberto Hernandez

3B Shea Hillenbrand

C Mike Lieberthal

INF Ramon Martinez

C Chad Moeller

INF Olmedo Saenz

RHP Rudy Seanez

INF Mark Sweeney

RHP Chin-hui Tsao

LHP David Wells

LHP Randy Wolf

Not only was Jones a big addition for the Dodgers, but they also landed Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (3-years $53.3M). Though this is his first year in the big leagues, the Dodgers think highly of him and believe he'll add depth to their starting rotation. Though, the Dodgers will have a few unknowns going into 2008, mainly the health of Jason Schmidt. Without Schmidt, the Dodgers still have a rotation that will win you a lot of games with Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and another new addition in Esteban Loaiza.

On the offensive side, the Dodgers also seem very strong. Veteran 2nd baseman Jeff Kent returns to what could be his final season in the big leagues, along with catcher Russell Martin, SS Rafael Furcal, 1st baseman James Loney and young outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. The one question will be with outfielder Juan Pierre, with the addition of Jones along with Kemp and Ethier, could the Dodgers look to trade him before the end of spring training?

Prediction Time:

Though the Dodgers look good on paper, their success will depend on what kind of year Andruw Jones has, if their pitchers stay healthy and Jason Schmidt is 100% when he returns. Bare in mind, they're in a division that is considered one of the best in baseball with the deepest pitching staffs in the national league, with exception to possibly the NY Mets.

Dodgers - 88-74

Saito, Dodgers agree on 1-year deal

The Los Angeles Dodgers, on Wednesday, came to an agreement with closer Takashi Saito on a 1-year $2M contract, avoiding an arbitration hearing.

Saito finished the 2007 Dodger campaign with a 2-1 record and a 1.40 ERA, including 39 saves in 43 chances which earned him a spot with the NL All-Star team.

Mark Sweeney close to returning to LA

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports, the Los Angeles Dodgers are close to an agreement with free agent Mark Sweeney on a 1-year deal to bring back the pinch-hitting specialist back to LA for 2008.

There's no figure on the contract yet, but Sweeney's agent Barry Axelrod said, "It's not a done deal, but we're moving in the right direction.''

MLB Notes: Los Angeles Dodgers

Matt Kemp: Kemp is apparently very happy that the Dodgers did not trade him the past offseason. He said the rumored rift in the clubhouse that could lead to his departure was a result of "frustration" and "miscommunication."

When asked about the his thoughts about the possibility of him being traded this past offseason, he said "It's a little bit flattering, but I don't want to be on any team other than this one. This is the team that drafted me. This is the team that had faith in me to get here and this is where I want to be for the rest of my career."


Takashi Saito: The Dodgers' closer is close to signing a 1-year deal with the team and should be under contract by the time pitchers and catchers report next week.


Russell Martin: GM Ned Colletti claimed that the agent for catcher Russell Martin (Bob Garber) declined to discuss a multi-year extension with the Dodgers. When asked, Martin responded "It's not up to me and Bob, it's up to the team. If the team wants to offer something legitimate, it'd be idiotic not to look at it."


source: LA Times

Dodgers re-sign Seanez

The Los Angeles Dodgers have re-signed right-handed reliever Rudy Seanez to a 1-year $550,000 guaranteed as well as $750,000 in possible bonuses.

This deal surpasses the $1.2M he made in 2007, which turned out to be a good deal for the Dodgers. Seanez appeared in 73 games, going 6-3 with a 3.79 ERA.

Lieberthal calls it a career

Veteran catcher Mike Lieberthal has decided to call it a career after 14 seasons in the big leagues.

Had the Dodgers picked up his option for 2008, Lieberthal says he would have played one more year.

"There were a lot of reasons," Lieberthal said. "The money was great as a backup, but I have made enough money in baseball. I just didn't want to go through what I have to go through with my body to play 20-25 games a year. It's not worth it. I'm in a totally happy place."

Padres interested in Sanders?

According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, Padres' GM Kevin Towers may have interest in free agent outfielder Reggie Sanders, but views him as a backup if their other trade scenarios fall through.

Sanders' agent, Mike Powers, has talked to both the Dodgers and Padres about a backup outfield job. Sanders is also going to audition for a spot on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" sometime next week.

Dodgers sign Proctor to 1-year deal

According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed right-hander Scott Proctor to a 1-year $1.115M deal on Sunday.

Proctor was 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA in 31 games for the Dodgers after being traded from the Yankees in July.

Hendrickson signs with Marlins

Former Dodger left-hander Mark Hendrickson has signed a 1-year $1.5M deal with the Florida Marlins according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.

The deal includes incentives that could bring the total amount of the contract to $2M. Hendrickson went 4-8 with a 5.21 ERA with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, appearing in 39 games, 24 in relief.

Dodgers avoid arbitration with Brazoban

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed right-handed reliever Yhency Brazoban to a 1-year $540,000 deal on Tuesday, avoiding arbitration.

Brazoban appeared in only 4 games for the Dodgers before undergoing season ending shoulder surgery in June.

Dodgers send Valdez to Korean League

The Los Angeles Dodgers sold the contract of infielder Wilson Valdez to the Kia Tigers of the Korean League according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.