Jamey Wright, not John Grabow, gets the final Dodgers' bullpen spot

To much surprise, John Grabow opted out of his contract with the Dodgers on Monday, making him a free agent. The move officially means Jamey Wright will be the Dodgers' 12th (presumably) man out of the bullpen.

Both pitchers have thrown well this spring, but General Manager Ned Colletti informed Wright on Monday he'd make the club out of Spring Training. It stands to reason once Grabow heard the news, he used the opt-out clause in his contract to become a free agent.

Grabow, a lefty and a guy I predicted to make the club out of Spring Training when he was signed in December, threw six innings of scoreless ball, striking out seven, walking one and giving up four hits.

Wright has been solid in 8 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits, three runs (two earned), three walks and four strikeouts.

Wright's contract is now guaranteed for $900,000 this season with up to $500,000 in incentives for games pitched.

Grabow's contract would have been for $800,000 with up to $200,000 in incentives for games pitched.

Grabow really should have been the pick instead of Wright. The Dodgers' have just one left-handed pitcher slated to come out of the bullpen -- Scott Elbert. Elbert is better than just a left-handed specialist. He can get right-handed hitters out well enough to be a more than just a LOOGY.

Wright's edge is he can throw multiple innings at a time as a former starting pitcher. He had a solid season with the Mariners in 2011, posting a 3.16 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 8.0 H/9 and a 6.3 K/9.

This is also the seventh consecutive year Wright has made a team as a non-roster invitee.

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Jerry Sands, Monday's hero (if there's such a thing in Spring Training), was optioned to minor-league camp today.

Sands put up an unimpressive .158/.256/.184 line with one double, five walks and 12 strikeouts. At one point, he had a 5:6 walk-to-strikeout ratio, but he's struggled mightily this spring.

He'll benefit from more playing time in Triple-A. After refining his swing midway through the 2011 season, Sands showed improvement with the Dodgers in September (.342/.415/.493), but a little more seasoning could do him well.

He'll be among the first call-ups if/when the Dodgers need another outfielder or first baseman.

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The MLB owners vote today on the three remaining Dodger owners. Bill Shaikin has the details. Wednesday is when the private auction begins. Frank McCourt is required to choose a winner -- which doesn't necessarily mean the highest bidder -- by Sunday with the public announcement to be by April 6.

Photo credit: Keith Allison on Flickr, via UC International on Wikimedia Commons

Three groups remain in bid to be next Dodgers' owner, plus other news

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported Friday there are three groups left in the Dodgers' ownership race: the Magic Johsnon/Stan Kasten group, the Steve Cohen/Patrick Soon-Shiong group St. Louis Rams' owner Stan Kroenke.

The Cohen group emerged as the favorite on Sunday when Soon-Shiong decided to join Cohen in his attempt to purchase the team.

The dates remain unchanged, as this should all be settled by April 6 at the latest. From Shaikin's article:

"Major League Baseball owners are expected to vote on the three remaining bidders early next week. Final negotiations then would take place with Frank McCourt and Blackstone Advisory Partners, the investment bank brokering the sale.

McCourt has agreed to identify a winning bidder by April 1, although he has until April 6 to present a sale agreement to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court."

The Dodgers are expected to sell for a record price -- somewhere north of $1.5 billion -- but the parking lots and Dodger Stadium itself remain an issue.

"McCourt was offered between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion in the most recent round of bids. However, negotiations have not taken place, and it is uncertain how the purchase price might be affected if McCourt refuses to include the Dodger Stadium parking lots in the sale. McCourt has said he intends to sell the team but keep the lots, in accordance with his rights under his settlement with MLB."

Whichever group ends up winning, let's just hope and pray McCourt gives in and sells the lots, too. He ties need to be completely severed from this great and proud organization. He's a black eye the franchise does not need.

It's going to be a fun eight-plus days. Everyone seems to think the Cohen group is going to win, but I'm still holding out hope for the Johnson/Kasten group.

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The Dodgers reassigned three players after today's games: Angel Guzman, Wilfredo Ledezma and Fernando Nieve.

Guzman threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk while striking out two. He could see time in Los Angeles this year, if there are enough injuries.

Ledezma posted a nice line in 5 2/3 innings: two hits, two runs (one earned) and four strikeouts. His biggest problem was the walks, as he walked five.

Nieve threw the most innings of the trio and was, at one point, making a case to make the Dodgers' Opening Day roster. He threw 8 1/3 innings, allowing six hits, three runs (all earned) while striking out six. He didn't walk anyone. He could be an option if the Dodgers need a swingman this season.

Notes from today's game vs. Cleveland

Dee Gordon collected a couple hits to raise his spring batting average to .415. He also stole his eighth base.

Andre Ethier picked up his 11th extra base hit of the spring -- a double -- in today's win.He's hitting .419 and appears ready to have a big season.

Chris Capuano had a solid game: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

John Grabow and Jamey Wright, fighting for a bullpen spot, were both unscathed. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times tweeted contract numbers for Grabow and Wright if they both make the team:

Grabow

"John Grabow's contract will be guaranteed for $800k if he makes the big-league roster. Deal includes $200k in incentives based on GP."

Wright

"Jamey Wright's contact will be guaranteed for $900k if he makes the big-league roster. Deal includes $500k in incentives based on GP."

If we're making decisions based solely on money, Grabow's the choice. If we're making it based on need and talent, well, Grabow's still the choice.

I predicted he'd make the 25-man roster when he was signed. He's making a strong case to do just that.

Photo credits: health2con on Flickr (Soon-Shiong),
Rafael Amado Deras on Flickr (Johnson)

Spring Training battles emerging, plus roster cuts and ownership news

The Dodgers made their second round of Spring Training cuts today, reassigning Jeff Baisley, Gorman Erickson, Matt Wallach and Lance Zawadzki to minor league camp. The Dodgers also gave Alberto Castillo his outright release.

Absolutely no surprises here. The only two of note in the group are Erickson and Wallach. Erickson will likely begin the season in Chattanooga with the Lookouts after getting a taste of Double-A late last season. Wallach, who spent 76 of his 79 games with the Lookouts last season, should back up Tim Federowicz in Albuquerque with the Isotopes.

The roster sits at 49 players. It obviously has to be down to 25 before Opening Day. There are a few interesting battles developing.

Jerry Sands vs. Josh Fields
- This isn't exactly a position battle, but both players are right-handed and aiming for bench spots. Sands, my No. 1 prospect a year ago, hasn't exactly lit up Spring Training while Fields has. However, this could (and should) come down to playing time. The Dodgers aren't going to platoon Andre Ethier and James Loney and Juan Rivera (with his $4.5 million contract) is certainly not going to sit. So, it seems Sands will begin the season in Triple-A.

Fields played part of last season in Japan and is making a str0ng case to be on the Dodgers' bench to start the season. I could see it happening because the bench, as constructed, looks to lack power -- not just right-handed power.

Justin Sellers vs. Ivan De Jesus
- Sellers has the edge in this matchup due to his ability to play shortstop. Without Sellers, there is no viable backup option to Dee Gordon (and no, Jerry Hairston is not viable). Sellers is also hitting well in Spring Training and had a couple moments with the team last year.

De Jesus has long since been in the team's doghouse (at least it seems that way) and just suffered an injury to his left oblique. It's not known how serious it is, but that, coupled with the fact he hasn't hit well and can't play shortstop more than in a pinch, should really about seal it for Sellers.

John Grabow vs. Josh Lindblom
- Grabow was signed earlier in December and I predicted he'd make the club out of Spring Training. So far, Grabow has thrown 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball and has six strikeouts. He's making quite the case to be the Dodgers' second lefty out of the bullpen.

Lindblom has been fine so far, but he has options remaining and the fact that Scott Elbert is the only left-hander could lead the team to sending him to Triple-A. Matt Guerrier has back issues right now and could open a door for Lindblom to make the team if he starts the season on the disabled list.

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Bill Shaikin brings us news of something huge going on in the Dodgers' ownership race.

"Patrick Soon-Shiong, the richest man in Los Angeles, has joined the Dodgers bid group led by hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen.

The alliance is the strongest indication yet of Cohen's intention to present outgoing owner Frank McCourt with a final bid that reflects prominent local support rather than just overwhelming East Coast money.

If McCourt were to accept the Cohen bid, he would be rejecting one led by local icon Magic Johnson. Soon-Shiong has held several meetings with McCourt since the Dodgers were put up for sale in November, according to people familiar with the process."

Well, that about settles that. With Soon-Shiong joining Cohen's group, a group that reportedly has the most up-front money included in its bid (roughly $500 million), it's hard to see how the richest man in Los Angeles joining the group is anything but good Cohen.

Speculation was Soon-Shiong was to join the Johnson-Stan Kasten group, but that obviously never materialized.

Cohen also reportedly has interest in bringing in former Cardinals' and Athletics' manager Tony LaRussa, recently retired, to oversee baseball operations for the club. While the prospect isn 't exciting, despite LaRussa winning two World Series titles in St. Louis and one in Oakland, it's about time we start to accept it and get used to it.

Mike Petriello has a good post on it while trying to look on the bright side of today's breaking news.

"Now, I’ve been pretty clear how against Cohen I’ve been since the beginning of this process. Now that it seems he’s the clear frontrunner, I’m trying to look on the bright side here, and there’s one massive bright side: Cohen and Soon-Shiong are estimated to be worth over $15 billion between the two of them. That means we may not have to worry so much about whether a record-setting purchase price would impact the ability to invest in the team and stadium; it also means that we may not have to worry about a large amount of debt being a part of the purchase price."

There should be a lot of news in the last two weeks of the saga. April 1 is the day all Dodger fans are anxious and eager to see.

Photo credit: wisely on Flickr

Ronald Belisario is back, Casey Blake is not

Well, Ronald Belisario is finally going to be back in the country after acquiring his visa, allowing him to pitch for the Dodgers once again.

However, he will first have to serve a 25-game suspension from Major League Baseball. From the L.A. Times' blog post:

"The suspension falls under the "drug of abuse" standard rather than a "stimulant" standard, according to a person familiar with the matter."

It's anyone's guess as to what drug Belisario allegedly abused and it would be irresponsible to speculate.

With the Dodgers' already full bullpen, it doesn't seem there's much room for Belisario.

Scott Elbert
Javy Guerra
Matt Guerrier
Blake Hawksworth
Kenley Jansen

These five are assured of opening the season with the Dodgers (barring an unlikely trade or unfortunate injury). The Dodgers also have a few other options to fill the two remaining spots:

Nathan Eovaldi
John Grabow
Josh Lindblom

Lindblom had a nice debut season and should have a spot in the bullpen, but he has minor-league options remaining, so it isn't a certainty he has a spot. Eovaldi is in the same boat. And if the Dodgers want to see if Eovaldi can start, he might very well start the season in Chattanooga. I predicted in my last post Grabow would be the team's second left-handed reliever in the bullpen.

Oh, and General Manager Ned Colletti keeps talking about acquiring a "veteran reliever," which could be Mike MacDougal. I doubt Grabow was that vet the mustachioed one was looking for.
The Dodgers also have a few prospect-options, including Shawn Tolleson and Steve Ames, both of whom are nearly MLB-ready.

Belisario, who hasn't pitched in the Majors since the 2010 season, has no minor-league options remaining, giving him the edge over the trio of Eovaldi, Grabow and Linblom. Then again, he might not even be in game shape right now, so we'll see what happens there.

If he's anywhere close to 2009 Belisario, he could be an asset in the 'pen. If he's the 2010 version, the Dodgers should just cut their losses. He's likely somewhere in the middle, which makes for a serviceable reliever.

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Casey Blake signed a 1-year deal with the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. It's worth $2 million and includes $1 million in incentives.

Blake, who was acquired from the Cleveland Indians before the 2008 trade deadline for Carlos Santana and Jon Meloan, had a decent stint as the Dodgers' third baseman: .260/.338/.431, but certainly wasn't worth Santana.

However, this is a really nice signing for the Rockies. Blake can play the hot corner, first base and each outfield corner. He still mashes left-handed pitching and could be a valuable asset off the Rockies' bench.

The Dodgers will replace him with one of the most inept players in baseball, Juan Uribe.

Dodgers sign John Grabow to minor-league deal

The Dodgers signed veteran left-handed reliever and local product John Grabow today to a minor-league deal. Well, the announcement was today, but this news was broken on Saturday by John Scanlan, a Dodger fan, on Twitter.

"#Dodgers sign LHP John Grabow. Terms not known."

Scanlan coached Grabow in high school, which is how he heard about this news before any media reported it.

Grabow, 33, has been in the Majors since 2003, when he debuted with the Pirates. It took him a few years to get acclimated, but he had his most successful season in 2008, posting a 2.84 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 7.1 H/9, 7.3 K/9. His other peripherals weren't so great -- 1.1 HR/9, 4.4 BB/9, 1.68 K/BB, but he actually did better against right-handed hitters than lefties, despite giving up eight of his nine home runs to righties.

He has a three-pitch arsenal: a fastball that ranges from 87-90 MPH, a low-80s slider and a low-80s changeup. His fastball velocity has been on the decline since 2006, but he's left handed and can throw strikes, which is about all you need to ink a minor-league deal these days.

Grabow does equally well against both sides for his career, though.



He isn't anything special, but I'm going to make a prediction right now: he'll make the Dodgers out of Spring Training as the team's LOOGY.

This allows the Dodgers to let Scott Elbert pitch against right-handers and could spell the end of Hong-Chih Kuo's time in Los Angeles, if there was still any doubt.

Other than that, there's not much else going on in Dodger land right now. There were faint mentions of the Dodgers having interest in guys like Jason Kubel, who signed today with the Diamondbacks, and Prince Fielder, but we all know that isn't going to happen.