Dodgers trade Lindblom and Martin to Philly for Victorino

Ugh.

Best lede ever, right? Well, this is far from the best trade ever. I'm not upset the Dodgers are close to sending reliever Josh Lindblom and an unknown second player to the Phillies for Shane Victorino.

I don't have time for instant analysis, but I'm not especially in favor of this deal. Victorino is a marginal upgrade at best and the Dodgers still need a big bat. Let's hope there's some deadline magic in Ned Colletti's Blackberry.

Update: Ethan Martin is the other player. I don't like this one bit. Martin had struggled this far in his minor-league career, but he finally seems to be figuring it out. Not sure why the Dodgers felt compelled to include a prospect of his ilk to acquire a rental player in Victorino.

There's no guarantee he remains in the rotation long-term, but his arm is something you don't just "throw in" for a mediocre player like Victorino.

Here's hoping the next "big bat" is still coming because Victorino is not that guy.

Photo credit: wonderwallwoody, Flickr

Dodgers acquire Brandon League for Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom

The Dodgers traded Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom to the Mariners for Brandon League tonight, but I'm not really sure why this deal was made.

I'm not really ever high on trading for relievers, especially for relievers who can't get strikeouts. Despite being a power arm, League's strikeout rate is less than impressive. His career strikeouts per nine innings pitched is 6.6 -- not exactly great for a guy who averages nearly 96 MPH on his fastball.

As a 26-year-old in Toronto, League averaged 9.2 strikeouts per nine in 74 2/3 innings. That was clearly an aberration. His second-best mark is 6.6 K/9, set last season when he was an All-Star.

Ahh, that's it. Ned Colletti can't help but trade for All-Star relievers. We all remember Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany for Danys Baez and Lance Carter, right? But I digress.

League's best pitch might be his split-finger fastball, which he added in 2009. FanGraphs has it valued at 3.0 this season after it was a 3.4 pitch last season. His 95.2 MPH fastball is a 1.3 pitch right now.

But I don't understand this because I didn't see right-handed relief pitcher as high on the list of Dodger needs. Another starting pitcher and bat are much, much higher on the list.

League is owed roughly $1.8 million for the rest of the season, which I'm sure the Dodgers will pick up. He'll also be an unrestricted free agent after the season, so this is purely a rental. Then again, Colletti has been known to give relievers undeserved, long-term deals, so maybe League will be around for a bit (depending on performance, of course).

I'm higher than others on Landry, as most see him as just a fourth outfielder. However, I think what he's doing in the California League is impressive. Yes, I'm sure the numbers are inflated a little, but he has ability. He was a third-round pick in 2010 out of LSU and cracked my Top 10 the following season after a stellar debut.

When I see a poor man's Carl Crawford in him -- a poverty-stricken version is more like it. Still, he has talent and ability. His worst tools are his power and arm. But he has good speed, can put the bat on the ball and plays a slick center field.

Bawcom is a good relief prospect. He began the season with High-A Rancho Cucamonga and was quickly promoted to Double-A Chattanooga. He struggled for a bit after his promotion, but he seems to have figured it out. He should join a prospect-laden Jackson Generals' team.

It's hard to get too upset at this deal. After all, the Dodgers again dealt from their depth. Outfield and right-handed pitching are the two deepest positions in their farm system. However, they still dealt for a "proven" reliever. That hasn't especially worked out well in the Colletti era (Baez, Carter, George Sherril, Octavio Dotel, etc.).

I'm assuming League will split time with Ronald Belisario in the eighth inning. This also opens up the Dodgers to trade Josh Lindblom, whose name has come up in talks for Shane Victorino.

I'm expecting at least one more trade before tomorrow afternoon, but hopefully two (a starting pitcher and another bat). I'm just hoping Victorino isn't the other bat acquired.

Photo credits

League: swswigart, Flickr

Landry: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Dodgers select a pair of lefties early in Day 2 of the 2012 MLB Draft

The Dodgers finally selected a pitcher, and considering Logan White's draft history, it's not surprising (but a tad disappointing). Steven Rodriguez, a left-hander from the University of Florida, was the team's second-round selection (No. 82 overall) on Tuesday.

Rodriguez (6'2, 235 pounds) was a 48th-round selection of the Houston Astros in 2009, so he obviously made the correct decision in choosing school instead of 48th-round money.

From OnlyGators.com:

"A dominant reliever for the Gators throughout his career, Rodriguez seems to keep getting better and better. Originally a 48th round pick in 2009, he made a mark his freshman season with Florida by earning a Super Regional win over Miami to send UF to the College World Series and followed up that effort with a terrific outing against Vanderbilt during the 2011 CWS to help send his team to the championship series. Now in his third season, Rodriguez boasts a 2.08 ERA (second lowest on the team despite throwing the most innings of any reliever) with a 79/13 K/BB ratio in 60.2 innings. Despite the fact that at least two of his teammates will be drafted ahead of him, Rodriguez may have the quickest path to the majors as a lefty reliever with his power and control is highly desired by all clubs."

On the MLB.com draft coverage, Jim Callis of Baseball America said aside from Marcus Stroman (No. 22 overall pick), Rodriguez "could be the  fastest to the majors" from this draft class.

Rodriguez sports a low-90s fastball and what has been described as a "nasty" cutter. Baseball America had him as the 114th-best player available in the draft.

I have to be honest: I'm not a fan of this pick. There really isn't a reason for the Dodgers to be drafting college relievers (silver lining: at least it was a lefty). The Dodgers are absolutely stacked in the minors with arms and relievers are probably the easiest thing to find in baseball.

Logan White has previously used early-round selections on college relievers with mixed results. Josh Lindblom has turned out well so far, but Zach Hammes pitched just eight innings at a level higher than Double-A.

I know it's hard to judge a draft selection this early, but the 82nd pick still has value and to use it on a college reliever is puzzling.

The Dodgers' third-round pick is a lot more interesting.

With the 113th pick, the Dodgers chose Cuban left-hander Onelki Garcia. He's a "local" guy from Calbasas, Calif.

Callis said if Garcia, 22, had been available in last year's draft, he would have been their selection.

Here are some tweets about the selection:

Kevin Goldstein

"The Dodgers take Onelki Garcia, last year's weird Cuba story. He said he wants $7 million, he's not going to get $7 million."

Ben Badler

"Dodgers top 2011 international sign (by far) was Cuban RHP Raydel Sanchez ($250K), who defected in '08. Same agent who reps Onelkis Garcia."

Matt Bandy

"Onelki Garcia was the guy who showed up like the day of the draft in 2011 and nobody really knew anything about him. Was deemed ineligible."

And then the most interesting tweet, via Keith Law (courtesy of Roberto Baly):

"Law wrote this last week RT @keithlaw Onelki Garcia is demanding a $7 million bonus, and won't sign if he's not taken in the 1st round"

He obviously wasn't drafted in the first, but if the Dodgers him something close to first-round money ($2-3M), I wonder if that will change his mind. The Dodgers have just a little more than $5.2 million to sign their first 11 picks, so it'll be interesting to see what they do with Garcia.

Perhaps the Dodgers went a little "cheap" with Jesmuel Valentin and Rodriguez so they could offer Garcia a little more money. Who knows? We'll have to see what happens.

Callis said Garcia has a 90-92 MPH (reported at 92-95 last year) with a good curveball. According to Baseball America, he "reported" as a 6-foot-3, 220-pound 21-year-old prior to last year's draft.

If the Dodgers can sign him, I like this pick a lot more than the Rodriguez pick. Then again, the Dodgers might not be able to get Garcia without drafting Rodriguez.

All-Star balloting update

Matt Kemp is leading the National League in All-Star voting with nearly 2 million votes. Despite his injury, he might get voted in by the fans (and subsequently replaced, as I'm sure he won't be playing in an exhibition game).

Andre Ethier is fourth in the National League, but he's well behind Ryan Braun (less than 300,000 votes). If he keeps hitting, he'll probably be named a reserve.

Sadly, A.J. Ellis isn't even in the Top 5 in the balloting.

"A.J. Ellis does not rank among NL All-Star voting leaders at C: 1. Molina; 2. Posey; 3. McCann; 4. Ruiz; 5. Lucroy #Dodgers"

We knew he wasn't going to beat Yadier Molina, but I was hoping to see him at least get some recognition. He's going to have a tough time beating out Carlos Ruiz for the backup catcher spot in the NL.

The Dodgers have no other players in the Top 5 of fan balloting.

Elbert, Guerra among Dodgers' bullpen worries

Coming into the season, I thought the Dodgers' bullpen was going to be a strength for the team. I even made fun of the Cleveland Indian broadcast team during Spring Training when it said the bullpen would be a "huge question mark."

"Indian broadcasters said Dodger bullpen will be "a huge question mark." It's one of the strongest parts of the team, if not the strongest."

Boy, was I wrong.

There have been some strong parts of the bullpen (Josh Lindblom and Kenley Jansen), but the rest of it has been, what the broadcasters said, a huge question mark.

The bullpen blew another game today when it lost to the Cubs 4-3 in 11 innings. The Dodgers had a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, but for the third time this season, Javy Guerra blew a save. Jamey Wright went on to get the "L" in extra innings.

The Dodgers actually made a somewhat positive move this week, designating Mike MacDougal for assignment (replacing him with Ronald Belisario), but that can't fix all the problems.

While Guerra is the easiest target because he's the closer, I've been even more disappointed in Scott Elbert.

Elbert really came into his own last season, posting a 2.43 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 9.2 K/9. He was a guy Don Mattingly could rely on out of the bullpen. This season, however, Elbert's been flat-out bad: 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 16.2 H/9 and has given up two home runs in 6 2/3 innings.

Elbert was supposed to be one of the young guns out of the 'pen, but instead, he's been a liability. This is concerning because Elbert has thrown in mostly low-leverage situations, meaning he's been unsuccessful when the pressure hasn't been that great.

And being the only lefty out of the 'pen, Elbert needs to find his mojo quickly, as he's far too talented to be pitching as poorly as he has this season.

Matt Guerrier

Guerra is not without fault. Basically everyone was worried about regression with Guerra, but he came out and was damn good in his first six appearances: 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, .125 BAA and 5-for-5 in save opportunities. Since that time, he's been awful (there's no other way to put it).

It's not known if he's dealing with an injury, but his velocity would suggest he isn't. Guerra is averaging 93.4 MPH on his fastball, compared to 94 MPH last year. His slider is being thrown at the same velocity as 2011 (88.7 MPH). But he is throwing his fastball nearly 11 percent more than last season (61.5 percent to 72.1 percent). Chad Moriyama thinks that might be a problem.

No matter what the issue is, Guerra just hasn't been getting the job done. While he pitches mostly in high-leverage situations, he's been just fine when he's in low-leverage situations. Hence, a move to middle relief with Jansen and Lindblom taking over the eighth- and ninth innings might be in order.

This doesn't mean Todd Coffey and Jamey Wright are immune to the criticism -- they've been equally bad in their own right. Matt Guerrier, despite being on the disabled list, hasn't been that bad (despite a 0.8 K/BB ratio). Would Ned Colletti venture into the trade market to "fix" the bullpen?

Joel Hanrahan

We know Colletti has gotten himself in trouble trading for relievers before (Danys Baez, George Sherrill and Octavio Dotel come to mind). But if the Dodgers do explore the trade route, Joel Hanrahan might be a guy to go after.

Hanrahan, a former Dodger top prospect, has been great with Pittsburgh the last two seasons. He's a free agent after the 2013 season, so the Dodgers would have to give up something of value for him. Plus, despite the bullpen struggles, the Dodgers would still need to acquire a bat before July 31 if they're still in contention. The Dodgers might want to hold onto prospects to land a bat. That's where Shawn Tolleson comes into play.

Tolleson is dominating minor-league hitting and has been since becoming a professional. It's about time for the Dodgers to give him a chance. The bullpen is jammed up, but losing Belisario, Wright or Coffey wouldn't exactly be big losses.

In an ideal world, Jansen, who's pitched almost exclusively in the eighth inning, would be available to throw when the Dodgers need their best reliever in the game (not necessarily in the ninth inning). But relegating him to closer duties would eliminate using him in the seventh- or eighth inning when a tying run might be on the third base with less than two outs.

It's a double-edged sword. One thing's for sure -- Guerra needs to stop getting the ball in high-leverage situations. He needs to get his mechanics figured out or whatever it is that's preventing him from being successful. He's a major cog in the Dodgers' bullpen and needs to start pitching as such.

Photo credits

Guerrier: Cbl62 (Wikimedia Commons)

Hanrahan: Picasa Web Albums, UC International (Wikimedia Commons)

Dodgers' roster news as Spring Training comes closer to conclusion

The Dodgers have made a few roster moves this week as the season is set to open on Thursday in San Diego.

Cuts

Josh Bard and Cory Sullivan were released by the Dodgers. Bard was never going to make the team ahead of starter A.J. Ellis and million-dollar man Matt Treanor. There was a tweet during the contract he signed was guaranteed, but that was obviously not the case. Bard was 2-for-18 this spring.

Sullivan, notorious Dodger killer, had a decent spring, but he was a longshot to make the team anyway. I thought he'd end up in Albuquerque, but it isn't exactly a huge blow to a team with some of the most outfield depth in the minor leagues. Sullivan posted a .289/.333/.395 triple slash with one home run, seven RBI and three walks. He'll probably land a minor-league deal elsewhere. Here's hoping he never plays against the Dodgers again, though.

Disabled list

Ted Lilly was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a stiff neck. Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. reported if Lilly remains on track, he could make his season debut on April 14 against the Padres.

The move allows the Dodgers to carry one extra bullpen arm because of the team's April 9 off day. It seems it will go with a four-man rotation until Lilly returns. Stephen notes Josh Lindblom and Scott Rice are in the mix. Nathan Eovaldi might get some consideration, but since he doesn't have a rotation spot, he's best suited to begin the season in the minors. If the Dodgers go with Lindblom or Rice, I have a feeling it'll be the latter. Scott Elbert is the team's only left-hander out of the 'pen and they gave John Grabow his release earlier this week.

Adam Kennedy is also a DL candidate after suffering a pulled groin. If the Dodgers do place him on the disabled list, it could be retroactive to March 26, which means, unfortunately, he'd only miss the first series of the season.

Luis Cruz, Josh Fields and Justin Sellers are fighting for reserve roles. The fact Cruz is even being considered reeks of Hector Gimenez last spring. Having said that, he's almost a lock to make it if Kennedy begins on the DL.

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I'm starting a new weekly feature with Jared Massey of L.A. Dugout (formerly of L.A. Dodger Report and L.A. Dodger Talk). We're recording a podcast, "Dugout Blues," that is tentatively scheduled to go up every Monday. We'll talk about everything Dodgers while focusing on the minor league system a bit more than the Major League team.

I'll post links here and we'll get it on iTunes as soon as possible.

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Tango Tiger needs some input on how many games Dodger players will appear in this season in its annual "Community Forecast" feature. It's pretty simple and quick. There are only 18 entries thus far. I submitted mine on Friday.

Mike Petriello made his debut at FanGraphs on Friday, writing about Andre Ethier and how he's primed for a big season. If Ethier's spring is any indication, Petriello is going to look damn good with this article.

Petriello also thinks the Dodgers shouldn't give Ned Colletti his walking papers just yet. I'm inclined to agree. However, keeping him around longer increases his chances of remaining with the team (which are microscopic at this point).

Chad Moriyama links to ESPN LA's Ramona Shelburne and the L.A. Times' Bill Shaikin stating how Frank McCourt won't get any revenue from the parking lots at Dodger Stadium.

"So go back to the stadium and stop whining.

Thanks."

Scott Andes of Lasorda's Lair is counting down the 10 best moments in Dodger Stadium history. The most recent entry, No. 6, is something of which I have fond memories -- and I'm betting most Dodger fans do.

Zach Lee's signature could use some work, writes Greg Zakwin of Plashcke Thy Sweater is Argyle.

And this might be one of my favorite photos of all-time.

Photo credits: brendan-c on Flickr

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

Andre Ethier homered off a lefty and yes, it's news

Dodgers' outfielder Andre Ethier hit a solo home run in the second inning of today's Giant-Dodger Spring Training game. Normally, that isn't lede-worthy. But he hit it off a lefty.

OK, he hit it off Barry Zito, but it's still newsworthy.

Ethier hit just one home run last season against left-handed pitching in 141 at-bats. And it isn't that he doesn't hit for power against lefties, it's the fact he doesn't hit lefties well at all. He hit .220/.258/.305 against lefties last year and has a career line of .242/.302/.359 against left-handed pitching.

Then again, maybe Ethier just got lucky and ran into one. It was Barry Zito after all.

Here's hoping he can improve his splits because there's a push in the blogger community to have Ethier platoon. I'm still of the mindset he needs to play everyday, (with the occasional day off against lefties), but I could change my tune if Ethier doesn't improve.

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Ted Lilly was in midseason form, giving up six hits, five runs and two home runs in two innings.

Josh Fields collected his third hit of the spring -- a double (his second). He's wearing No. 37, a number worn by old friend Darren Dreifort. If he could hit as well as Dreifort, he might have a shot at making the team.

Ronald Belisario made his first appearance for the Dodgers since the Oct. 1, 2010, and Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. has the proof. He's wearing Jonathan Broxton's old No. 51. He gave up two hits in a scoreless inning of work.

Josh Lindblom and Josh Wall made their spring debuts, each tossing scoreless frames and each picking up a strikeout.

Photo credits: brendan-c (Flickr)

Dodgers sign Todd Coffey, but why?

The Dodgers signed Todd Coffey today to a 1-year, $1.3 million deal with a club option for the 2013 season.

Update (Feb. 3, 5:22 p.m.): Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has the contract details:

2012: $1 million
2013: $2.5 million option with a $300,000 buyout

This one came out of left field. But why the need? Seriously, this signing makes no sense.

The Dodgers' bullpen was already crowded, and now there's another veteran to take time away from a youngster.

Classic Ned Colletti.

If the Mike MacDougal signing didn't mean Nathan Eovaldi would begin the season in the minors, this move certainly does. It also means Josh Lindblom, he of the 2.73 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 6.4 H/9 and 8.5 K/9 will also likely begin the season in the minors.

The only legitimate justification for this signing is the Dodgers are worried about Blake Hawksworth's injury, but he's projected to return for Spring Training.

The only way this signing would have made sense is if MacDougal wasn't re-signed (and would have been a much, much better option).

Coffey's career numbers aren't great, but he's been solid for the last three seasons (his 2010 wasn't great, though). His career ground ball percentage is 51, but that number has trended down in four consecutive seasons (43.6 in 2011). He also gets lit up by left-handed hitters (.317/.388/.470 for his career), so I guess he's a ROOGY.

The only saving grace is the contract isn't pricey and is for one guaranteed year.

You may have heard about Coffey's world famous sprint to the mound. Well, Mike Petriello has a post on it, if you'd care to have a look at it.

Petriello also points out the Dodgers' 40-man roster is full, so someone is going to get Das Boot.

"The Dodgers already had a full 40-man, so someone's got to go. The bell tolls for thee, Trent Oeltjen?"

Here's hoping. Oeltjen has zero reason to be on the 40-man roster.

Photo credit: isabellamckinney (Elizabeth McKinney) on Flickr.

McCourt 'laughs' at adding Prince Fielder, plus other news

For this being a blog about the Los Angeles Dodgers, I sure am writing about a player with little-to-no-chance of being a Dodger.

Anyway, today at the MLB Owners' Meetings, soon-to-be-former Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt was asked about Prince Fielder.

He laughed. Literally.

"But, to the question of whether the Dodgers might pursue Fielder, outgoing owner Frank McCourt laughed.

'We're not going to talk about that,' McCourt said Thursday at the Major League Baseball owners' meetings.'"

McCourt does appear more focused than ever in trying to sell the Dodgers, as the bidders are lining ready to spend a billion-plus bucks to acquire the historic franchise.

There was even talk about the Brewers bringing Fielder back on a 1-year deal so he could hit the market next winter with the new Dodgers' owner in place.

Scott Boaras, Fielder's agent, probably laughed in the way McCourt laughed at the Fielder question.

Still, it might not be a bad proposition for Fielder, if he really wants to be a Dodger and play with Matt Kemp and Tony Gwynn. That, or Fielder/Boras wait to see what happens after Jan. 23 to re-assess their options.

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Reliever Blake Hawksworth underwent surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday and should be out 4-to-6 weeks.

Chad Moriyama and Mike Petriello both wondered if Hawksworth was pitching hurt toward the end of last season.

Moriyama thinks it was normalization while Petriello thinks it happened post-season.

Either way, it's good Hawksworth is getting this taken care of, as he's slated to be the Dodgers' long reliever this season. Petriello also points out this could lead to Josh Linblom making the squad out of Spring Training, if Hawksworth's recover is slower than expected.

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The Dodgers and FOX have settled the ongoing dispute over the TV rights.

Clayton Kershaw was named Sportsman of the Year by the Los Angeles Sports Council. He'll be honored on March 15. His trophy case must be filling up, especially after winning the National League Cy Young Award and a Gold Glove earlier this off-season.

Brandon Lennox of True Blue L.A. is counting down the Dodgers' top 200 prospects. He's down to No. 131.

Dodger Bobble has some details about the Vin Scully bobblehead (Aug. 30). I'm really going to try to make it to that one.

Jon Weisman asks who will be in the Dodgers' rotation in 2013. He lists 10 legitimate candidates. Hmm... 10-man rotation anyone?

Evan Bladh of Opinion of Kingman's Performance wonders why the Dodgers are so hated.

Roberto Baly of Vin Scully is my Homeboy has a look at the latest billionaire to enter the bidding. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN L.A. has a more in-depth look at Josh Macciello.

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' bullpen hit hard by injuries

Kenley Jansen was placed on the 15-day disabled list today, with the Dodgers calling up Josh Lindblom from Double-A and designating Travis Schlichting for assignment.

The top four (arguably) Dodger bullpen arms are all on the DL: Jansen, Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo and Vicente Padilla.

If you had the Dodger bullpen shaping up like this on May 29...

Rubby De La Rosa, Scott Elbert, Javy Guerra, Matt Guerrier, Lindblom, Mike MacDougal, Ramon Troncoso

...I'd like to get the lottery numbers from you.

Lindblom will be the third Dodger pitcher to make his debut this season (De La Rosa, Guerra). With Blake Hawksworth suffering a setback in his rehab, this could be the bullpen for the foreseeable future.

This puts pressure on the starting pitchers with a largely untested bunch of youngsters. Guerrier is the most dependable of the bunch, while De La Rosa has the most upside. So far, Elbert and Guerra have been great. MacDougal's low ERA is quite deceiving and Troncoso is, well, Troncoso (not the 2009 Troncoso either).

We'll see if manager Don Mattingly challenges his starters to throw deeper into games. Clayton Kershaw, who's pitching as I write this, has thrown 84 and 85 pitches (11 IP) in his last two outings. That's not nearly enough for the staff ace (averaging 100.8 per start). Ted Lilly, despite his struggles, has thrown more than 100 pitches just once this season (102 on May 20 at the White Sox). He's averaging 88.1 pitches per start (higher than his career average of 87.7). He could stand to pitch a bit more, if he isn't too busy giving up home runs. Chad Billingsley leads the staff in pitches per start (101.5) and has thrown 100 pitches or more in five consecutive starts and seven of his last eight starts. Hiroki Kuroda is averaging 97.7 pitches per start, while Jon Garland is averaging 92.5 pitches per start.

The rash of injuries this team has suffered is abnormal, but it's the reality of baseball (and all professional sports).

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Zach Lee, making his first start today in three weeks, was roughed up. He pitched 2/3 innings, giving up three hits, six runs, one home run, two walks while striking out one. I just hope he's rusty from the time off. The last thing the Dodgers want to do is rush this kid back -- especially from an elbow injury.

Dodger pitching prospects looking to bounce back

Many highly-ranked Dodger prospects had poor 2010 seasons. The 2011 season is a chance for them to either prove they're still legitimate, high-ceiling prospects or if they're going to be middling, mediocre players.

Nathan Eovaldi (my 2009 prospect rank: 8), Josh Lindblom (4), Ethan Martin (2) and Chris Withrow (3) all come to mind. It's just a coincidence that they're all hard-throwing right-handed pitchers, but they all had poor 2010 seasons.

Eovaldi had the "best" season of the bunch, posting a 4.30 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 9/9 H/9 and 1.95 K/BB ratio last year. He seems to be ticketed for the bullpen. One bright spot is he pitched against the White Sox on Monday and just went right through the hitters. Of course, this was in the ninth inning against minor leaguers and guys who likely won't make the team, so take it for what it's worth.

Eovaldi needs to be in the bullpen from now on. He has yet to develop a third pitch and his strikeout rate is low for a guy who throws in the mid-90s. If he focuses on being a power reliever, his stock could improve dramatically this season.

Lindblom is in a similar situation to Eovaldi, except for the fact many prognosticated that he'd end up being a reliever when the Dodgers drafted him in the second round of the 2008 MLB Draft. He has a heavy low-to-mid-90s fastball and a potential out pitch with his slider. He pitched better out of the 'pen at Albuquerque last year and the Dodgers have finally come to grips with him being a reliever. That could be the best thing for his development.

Martin is one of the most athletic players in the system and looked promising after his 2009 debut. However, he fell flat on his face in 2010. He failed to throw strikes which led to his poor performance. If Martin has another bad season on the bump, the Dodgers could -- and should -- seriously consider moving him to third base. A lot of teams saw him as a power-hitting third baseman out of high school, but the Dodgers were intrigued with mid-90s fastball and power curveball that they couldn't pass up a chance at another prep, right-handed flamethrower.

And then there's Withrow, who many people are still high on despite a bad season at Double-A. Withrow has the most talent and potential of any starter not named Zach Lee, but he, like Martin, failed to throw strikes last season. If he can get back on track, the system would improve greatly.

The Dodgers don't necessarily need all four of these guys to regain their previous form (but it wouldn't hurt). The Dodgers have a lot of pitching depth in the minors, but if just one of the future starters or relievers come through, the system's strength improves.

The two most likely guys to bounce back are Lindblom and Withrow. Lindblom has 225+ innings under his belt and seems to finally be settled as a reliever. Withrow, despite the poor showing, still had an 8.3 K/9, which isn't terrible. He still has strikeout stuff. If he throws strikes, he's more likely to get back to his 2009 Double-A form than Martin is getting back on track.

The bottom line is, the Dodger system has improved in Baseball America's organizational ranking to No. 12 this season -- a season after the above four had bad seasons. If these guys bounce back, it will on spell good things for the Dodgers. They are future pieces to the team or pieces in a future trade.

Most disappointing players and prospects

The 2010 season, while not over, has been a disappointment for the Dodgers. Despite not making any major moves in the off-season, the core of a 95-win team returned. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier were coming off career seasons and Clayton Kershaw established himself as a top-of-the-rotation pitcher.

But it just hasn't come together as some thought it would, and should, have.

This is a list of my three most disappointing players and prospects in the Dodger organization.

MLB players

C Russell Martin
- I have railed on Martin enough, but suffice it to say, he has been going downhill for the last nearly three years. And now he's out for the rest of the season.

3B Casey Blake
- Blake has performed like one would expect a 36-year-old third basemen to perform. After a solid .280/.363/.468/.832 line in 2009, Blake has completely fallen off from those numbers. He's putting up .247/.324/.401/.725 this season while striking out in 26.1 percent of his at-bats, which is up from 22.4 percent for his career. His WAR was a surprising 6.1 last season. This year, it's 1.3. There's no doubt he's been one of the most disappointing.

RHP Ronald Belisario
- A key cog in the Dodger bullpen in 2009, Belisario was late getting into big league camp because of Visa issues. Then just when it seemed he was getting back to the 2009 Belisario, he is placed on the restricted list for unknown reasons (rumors are it was for substance/alcohol abuse). If Belisario had been a steady contributor to the 'pen, the Dodgers might not have had to waste resources on Octavio Dotel. He is slated to come back Tuesday in Philadelphia. He has nearly two months to win over the management.

Just missed: RHP Ramon Troncoso

Prospects

RHP Chris Withrow
- Withrow was my No. 3 prospect coming into the season and No. 2 by Baseball America. He had a taste of Double-A last year (27 1/3 innings, 8.6 K/9, 3.95 ERA), but his full season in Double-A is a tad disconcerting. His numbers are worse across the board: ERA up to 5.29; WHIP up to 1.61; K/BB down to 1.73; K/9 down to 8.6; H/9 up to 9.6; BB/9 up to 4.9. One thing he has working in his favor is his age. He's only 21 and playing against advanced competition. Next season will determine whether or not he's a future No. 2 starter.

RHP Ethan Martin
- Martin has disappointed much like Withrow. At A+ Inland Empire, Martin is putting up worse numbers than Withrow -- 5.61 ERA, 1.67 WHIP; 1.4 K/BB, 8.2 K/9, 9.1 H/9, 5.9 BB/9 -- at a lower level. Like Withrow, Martin is just 21 years old, so he has time to turn it around. However, he has a lot of work to do to get back to elite prospect status (was No. 2 on my Top 30 and No. 9 on my Midseason Top 15).

RHP Josh Lindblom
- Lindblom went from potentially making the major league roster out of Spring Training in 2009 to regressing mightily in Triple-A. He is strictly working out of the bullpen now, which is where most predicted he'd end up. He has a lofty 6.18 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and a scary 12.9 H/9 at Albuquerque. He dropped from No. 4 on my list in November to outside the top 15 on my midseason list. Despite the troubles, he still has a chance to be a solid MLB reliever.

Just missed: OF Kyle Russell

I'm not all doom-and-gloom, though. Stay tuned later in the week for my most surprising list -- both major leaguers and prospects.