Zack Greinke solid in final spring start, Rodriguez and Sellers make team

This hasn't been the greatest month for Zack Greinke leading up to the start of the 2013 season, but Saturday night was the most encouraging sight from him since he signed his mega contract in the winter.

Greinke made his final spring training start on Saturday against Angels and fared pretty well. It was just his second start in the last 29 days, so it's understandable if he's still a little rusty.

• Greinke's line: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 81 pitches, 45 strikes

The final line is definitely acceptable for a spring training outing, even if the strike percentage could have been better (55.5 percent), but that's being nitpicky at this point.

It was just 18 days ago we were concerned about Greinke's elbow. And while he had a poor first outing on Monday, his outing in Anaheim was just fine.

Greinke hit as high as 95 MPH on the radar gun (according to MLB Gameday) with his fastball and threw his other three pitches consistently.

Greinke makes his regular season Dodger debut on Friday against the Pirates. If anyone would like to donate about $200, I can be in attendance for that game as I'm heading to Southern California this weekend for a wedding (not mine). If not, I guess I'll just have to listen to it on the radio.

As long as he's healthy, Greinke is going to be great this season. He's the perfect complement to Clayton Kershaw.

Roster cuts made, 25-man almost finalized

In somewhat of a surprise, Alex Castellanos and Kevin Gregg were among 11 players reassigned to minor-league camp after Saturday night's game.

Alfredo Amezaga, Stephen Fife, Elian Herrera, Peter Moylan, Josh Wall and Matt Wallach were the others sent down immediately after the game. The rest of the names will be announced by tomorrow's 12 p.m. deadline.

It was also announced the Dodgers will have four players begin the season on the disabled list: Chad Billingsley (short-term stay), Scott Elbert, Ted Lilly and Hanley Ramirez.

This means Paco Rodriguez and Justin Sellers have made the opening day roster. Both are surprising, but Rodriguez is refreshing while Sellers is head-scratching.

The Dodgers, barring a trade, will have three lefties in the bullpen (J.P. Howell and Chris Capuano) to start the season. Rodriguez has shown the ability to get right-handers out just was well as left-handers. His fastball/slider/cutter combination is nasty.

Sellers, who I'm sure was on the chopping block after his Jan. 19 arrest in West Sacramento, made the team due to Ramirez's injury. While Sellers is a good defender, he isn't much with the bat -- like Luis Cruz, but worse.

There's chatter Sellers could play more shortstop than Cruz until Ramirez comes back, thus effectively benching Juan Uribe. If Sellers making this team means less Uribe, then I should be much happier.

The roster is at 28 players. There could be a trade tomorrow (Aaron Harang or Capuano) or some outright releases (Matt Guerrier). It remains to be seen.

Garcia takes the loss

Dodger reliever prospect Yimi Garcia pitched the bottom of the ninth inning tonight and, except for the walk-off home run he allowed to Angels' catcher Hank Conger, looked pretty good.

I have admittedly never seen him pitch, so it was a nice little treat.

Garcia featured a fastball that clocked in at 89-92 MPH, a changeup in the mid-80s and a slider at 79-81 MPH. He struck out the first two batters he faced (both swinging) -- Brendan Harris on a nice, sharp slider and an 89 MPH fastball to Kole Calhoun.

After a ball to Hank Conger, Garcia left an 89 MPH fastball out and over the plate and Conger deposited it into the right-center field seats, ending the game.

Garcia made it to High-A Rancho Cucamonga last year, and I suspect he'll begin the 2013 season there. If so, I should be able to see him in person.

Photo credits: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Podcast: 'Dugout Blues' episode 30 - Puig, Billingsley, Ryu, bullpen, signings

On this episode of "Dugout Blues," Jared Massey (Dodger Diamond) and talk about the questions and stories surrounding the Dodgers leading up to the season's start.

The Dodgers optioned Yasiel Puig to Double-A Chattanooga on Tuesday. It was the right move, but also a possible temporary move. He'll be the one of the first players recalled if (when) the Dodgers need him.

We also talk about Dee Gordon getting optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. We prefer that Gordon get the starting shortstop gig, pushing Luis Cruz back to third base. Instead, the Dodgers are going with some sort of Juan Uribe/Jerry Hairston combination.

Chad Billingsley is going to miss his first start and likely begin the season on the disabled list. This paves the way for Hyun-Jin Ryu to start the team's second game of the season against the Giants.

Kyle Lohse signed with the Brewers on Monday. Because of the signing, they lose their first-round pick at No. 17. The Dodgers, originally slated to choose at No. 19, move up one spot. They landed Corey Seager at No. 18 last year.

Who's going to get the final spot in the bullpen? It's down to Kevin Gregg (likely), Peter Moylan (less likely) and Paco Rodriguez (least likely).

We touch on the Dodgers' two new international signings (Bernardo Reyes and Jesus Canivales). Jared also redid his Top 20 prospect list because he "hated" his first incarnation of it.

Finally, we close with listener questions. Some pretty good ones, including a gaming one that gets us off on a predictable tangent.

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Look for new episodes of "Dugout Blues" every Wednesday. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we're always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

If you have questions you'd like us to answer or certain topics/players you want to hear more about, feel free to email us (ladugout@gmail.com or feelinkindablue@gmail.com) or send us messages on Twitter (@Dodger_Diamond or @FeelinKindaBlue). You can also "Like" the podcast on Facebook. We always welcome audience participation.

Image credit: Joe Martin

Dodgers have some tough decisions to make about opening day roster

The Dodgers have 38 players remaining in Major League camp after releasing reliever Mark Lowe on Sunday. The number has to be down to 25 by the time the Dodgers open the season on April 1 at Dodger Stadium against the Giants.

There are clearly locks for the roster (Kemp, Kershaw, et al), and some who weren't locks just as recently as a couple weeks ago (Uribe).

There are still some decisions to make regarding the first 25 -- the biggest of which being Yasiel Puig.

There are also decisions to be made about the bullpen and the Dodgers' excess starting pitchers.

The locks

Catcher (2/2)
A.J. Ellis
Tim Federowicz

Infield (5/5)
Luis Cruz
Mark Ellis
Adrian Gonzalez
Nick Punto 
Hanley Ramirez (DL)
Juan Uribe

Outfield (4/6)
Andre Ethier
Jerry Hairston
Matt Kemp
Skip Schumaker

Starting pitcher (5/5)
Josh Beckett
Chad Billingsley
Zack Greinke
Clayton Kershaw
Ted Lilly (DL)
Hyun-Jin Ryu

Relief pitcher (5/7)
Ronald Belisario
Chris Capuano
J.P. Howell
Kenley Jansen
Brandon League

There are only a few spots still up for contention. A couple spots in the bullpen and a couple spots on the bench.

With Ramirez's injury, Uribe (unfortunately) becomes a lock, as Cruz will move to shortstop from third base. My preference is for Dee Gordon to get a shot at shortstop and to keep Cruz at third while Ramirez is out. That doesn't appear too likely at this point.

The big question comes in the outfield. While all signs point to Carl Crawford being ready for April 1, I'm still not convinced. Oh, and there's the Puig question. When spring training started, there was virtually no chance of Puig breaking camp with the team. Now, it's a legitimate question, even if folks in the know think he's destined for Double-A.

Also, Alex Castellanos was vying for the 25th-man spot before Puig took off. He could still get a shot, especially if Crawford is ready on time.

My guess: Crawford and Castellanos make the team.

In the bullpen, the Dodgers have a couple spots to fill. At this point, I have Capuano making the 'pen as a long reliever, making Howell the only situational lefty available. That gives Paco Rodriguez a better chance to make the club. Scott Elbert isn't fully recovered from his two winter surgeries, also giving Rodriguez a good shot of making the club.

As for non-roster invitees, Kevin Gregg and Peter Moylan are the only two remaining. The Dodgers seem to have a non-roster invitee -- usually a reliever -- make the squad.

• Gregg's line: 9 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 HR 0 BB, 4 K
• Moylan's line: 7 1/3 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 3 HR, 4 BB, 8 K

If we're going off spring training stats (which we shouldn't), Gregg is the clear winner. However, Moylan has better numbers in the regular season. But Moylan has thrown just 13 1/3 innings in the last two season -- combined. I don't think both pitchers make the squad, though.

The Dodgers could do something surprising and go with Josh Wall, who has struck out 12 batters in 10 1/3 spring innings. But that probably won't happen.

My guess: Rodriguez and Moylan get the nod to fill out the bullpen.

As for Aaron Harang, I really think he's traded or designated for assignment by opening day. He seems like the worst fit of the Dodgers' surplus of starters to pitch out of the bullpen.

Here's hoping a team steps up and makes a play for Harang. even a fringy reliever prospect would be just fine.

Portion of Ramirez's salary to be paid by WBC

Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal reported Sunday the World Baseball Classic will be responsible for Hanley Ramirez's salary while he's on the disabled list.

Once player misses 30 days, salary for missed time covered in full. Also, he can be covered if injured during WBC, then suffers re-injury.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 25, 2013

For the pre-2012 Dodgers, this would have been great. For a team projected to have a $230-plus million payroll, it doesn't really matter much. It's at least a "nice" consolation for losing Ramirez for two months.

First mock draft of 2013

John Sickels at Minor League Ball posted his first 2013 mock draft on Saturday. Sickels alternated picks with Matt Garrioch, a writer fro the site. Garrioch had the Dodgers' pick and mocked RHP Dustin Driver from Wenatchee High School (Wash.) at No. 19.

"The Dodgers have went a different direction under their new ownership but due to the new basic agreement spending restrictions, I don't see it changing their philosophy in the draft. Jon Crawford could join his Florida teammate quickly if they would go that direction. Ryan Boldt is a name worth considering here as is currently injured Austin Wilson. Reese McGuire could be an intriguing pick here, as they really have no catching depth but that could actually hinder him if they would rush him just because they lack depth and that urge would be there. I think I will go with a local high school arm in Dustin Driver, RHP, California HS"

Driver is 6'2, 210 pounds with a solid fastball for a prep pitcher (91-93 MPH, touches 94). Some view him as a relief prospect because he lacks consistent secondary offerings. But he fits the Logan White profile: high schooler with projectable frame and a quality fastball. Here's a video of him at a high school showcase in San Diego.

The draft is less than three months away. Looking forward to it.

Photo credits: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Podcast: 'Dugout Blues' episode 23 - Dodgers, prospect lists, signings

On this episode of "Dugout Blues," Jared Massey (L.A. Dugout) and I somehow talk for more than an hour despite almost no news in Dodger land.

We examine both MLB.com's Top 20 and Keith Law's Top 10 (subscription required) Dodgers' prospects. MLB.com's has some curious rankings, thus we spend more time talking about it..

We also touch on the Mark Lowe and Kevin Gregg signings as much as we can.

We talk a little about Felix Hernandez's mega deal and how it impacts Clayton Kershaw -- something I wrote about over a Yahoo! Sports for its Contributor Network.

Per usual, we close with listener questions. Which new acquisition are we most excited to see? What is our ideal lineup right now? Does Andre Ethier need a platoon partner? How man stolen bases will Matt Kemp have in 2013?

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Look for new episodes of "Dugout Blues" every Wednesday. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we're always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

If you have questions you'd like us to answer or certain topics/players you want to hear more about, feel free to email us (ladugout@gmail.com or feelinkindablue@gmail.com) or send us messages on Twitter (@LADugout or @FeelinKindaBlue). You can also "Like" the podcast on Facebook. We always welcome audience participation.

Image credit: Joe Martin