Dodgers 3, Padres 2: Yasiel Puig disrespects San Diego with a Monster homer

The Dodgers moved to 3-1 on the young season with a win over the Padres behind Puig's bat and Zack Greinke's solid season debut.

• Puig hit his first home run of the season, a 2-run bomb to left. It was so, so disrespectful. He also singled.
• Juan Uribe had his second 3-hit game of the season as he doubled once and singled twice.
• Greinke threw five innings of two-run ball, allowing four baserunners while fanning five and walking two. He also allowed a long-ball and threw a wild pitch.
• Kenley Jansen worked out of a tough bases-loaded ninth inning jam to close the door on the Friars, striking out a pair in the process.
• Chris Withrow, Paco Rodriguez, and J.P. Howell all threw scoreless innings in relief of Greinke.

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Brian Wilson is headed to the DL with elbow issues. Eric Stephen of True Blue LA has more on the injury and Wilson's attempt to pitch through it on Sunday.

Looking at the Dodgers' numerous bullpen options for 2014

The Dodgers have a LOT of guys who are viable bullpen options, not even counting starting pitchers who are biding time. It's likely all these guys see action at some point during the year, but what should the pecking order should be?

I looked at the peripheral stats for all the guys and projected how I think they'll do this year. The rigorous approach led to some surprises and insights. Here's my list of candidates, and projections for these players, with Dodger Stadium as their home park, in 2014.

Pitcher	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	ERA
Kenley Jansen	12.6	2.5	0.7	2.10
Brian Wilson	8.9	3.9	0.3	2.77
Jose Dominguez	8.5	4.3	0.4	3.15
Paco Rodriguez (L)	10.2	4.5	0.7	3.29
Jamey Wright	7.0	3.5	0.6	3.53
Yimi Garcia	8.6	3.3	1.1	3.64
Javy Guerra	7.5	4.0	0.7	3.76
Chris Perez	8.4	3.4	1.1	3.89
J.P. Howell (L)	7.6	3.8	0.9	3.91
Scott Elbert (L)	9.0	4.3	1.0	3.96
Brandon League	5.4	2.7	1.0	4.08
Seth Rosin	6.5	3.6	1.1	4.15
Onelki Garcia (L)	7.9	5.4	0.9	4.17
Chris Withrow	9.1	5.2	1.2	4.79

Kenley Jansen, of course, is a beast, and I feel good about Brian Wilson ($10 million looks like an overpay in light of later "closer" signings this winter, but whatever). Rodriguez ought to bounce back from a poor close to the season. That's three good guys, which goes a long way to having a solid bullpen. Relievers are volatile, but you can be pretty sure about the A-listers here at least.

Chris Perez and Brandon League are what they are -- and it could go a lot worse than what you see here.

Some guys I thought were pretty good actually just got lucky last year, or temporarily elevated themselves (I'll believe it's permanent if they do it again), and I'm not sure I see them carrying their performance level through to 2014. I'm speaking specifically about J.P. Howell and Chris Withrow.

A lot of people are down on Withrow, and I couldn't see why. I remember him getting a lot of outs last year. He did better in the majors than he ever did in the minors in terms of strikeouts and walks. He also had a completely unsustainable .205 batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Howell also had a crazy-low BABIP (.241) and a HR rate 1/3 of his career average.

On the other hand, I think there's a few guys who I weren't thinking of that highly who could surprise this year.

Jose Dominguez , Yimi Garica and Javy Guerra look ready to make the jump to solid big-league contributors. Dominguez is going to get the strikeouts with that 100 MPH fastball, and I think he'll continue to limit the number of home runs he allows. His control isn't great, but it'll play. Yimi Garcia has a great slider that's striking out everyone. Guerra has been up and down, but if you normalize his BABIP & HR/FB, he actually looked good last year in both the majors and Triple-A. Jamey Wright is an ageless marvel. Seth Rosin, I don't see what the Dodgers see.

Rodriguez and Howell have the two lefty spots pretty much locked up. Scott Elbert Onelki Garcia are both recovering from surgery. Elbert is a mid-year return, while Garcia hopefully is ready close to opening day.

As far as minor-league starters spending a little time in the bullpen, I see Zach Lee (4.22 ERA) and Stephen Fife (4.28) as not that great this year. Chris Reed (4.69) and Matt Magill (4.96) just do not look good to me. Ross Stripling (3.56) is the one guy I think could contribute in that role. The numbers in parentheses are how I project them as major league starters, so perhaps they'd do a bit better in the bullpen (on average, bullpen ERAs are about 0.3 lower despite having lower quality pitchers than starting rotations). However, maybe they'd have a hard time adjusting (Fife's season was basically ruined by the disruption last year).

Paul Maholm (3.83), Josh Beckett (3.80) and Chad Billingsley (3.55) all might or might not be asked to get in the bullpen business too, with Dan Haren (3.62) as an extreme outside shot. Most likely, they'd be at least toward the middle to upper-end of the pack if they had to do that.

A lot will go into the decision besides performance -- who has what kind of contract situation in terms of minor league options, Rule 5 status, etc. There's also who the Dodgers might want to showcase for a trade, or how Beckett's recovery is going, and so on. But opening day is just a point in time. People will get injured or be ineffective and others will get their chances.

Photo credit: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Seth Rosin's chances of remaining with Dodgers better than some expect

When the Dodgers acquired right-hander Seth Rosin from the Mets, following New York selecting him in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft, not much was made about it at the time.

Rosin, 25, has never pitched above Double-A, and was just mediocre at the level in 2013 (4.33 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 6.8 K/9). But that was as a starting pitcher. He'll shift back to the bullpen, where he has spent a majority of his minor-league innings.

At 6'6, 250 pounds, it's hard to miss him on the field. With a low-90s fastball that touches 94 MPH, he has the velocity to succeed in the majors. He also seems to have the command to do so. His career walks per nine innings rate is 2.7. Sure, it'd probably tick up a bit in the majors, but he's adept at throwing strikes.

If Rosin were able to miss more bats consistently, he could find himself in a Major League bullpen. To make the Dodgers' bullpen, a lot of things are going to have to go in his favor.

Dodger relievers with MLB deals
J.P. Howell
Kenley Jansen
Brandon League
Chris Perez
Brian Wilson
Jamey Wright

Dodger relievers with MiLB options
Jose Dominguez
Paco Rodriguez
Chris Withrow

Barring anything unforeseen, all six of the pitchers from the first list are going to make the team in some fashion. The only conceivable way one doesn't is if League is designated for assignment.

Of the three on the second list, Rodriguez is a sure bet to be in the Dodgers' bullpen come opening day. If he weren't, that means Howell would be the team's only left-handed reliever.

Eric Stephen wrote a piece about Rosin earlier this week. He got an interesting quote from General Manager Ned Colletti.

"'I'm very interested in seeing what he can bring. Great arm, very competitive, very sharp,' (Colletti) said. 'He may be a power arm out of the pen, he may be somebody who could pitch multiple innings out of the pen, he could be a spot starter.'"

That versatility is an attractive feature to have, especially to the Dodgers, which lack a true long-reliever right now.

Colletti also had good things to say about him in Bill Plunkett's article on Baseball America on Sunday.

"'We had good reports on him,' (Colletti said). 'He's a big guy with a live arm and he's a smart kid. The day we traded for him, he finished his last final to get his degree from the University of Minnesota.

'That doesn’t speak to the baseball side but it says something about the kid.'"

This probably means absolutely nothing, but the Dodgers' 2013 first-round pick Chris Anderson is from the Minnesota area and second-rounder Tom Windle went to the University of Minnesota. Just interesting to note.

Rosin was invited to the Dodgers' Winter Development Program, the Dodgers' annual symposium-type even for prospects and young players close to the majors. If the Dodgers didn't really think Rosin had a chance to make the club, he would not have been invited.

As a Rule 5 draftee, Rosin would have to be on the active roster when the seasons start -- either on the 25-man roster or on the disabled list. If the Dodgers do not retain him, he'd be placed on waivers for any team to claim. If he goes unclaimed, he'd have to be offered back to the Phillies for $25,000. If they refuse, the Dodgers could then send him to the minor leagues. The Dodgers could also negotiate a trade with Philadelphia to keep him around. I don't see him making it that far. If he throws well in spring, the Dodgers could find a way to keep him. If he is waived, he'd surely be claimed.

As a flyball pitcher, his profile fits well in Dodger Stadium. I put a 70 percent chance he'd be cut to make room on the 40-man roster. After hearing the good things about him from the Dodgers, I'm not so certain.

A team can never have too much pitching. That adage usually holds true, unless one of those pitchers is a Rule 5 draftee.

It's a tough road ahead for Rosin, but he has a better chance of remaining in Los Angeles than it may seem. I'll say this: I'd take Rosin over league in a heartbeat.

Photo credit: woolenium, Flickr

Dodgers' signing of Jamey Wright could signal something is brewing

After the Dodgers reportedly agreed to terms with Chris Perez late Sunday night, it was a safe assumption they were done adding pieces to the bullpen. But the Dodgers apparently agreed to a 1-year contract with former Dodger (and just about everyone else) Jamey Wright.

I wrote about Wright when the Dodgers reportedly had interest in him at the Winter Meetings.

"Something to note is the reduced ground ball percentage. The nearly 11 percent decline didn't result in an outrageous rise in his home run per fly ball rate, which was likely because he struck out more than a batter per nine innings more in 2013 than he did in 2012.

He'll be 39 later this month, so there's no guarantee the success will continue. But on a 1-year deal, Wright would be well worth a look.

Wright has made a Major League rosters in each of the last eight seasons as a non-roster invitee. This year, it seems he won't have to be an NRI, as NRIs don't usually get inked in December -- especially those who have been really solid the last couple of years."

He probably didn't agree to a minor-league deal, so this creates quite the full bullpen in Los Angeles.

Bullpen locks
J.P. Howell
Kenley Jansen
Chris Perez
Paco Rodriguez
Brian Wilson
Jamey Wright

Bullpen hopefuls
Jose Dominguez
Brandon League
Seth Rosin
Chris Withrow

Bullpen longshots
Stephen Fife
Onelki Garcia
Yimi Garcia
Matt Magill

Injured
Chad Billingsley
Scott Elbert

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That's 16 players for -- at most -- seven spots. Because guys like Dominguez and Withrow have options, they're likely the odd men out. Rosin was a Rule 5 draftee. If he's to remain with the Dodgers, he'll have to be on the 25-man roster (or the disabled list). I only put League here because he was atrocious in 2013 and I could see the Dodgers eating that money (though, it isn't likely).

Billingsley and Elbert will be placed on the 60-day disabled list. Billingsley is expected to pitch later this season, so he'll almost assuredly be back.

The Wright signing could signal a couple things:

1. Perez (or Howell, I suppose) failed his (their) physical(s)
2. There's a trade brewing

Of the two, I'd say No. 2 is more likely. Guess it could be David Price, but I wouldn't call it a lock. Maybe a minor(ish) trade involving Withrow or Dominguez, because having guys like Perez, League and Wright instead of Withrow makes zero sense.

We'll see what happens. Wright is a solid reliever, but the bullpen is now overflowing with available arms. Something has to give here.

Photo credit: Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons

Dodgers to re-sign J.P. Howell to surprisngly reasonable 2-year deal

J.P. Howell was supposed to break the bank (for him and lefty relievers) this winter, but he didn't. He is reportedly set to re-sign with the Dodgers for two years and $11.25 million. There's also a mutual option of $6.25 million for 2016 that vests with 120 appearances in 2014-15.

Howell has made 122 appearances the last two seasons, so if he pitches enough for his option to vest, it'll almost be surely because he has pitched well.

By comparison, Javier Lopez got three years and $13 million from the Giants and Boone Logan got three years and $16.5 million from the Rockies.  Howell at two years, $11.25 million (up to $17.5 million in three years) looks awfully good.

What separates Howell from Lopez and Logan is the fact he can get right-handers out -- something that makes him more valuable to the Dodgers.

With Paco Rodriguez faltering down the stretch, the Dodgers needed another left-hander in the 'pen. Considering the options, they couldn't have done better.

I had Howell pegged at two years and $7 million, but that was before the market developed. I tweeted in the last week or so I'd be fine with giving him a $18 million over three years. I wrote a few weeks ago a 3-year deal was just fine with me.

I'd even argue re-signing Howell is a more important move than re-signing Brian Wilson.

The bullpen is just about wrapped up. With the addition of Seth Rosin as a potential long-reliever, the Dodgers might not need another high-profile bullpen signing. If they don't want to go with Jose Dominguez or Brandon League, perhaps another right-hander could be brought in. Jamey Wright had been mentioned before, and I'd be good with that.

Howell wasn't a sure bet to return to the Dodgers, but his California ties (born in Modesto, went to school in Carmichael, lives in Los Angeles) probably played into his decision. Oh, and that whole "Playing for a championship" thing.

Photo credit: Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons