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The Silver Slugging duo of Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp

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Highest slugging percentage by a Dodger outfielder, through age 24 season (minimum 1,000 plate appearances):

Highest slugging percentage by a Dodger outfielder, through age 27 season (minimum 1,000 plate appearances):

Thanks, as usual, to the amazing Baseball-Reference.com for the info.

More photos » by Tony Avelar - AP

Justin Miller spent 2009 in the San Francisco bullpen

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Here's a brief rundown of the 2010 minor league deals signed by the Dodgers:

Justin Miller RHP
2010 Age: 32
Per Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, Miller will earn $850,000 if in the majors with a potential for $50,000 in incentives

Josh Towers RHP
2010 Age: 33
Per the Associated Press, Towers will earn $700,000 if in the majors and $100,000 if in the minors

Prentice Redman OF
2010 Age: 30
Here's a 2008 video of Redman and Josh Womack with some insane bat spinning tricks:

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Josh Towers' best season was 2005, when he went 13-12 with a 3.71 ERA in Toronto (image via Wikimedia Commons

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After the Yankees acquired someone, in Jamie Hoffmann, the Dodgers did not want on their 40-man roster, the Dodgers returned the favor, in a way.

The Dodgers have signed pitcher Josh Towers to a minor league deal, according to the Associated Press.  Towers, who turns 33 in February, put up a 2.74 ERA in 19 appearances (18 starts) with the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in 2009.  He started 2009 in the Nationals' system, but was released after just one appearance with Triple A Syracuse.  The Yankees called up Towers twice during the season, but he appeared in just two September games in mop-up duty.  He is a low walk, low strikeout pitcher, averaging 1.5 walks and 4.8 strikeouts per nine innings in his major league career.

Towers has a split contract that will pay him $700,000 in the major leagues, and $100,000 while in the minor leagues.

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Jamie Hoffmann will now wear pinstripes

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For a team operating against the limits of its budget, the Dodgers seem to be losing on the margins.  The latest example came this morning, when Jamie Hoffmann became a Yankee with the first pick of the Rule 5 draft.  Technically, the Nationals picked Hoffmann, but he was traded to the Yankees to complete the Brian Bruney trade.

There's a chance this will work out in the end for the Dodgers anyway, but losing Hoffmann was an unnecessary risk.  The Dodgers had 33 players on their 40-man roster, and unless you think the Dodgers will sign seven free agents, there is no reason Jamie Hoffmann couldn't have been added to the 40-man roster.  Especially when one of those roster spots is occupied by Jason Repko, an older player who isn't as good as Hoffmann, and is arbitration eligible, out of options, and likely to be non-tendered on Saturday anyway!

Per Rule 5 draft procedure, the Dodgers receive $50,000 from the Yankees (or Nationals; I'm not sure how they worked that out in the trade), and Hoffmann must stay on the Yankees' 25-man roster all season long, or they must offer him back to the Dodgers for half the Rule 5 fee ($25,000).  So there is a chance Hoffmann could still end up a Dodger by season's end, but losing him in the first place was unnecessary.

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UPDATE: per Dylan Hernandez, the Dodgers plan to tender contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players by the Saturday deadline, meaning the Dodgers actually prefer Repko to Hoffmann.

UPDATE 2: per Silverwidow's detective work, it appears Repko amazingly still has an option remaining:

• 2005: optioned for only nine days, less than the requisite 20 days to count as an optional assignment
• 2006: only in minors on rehab assignment
• 2007: on major league disabled list all year
• 2008: first option year used
• 2009: second option year used
  

UPDATE 3: Josh Rawitch on Inside the Dodgers had this to report:

Ned told the media today that he'd be comfortable with a healthy Jason Repko as the fourth or fifth outfielder and I know there are a lot of Repko fans in LA, myself included. He's a great kid with a lot of talent and hopefully he'll be healthy in 2010.

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In other Rule 5 news, the Giants selected reliever Steve Johnson, who was acquired from the Dodgers by the Orioles in July in the George Sherrill trade.

Also, per Dylan Hernandez, the Dodgers sent cash to the Mets for their Rule 5 pick, Carlos Monasterios.  Monasterios, acquired by the Phillies in the Bobby Abreu trade, will be 24 in March and had a 3.73 ERA mostly in high A ball in 2009.  The Dodgers must keep him on the 25-man roster all season long, or offer him back to Philadelphia for $25,000.

Hernandez chimes in with more news, that the Dodgers also sent cash to the Rays for their Rule 5 pick, Armando Zerpa.  Zerpa, who turns 23 in February, spent five years in the Red Sox system and never advanced past high A.  In his minor league career, the left-handed Zerpa averages five walks and nine strikeouts per nine innings. Like Monasterios, the Dodgers have to keep Zerpa on the active roster all season, or offer him back to the Sox. 

What are the odds both Monasterios and Zerpa stick with the team?  I would guess pretty low, especially with the bullpen depth the Dodgers currently have.  Might a trade or two be in the works?

The Dodgers now have 35 players on their 40-man roster.

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Juan Pierre may be traded to fill a hole in the starting rotation.

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Through three days of the winter meetings, the Dodgers haven't made any deals, but we do have a better idea of their plans this offseason.  Randy Wolf signed with the Brewers today for $29.75 million over three years, leaving the Dodgers with a sizable void to fill in their starting rotation.

Actually, there are two holes to fill, behind Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, and Hiroki Kuroda.  It appears the Dodgers are still in the market for one starting pitcher, but general manager Ned Colletti said he is looking to fill one of the two open rotation slots from within.  Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reported:

Colletti said he's comfortable holding the last rotation spot for a Spring Training competition involving James McDonald, Scott Elbert, Josh Lindblom, Charlie Haeger and Ramon Troncoso. Colletti added left-hander Eric Stults to that group he originally listed on Tuesday.

In my mind, Elbert is the favorite of that group, with his electric left arm, but there is plenty of time for that to get sorted out.  McDonald had success out of the bullpen (2.72 ERA, 8.70 strikeouts per nine innings), and I can see him returning to that role in 2010, even though I'm not ready to give up on him as a starter just yet.  Both Haeger and Stults are out of options, so they will not only be fighting for a starting role at Camelback Ranch, but also will be fighting for their baseball lives.

How the Dodgers fill that other starting rotation slot has yet to be seen, but the Dodgers don't have much room in their budget without getting creative.  If the Dodgers wanted to pay a pitcher $10 million a year, they would have either offered Wolf arbitration, or made an offer to him when presented the opportunity by Wolf's agent, Arn Tellem, today.  Wolf's deal, coupled with Brad Penny's deal with St. Louis (one year, $7.5 million plus incentives) and the oft-injured Rich Harden's deal with Texas (one year, $7.5 million with an $11.5 million option for 2011), made it clear that most free agent pitchers are simply out of the Dodgers' price range.  If they sign a free agent pitcher, it might be someone like a Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland, again.  That is, if they come cheaply enough.

Another option to fill the starting pitching void is to trade Juan Pierre.  The idea here is to swap Pierre's contract (two years, $18.5 million) for a high-priced pitcher in a swap of inflated contracts, using that money to pay for a position in need rather than for a fourth outfielder.  Options here include:

I would have thought Kevin Millwood was another trade option (due $12 million in 2010), but he was traded to the Orioles earlier Wednesday.   Maholm may be a pipe dream, as his contract isn't all that onerous, but the Pirates seem interested in Pierre, so maybe there is a fit.

Matching up Pierre with a team directly might be tough, so a three-team trade may be the way to go.  In fact, Pierre may be traded to fill a different hole, second base.  Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports tweeted this on Wednesday night:

Dodgers are more concerned about 2B than letting on publicly, but 3-way trade tries at offing Pierre while filling 2B aren't working yet.

This is interesting, because in the report by Gurnick, Colletti showed a faith in Blake DeWitt manning the second base next season:

At second base, he's sounding more and more comfortable with DeWitt, although he still hopes to add a veteran from a group of free agents that includes Ronnie Belliard, Craig Counsell, Juan Uribe, Jamey Carroll and Felipe Lopez.

"Barring something not on the radar, it will be Blake DeWitt plus a veteran if we started the season today," Colletti said

Whether or not any budget constraints forced this philosophy, Colletti appears to have a faith in the Dodgers' young talent to play a big role in 2010.  If you ask me, I think the Dodgers bring back one of Garland or Padilla, and bring back Belliard to caddy for the Blakes -- DeWitt at second and Casey at third.  Which means the 2010 Dodgers will look a lot like the 2009 Dodgers in many ways, and the returning cast will have to step up.

Diamond Leung reported that Colletti expressed that same sentiment while showing faith in Chad Billingsley in an interview with Sirius XM:

"Sometimes, you have to make your guys better. You just can’t continue to expect to fill everything from the outside and continue to sign free agents and continue to trade away players. You end up in the same spot more times than not and most of the time worse off than before you started making moves…

The 2010 Dodgers need their guys to be better if they want to stay atop the NL West.

More photos » by Chris Pizzello - AP

Thanks for a great season, Randy

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I doubt we'll get any news from Indianapolis today as big as yesterday's three-team trade between the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks, but today figures to be about starting pitching:

Edwin Jackson was a key part of the Curtis Granderson deal, and he returns to Arizona, the site of his major league debut six years ago.  Jackson was doused in beer by teammates after beating the Diamondbacks on his 20th birthday, defeating The Big Unit, a man one day shy of being twice Jackson's age.

A positive piece of news for the Dodgers is that it appears one of the final two rotation spots will be filled with in house candidates.  Sometimes a budget crisis can force a team to make the right decisions.

Meanwhile, ex-Dodger Randy Wolf figured to give the Brewers his answer to their three-year, $27 million offer today, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  It looks like his answer was yes, per Ken Rosenthal.

The Dodgers will receive no draft picks as compensation for losing Wolf.

Vance Lovelace, who along with Dan Cataline was acquired by the Dodgers from the Cubs for Ron Cey in 1983, has been named Director of Pro Scouting, a newly created position by the Dodgers.  Lovelace has been with the organization in some sort of scouting capacity since 2001, previously held the title of special assistant to the general manager, one of eight such positions.

Lovelace, 46, was largely responsible for the advance scouting of the Cubs prior to the 2008 NLDS, a series swept by the Dodgers in three games.  Earlier this spring, Ned Colletti said Lovelace was so fired up about the scouting report, that he had Lovelace address the team to give the report.  Colletti had nothing but praise for Lovelace:

In my four years with the Dodgers, Vance has proven himself to be a trusted advisor and a keen judge of baseball talent on the Major League level.  I think he will flourish in his new role overseeing all of our professional scouts and I look forward to strengthening our working relationship in 2010 and beyond. His passion for baseball and for the Dodger organization will help many advance to a higher level.

As a player, Lovelace pitched in the Dodger organization for three seasons (1983-1985), and pitched in the majors for parts of three seasons (1988-1990) with the Angels and Mariners.

Day one of the winter meetings hasn't brought much news regarding the Dodgers, other than speculation and rumors, which can be fun.  However, the Dodgers did announce today that team president Dennis Mannion will now oversee baseball operations in addition to his current duties running the daily business side of the franchise. 

From the Dodgers:

To date, Mannion has had responsibility for business operations, including marketing, sponsorships, finance, ticket sales, human resources, communications and legal affairs. In his new role, Mannion will also oversee General Manager Ned Colletti, who manages the team’s baseball operations.

Mannion is one of the most tenured executives in professional sports. He first joined the Dodgers in 2007 following 27 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Baltimore Ravens.
 
"Dennis is a seasoned sports executive who has done a great job since arriving at the Dodgers," said Dodger Owner Frank McCourt. "He has already begun integrating baseball operations with the rest of the organization, and today’s announcement formalizes that transition."

I did have the good fortune to meet Mannion during my tour of Camelback Ranch this spring, and even though it was a passing meeting outside the club's offices, Mannion did go out of his way to elicit the opinion of us Dodger bloggers and seemed genuinely interested in our thoughts.  I have no idea how that will affect his ability to run a franchise, but he did seem to have a presence, if that counts for anything.

Colletti praised the move, saying, "I have long believed that both sides of the operation will function better as one - both understanding the challenges each has and working together to celebrate the triumphs as one group. This move acknowledges that and I embrace it wholeheartedly."  But then again, what else would Colletti say in a team press release?

Who knows what effect this move will have on the Dodgers?  It will probably be minimal on the baseball side, but time will tell.

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OK, so there is a little bit of news.  The Dodgers announced a few things via Twitter:

• The Dodgers are "not shopping" George Sherrill
• Scott Elbert and Josh Lindblom are being groomed for starting pitching roles, whereas James McDonald is "more flexible."
• Brad Ausmus is leaning toward returning for 2010, and Colletti has been in contact with him all winter
  

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

We already know Orlando Hudson won't be back in 2010. Might Juan Pierre also be on his way out?

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Today is the first day of the winter meetings in Indianapolis.  Everyone who is anyone in baseball has descended upon Indianapolis for four days.  This is the peak of the hot stove season, and there will be rumors galore for most of this week.  There will be a lot of news that isn't really news, so remember to take everything with a grain of salt.  That said, this is a pretty exciting and fun few days.

Today's highlights:

• The Dodgers are shopping Juan Pierre, says Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. Steve Henson of Yahoo says three or four teams are interested.  Expect a pitcher with an inflated contract in return.
• George Sherrill is rumored to be on the block, says Ken Rosenthal and John Paul Morosi of Fox Sports.  If the Dodgers are operating on the margins of their budget, this makes sense, as Sherrill will likely make as much as $4 million in arbitration, quite a high salary for a non-closer
• The veterans committee today elected manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey to the Hall of Fame today.  Former players' union chief Marvin Miller was left out.
• Today is the deadline for players to accept arbitration offers from last week.  All zero of the Dodgers offered arbitration are expected to do nothing.  Actually, an intriguing story is that reliever Rafael Soriano may accept arbitration from the Braves.  If he does, Soriano would combine with Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito in the best back end of the bullpen in the majors (if not a fragile trio).

For a good overview of the winter meetings, read this Fan Post by BHSportsGuy, who saw first hand last year's meetings in Las Vegas.

Mark Timmons of LA Dodger Talk is in Indianapolis and at the winter meetings.  Be sure to check his site for updates.

This is the first winter meetings of the Twitter era, so the information will be fast and furious.  If you want to follow True Blue LA on Twitter, go to twitter.com/truebluela.

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

You know you're good when you are projected to strikeout 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings in 2010, and that's a drop of nearly two strikeouts from 2009.

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Last month, Sean Smith of Anaheim Angels All The Way released his 2010 CHONE projections for offense.  Now, we have the pitching projections as well.  More info can be found at BaseballProjection.com.  I have added the projections for many Dodgers, including some outgoing free agents, to go with the projections from the 2010 Bill James Handbook.  As more projection systems release their projections, I will add them so we can get a more complete overall preview of the 2010 Dodgers.

I calculated FIP for the projections based on the formula at The Hardball Times.  In these projections, keep in mind that playing time and pitching role is merely estimated.

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