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Dodgers Roster Breakdown

Determining Russell Martin's future  is one of several roster decisions needed to be made by the Dodgers this offseason.
Determining Russell Martin's future is one of several roster decisions needed to be made by the Dodgers this offseason.

There will be plenty of time this offseason for moves, but here's an overview of the current Dodger 40-man roster. There are 40 players currently on the 40-man roster, including one (Russell Martin) on the 60-day disabled list. That will change quickly after the World Series as players file for free agency. I have split them into a few groups:

Free Agents (8)

Type A*: Ted Lilly

Type B*: Rod Barajas

Others: Hiroki Kuroda**, Vicente Padilla, Jay Gibbons, Reed Johnson, Brad Ausmus, Jeff Weaver

*Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts has done a great job of figuring out the Elias Rankings, and has posted them at MLB Trade Rumors. In order to receive compensation for Type A or Type B free agents, the club must offer them arbitration. Type A free agents net a first round pick from the team that signs them, provided the pick isn't in the top 15 (not including supplemental picks for failing to sign the first round pick for the previous season), in addition to a supplemental pick in between the first and second rounds.

If a team signs more than one Type A free agent, the players are ranked by their Elias ranking, they give up picks in the lower rounds as well. For instance, the Yankees two years ago gave up their first three picks for signing CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and A.J. Burnett, all Type A free agents. Type B free agents net only a supplemental pick.

The Dodgers' first round pick in the 2011 draft, number 16 overall, will be a protected pick, meaning if they sign a Type A free agent the Dodgers would give up their second round pick rather than their first.

**UPDATE: After some more research and discussion, Kuroda isn't a Type B free agent, at least for purposes of compensation. With three years of service time, the way he is a free agent is through contractual obligation, the mechanism being that the Dodgers won't offer him arbitration, thus making him a free agent. Thanks to David Young for the heads up.

Options (1)

Scott Podsednik has a mutual option for $2 million in 2011, with a $100,000 buyout.

Under Contract (6)

Player 2010 Salary 2011 Salary
Rafael Furcal $8,500,000 $12,000,000
Andre Ethier $6,000,000 $9,250,000
Matt Kemp $4,000,000 $7,100,000
Jonathan Broxton $4,000,000 $7,000,000
Casey Blake $6,250,000 $5,250,000
Jamey Carroll $1,550,000 $2,500,000


Arbitration Eligible (6)

Player Service Time 2010 Base Salary
George Sherrill 5.147 $4,500,000
Russell Martin 4.150 $5,050,000
Ryan Theriot 4.118 $2,600,000
Hong-Chih Kuo 4.114 $950,000
Chad Billingsley 4.110 $3,850,000
James Loney 4.012 $3,100,000

The service time is listed in years and days, such that 5.147 means five years, 147 days of service time. There are 183 days in a major league season, but it only takes 172 days to accrue a full year of service time. A player can't received credit for more than 172 days in a season.

Under Team Control (19)

Player Service Time 2010 Base Salary Options Used Options Left
Clayton Kershaw 2.105 $440,000 2008 LOL
Ramon Troncoso 2.080 $416,000 2008,2010 1
Ronald Belisario 1.133 $412,500 2004,2005,2008 none
A.J. Ellis 1.062 $400,000* 2009,2010 1
Xavier Paul 1.041 $400,000* 2008,2009,2010 none
Chin-Lung Hu 1.016 $401,000* 2008,2009,2010 none
Carlos Monasterios 1.000 $400,000 none 3
Travis Schlichting 0.143 $400,000* 2009,2010 1
John Ely 0.101 $400,000 2010 2
Scott Elbert 0.100 $400,000* 2009,2010 1
Brent Leach 0.090 $400,000* 2009,2010 1
Trent Oeltjen 0.087 $400,000 2009 2
Kenley Jansen 0.073 $400,000 2010 2
Jon Link 0.047
$400,000 2009,2010 1
John Lindsey 0.028 $400,000 none 3
Russ Mitchell 0.028 $400,000 none 3
Javy Guerra 0.000 ------ 2010 2
Trayvon Robinson 0.000 ------ 2010 2
Ivan DeJesus 0.000 ------ 2010 2

*estimated

For more detailed payroll information, be sure to visit the payroll worksheet, of which a summary is always located on the right sidebar.

Here are some important dates to remember for the offseason:

  • Day After World Series Ends: begins 5-day period for eligible players to file for free agency
  • November 20: Date reserve lists must be set (adding players to 40-man roster for purposes of Rule 5 draft); Note: I'm not sure if this has been moved up or not, with all the other recent date changes.
  • November 23: Last date to offer arbitration to free agents to receive compensation
  • November 30: Deadline for free agents to accept or decline arbitration
  • December 2: Deadline to tender contracts to players under team control or pre-free agency arbitration-eligible players
  • January 5-15: Salary arbitration filing period
  • January 18: Clubs and players exchange salary arbitration figures
  • March 2-11: Contracts for players under team control that have not yet signed can be renewed

For reference, the Dodgers had 29 players on the 40-man roster before adding four minor leaguers before last November 20 (Jansen, Robinson, DeJesus, and Guerra).

It will be a long offseason, but the hot stove is always interesting.