Here is a run down of the Dodgers minor league transactions for 2011 which include invitations to spring training. The 2010 Dodgers had eight players signed to minor league contracts who eventually played with the major league team: Justin Miller, Ramon Ortiz, Russ Ortiz, Jeff Weaver, John Lindsey, Nick Green, Garret Anderson, and Jay Gibbons. The Dodgers opened spring training last season with 24 non-roster invitees, including Josh Lindblom and Russ Mitchell, who were non-40-man minor leaguers in the organization. Which of these players will make the 2011 Dodgers?
| 2011 NRI count: 3 made team |
Pitchers
Roman Colon RHP
2011 Age: 31
Colon signed a minor league deal on or around January 12, 2011, pitched for the Kia Tigers in the Korean League in 2010. Colon spent parts of five seasons from 2004-2010 with the Braves, Tigers, and Royals, and has a 5.12 career ERA in 179 1/3 innings. In his career, Colon has allowed 1.5 home runs, 3.4 walks, and has 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Colon was reassigned to minor league camp on March 15.
Lance Cormier RHP
2011 Age: 30
Cormier signed a minor league deal on February 16, the day pitchers and catchers reported to Camelback Ranch. Cormier has never been a strikeout pitcher (his career strikeout rate is 5.32 per nine innings), but in the last two years he has missed bats even less, striking out just 4.26 per nine innings with Tampa Bay. Still, he managed to put up a 3.55 ERA as a Ray, thanks in part to his ground balls finding gloves. Cormier had a 51.3% ground ball rate in 2009-2010, tied with Jonathan Broxton for 24th among the 106 relievers who have thrown 100 total innings in the last two seasons.
Cormier made the opening day roster.
Wilkin De La Rosa LHP
2011 Age: 26
De La Rosa signed a minor league contract on December 11, 2010. He spent the last four years in the Yankees' system, and was 2-4 with a 5.33 ERA in 36 games, including eight starts, with the Double A Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League. De La Rosa has not pitched about Double A.
De La Rosa was reassigned to minor league camp on March 14.
Dana Eveland LHP
2011 Age: 28
Eveland, who signed a minor league deal on November 22, has a 6.96 ERA over the last two seasons, split between Oakland, Toronto, and Pittsburgh, with 58 walks and 46 strikeouts in 98 1/3 innings over 25 games, including 19 starts. In his last 200 major league innings, Eveland has 109 walks and 117 strikeouts.
Eveland was reassigned to minor league camp on March 4.
Jon Huber RHP
2011 Age: 29
Huber signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in May after getting released by the Braves. He struck out 48 against just 11 walks in 44 1/3 innings for Double A Chattanooga, and re-signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers on November 20, 2010. Huber pitched 28 innings in parts of two seasons (2006-2007) with Seattle after getting traded to the Mariners by the Padres in 2004 for current Dodgers hitting instructor Dave Hansen.
Huber was reassigned to minor league camp on March 12.
Mike MacDougal RHP
2011 Age: 34
The Dodgers signed MacDougal on January 28. The former (2003) All-Star closer with the Royals has bounced around in recent years, pitching for the White Sox, Nationals, and Cardinals. Over his last 132 1/3 major league innings, from 2007-2010, MacDougal walked 95 batters and struck out 99.
MacDougal made the opening day roster.
Ron Mahay LHP
2011 Age: 40
The Dodgers signed Mahay on February 3 to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training. If Mahay makes the team, his major league salary will be $900,000, per Jayson Stark of ESPN. The southpaw, who will turn 40 years old on June 28, was 1-1 with a 3.44 ERA in 34 innings with the Twins in 2010. He held left-handed batters to a .219/.239/.281 batting line last season, and has held lefties to .232/.285/.357 over the last four seasons. Mahay was drafted as an outfielder by the Red Sox in 1991, and didn't switch to pitching until 1996, at age 25. If Mahay makes the Dodgers, they will be his ninth major league team.
Mahay had an out clause if he wasn't added to the roster by March 25, and he asked for and was granted his release on March 26.
Tim Redding RHP
2011 Age: 33
Redding signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers on December 28, 2010. Redding spent 2010 in Triple A, split between the Yankees and Rockies systems, and combined to go 8-5 with a 2.89 in 18 games (17 starts). He most recently pitched in the majors with the Mets in 2009, going 3-6 with a 5.10 ERA in 17 starts and 13 relief appearances. He made 33 starts as recently as 2008 with Washington, going 10-11 with a 4.95 ERA (87 ERA+).
Redding will make $750,000 if in the majors, per Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. In addition, Redding can opt out if he isn't added to the roster by June 15.
Redding was reassigned to minor league camp on March 30.
Juan Rincon RHP
2011 Age: 32
Rincon signed a minor-league deal on February 11, but he was not invited to big league camp in spring training. Rincon had a 7.88 ERA in 47 games with Colorado Springs, walking 37 and striking out 42 in 45 2/3 Triple A innings. In the last four years in the majors, Rincon has a 5.80 ERA, 80 walks, and 126 strikeouts in 153 2/3 innings with the Rockies, Tigers, Indians, and Twins.
Oscar Villarreal RHP
2011 Age: 29
The right-handed reliever, who signed on November 23, has a career 24-15 record and 3.86 ERA in his career, and he most recently pitched in the majors in 2008 with Houston. Villareal, 29, missed all of 2009 with Tommy John surgery, and pitched for Triple A Lehigh Valley in the Phillies organization last season, going 4-3 with a 4.40 ERA, with 26 walks and 42 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings. Villarreal is currently pitching for Aguilas de Mexicali in the Mexican winter league.
Villarreal was reassigned to minor league camp on March 22.
Catchers
J.D. Closser
Bats S, Throws R
2011 Age: 31
Closser began last spring training in major league camp as well, and has caught the last two years in the Dodgers minor league system, mostly at Triple A Albquerque. Closser played parts of three seasons in the majors (2006-2008) with the Rockies.
Closser was reassigned to minor league camp on March 15.
Damaso Espino
Bats R, Throws R
2011 Age: 28
Espino has spent 11 seasons in the minor leagues, in the systems of the Reds, Royals, and Indians. He has been in the Indians system in the last two seasons, splitting time between Double A and Triple A. He was originally an infielder, mostly at third base, but switched to catcher in 2005. Espino hit .250/.319/.293 last season, and has hit .265/.332/.321 in his minor league career.
Espino was reassigned to minor league camp on March 14.
Infielders
Juan Castro
Bats R, Throws R
2011 Age: 39
A list of Dodger non-roster invitees wouldn't be complete without Castro, who on December 10 signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers for the second time in three years. Castro also played one game for the 2010 Dodgers, after getting released by Philadelphia. In 2009, Castro posted the only .300 on-base percentage of his career (outside of his two times on base in five plate appearances in 1995) in 2009 when he hit .277/.311/.339 for the Dodgers. Castro's fourth stint with the Dodgers will earn him a $500,000 salary if he makes the major league team, per Tony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles.
Castro was reassigned to minor league camp on March 30.
Aaron Miles
Bats S, Throws R
2011 Age: 34
Miles signed a minor-league contract on February 7, that will pay him $500,000 if in the majors, per Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. He had an eventful offseason last year, getting traded from the Cubs to Oakland, then from the A's to the Reds. Miles was released by Cincinnati in April, without having played for them, and signed a minor-league deal later in the month with his old team, the Cardinals. After a few weeks in Double A, Miles hit .281/.311/.317 in 151 plate appearances in St. Louis. A career .281/.321/.354 hitter in 796 career games, Miles has mostly played second base, with some shortstop and a little bit of third base mixed in. The problem is that he is not a very good fielder at any of those positions. He is rated as below average by UZR at all three positions, while he has rated from average to slightly below average via plus/minus rating. Miles started 18 games at second base last season for the Cardinals, and appeared in 32 more games at second base as a reserve.
Miles can opt out if he isn't added to the roster by June 1, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
Miles made the opening day roster.
Justin Sellers
Bats R, Throws R
2011 Age: 25
Sellers hit 17 home runs in over five minor league seasons before landing in the hitter's paradise of Albuquerque last season. Sellers hit 14 home runs in 90 games in Triple A, hitting .285/.371/.497 for the Isotopes. In six minor league seasons, Sellers has hit .264/.351/.373.
Sellers was reassigned to minor league camp on March 17.
Outfielders
Gabe Kapler
Bats R, Throws R
2011 Age: 35
Kapler signed a minor-league contract on January 18, 2011. He hit .210/.288/.290 in 140 plate appearances with Tampa Bay last season, and has spent parts of 12 seasons with the Tigers, Rangers, Rockies, Red Sox, Brewers, and Rays. He briefly retired after 2006, and managed in the Red Sox system in 2007, before coming back as a player with Milwaukee in 2008.
Kapler was reassigned to minor league camp on March 30.
Trent Oeltjen
Bats L, Throws L
2011 Age: 28
The Aussie signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers before the 2010 season, and ended up getting called up in September. He had five hits in 23 at-bats as a Dodger, making six starts in the outfield (four in center, two in left field). He was non-tendered by the Dodgers on December 2, but quickly signed a minor league deal for 2011 less than a week later, per Tony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles.
Oeltjen was reassigned to minor league camp on March 30.
Eugenio Velez
Bats S, Throws R
2011 Age: 29
Velez was non-tendered by the Giants on December 2 after hitting .164/.246/.309 in 29 games for the Giants in 2010. He has split time in each of the last four seasons between San Francisco and Triple A Fresno, and has seen time at second base and all over the outfield. He played shortstop in the minors as well, but has played there just once in the past four years. His career MLB batting line is .256/.300/.388 in 678 plate appearances. That, and the ability to play outfield, at least in a pinch, should put him ahead of Castro in the pecking order. Velez gets bonus points for sometimes being listed as Eugenio Velez Vancomper, utilizing his mother's maiden name.
Velez was reassigned to minor league camp on March 26.
**********
In addition to these players signed to minor league deals, the Dodgers invited three prospects to major league camp in spring training: shortstop Dee Gordon, outfielder Jerry Sands, and pitcher Rubby De La Rosa.
Gordon was reassigned to minor league camp on March 14.
Sands was reassigned to minor league camp on March 17.
De La Rosa was reassigned to minor league camp on March 30.