It has been a relatively busy morning for both former and current Dodgers. Former pitchers Hideo Nomo and Chan Ho Park have teamed with Peter O'Malley and his sister Terry Seidler, both former Dodgers owners, as well as Minor League Baseball to operate the Vero Beach Sports Village, formerly known as Dodgertown.
Under the new partnership, O'Malley is the chairman and CEO, Minor League President Pat O'Conner will be president and COO, and Craig Callan will continue to run the facility, which Callan has done for the last 33 years.
"I embrace this wonderful opportunity to use this iconic facility that my family has cherished for decades to promote baseball," said O’Malley, who also noted this in no way affects the Dodgers or their long-term spring training commitment to Glendale, Arizona. " Vero Beach Sports Village should always be an asset and a jewel to the citizens of Vero Beach and Indian River County and I look forward to adding further luster to its rich history."
One of the many events the Vero Beach Sports Village plans to host is The Umpire School, a 28-day training program beginning in January 2012. The Umpire School is one of three accredited umpire schools, and will now be the only all-inclusive school among the three.
“Being a part of the group that will operate a facility that provides youths with resources they can use both on and off the field is extremely rewarding,” Nomo said. “Those who come to the facility can improve not only as athletes through tournaments and training, but can also develop skills to help them mature into young men and women.”
Barajas To Pittsburgh
Catcher Rod Barajas parlayed a hot end to 2010 into a one-year deal for $3.25 million to return to his hometown Dodgers this year, the highest salary of his major league career...until now. Barajas, 36, has signed a $4 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates with a $3.5 million option for 2013. Bucs Dugout has more details.
Assuming the ongoing CBA negotiations don't change the current compensation system for at least this year, the Dodgers will receive a sandwich pick in between the first and second rounds of the 2012 draft for losing Barajas, a Type B free agent.
The deadline to offer arbitration to pending free agents is November 23, but anyone free agent who signs before that automatically nets said compensation. The only other Dodgers free agent who would fetch compensation is Hiroki Kuroda, a Type B but the point is moot as he cannot be offered arbitration per his contract.
Rivera Contract Details
Juan Rivera re-signed with the Dodgers a week ago today, and now we have further details of his contract, thanks to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Rivera has up to $500,000 in performance bonuses in both 2012 and 2013, if his option is exercised, at the following thresholds:
- $50,000 for each of 400, 425, 450, 475, 500, 525, and 550 plate appearances
- $75,000 for each of 575 and 600 plate appearances
As always, for more Dodgers payroll details be sure to check out our payroll worksheet. Rivera had 525 plate appearances this season and has averaged 516 plate appearances per season for the last three years.