So far, Dodgers infield buying into timeshare, versatiliity

LOS ANGELES -- Several Dodgers took part in FanFest on Saturday, though one not in attendance was second baseman Howie Kendrick, who agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract to return to the club on Friday.

Technically the Kendrick deal isn't yet official, though that is expected within a few days. That didn't stop several people from talking about Kendrick on Saturday, even president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who is usually tight lipped about transactions before they are officially official.

"I can't really get into detail, but the reports that are out there are accurate," Friedman said.

Those reports of Kendrick's return have just about every Dodger happy.

"I'm excited to have him back," said first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. "He's one of my favorite teammates of all-time."

"I had a conversation with him yesterday and he was excited to be back on board, and I told him he just made me a better manager," said new manager Dave Roberts.

"I'm excited. I got to know him a little bit last year in a short amount of time. I have a lot of respect for him," said Chase Utley. "He makes our team better."

"I'm excited. He helps the team, he's a great ballplayer, he's consistent," said utility man Kiké Hernandez. "He puts up numbers every single year."

Those last two players happen to be affected the most by Kendrick's return. With Kendrick presumably getting the bulk of the time at second base, that moves Utley into more of a backup role, filling in in reserve at second base, third base and first base.

Utley played three games and 25 innings at third base with the Dodgers in 2015, his only major league time at the position, and his first time at the hot corner as a professional since 123 games in Triple-A back in 2002.

Utley signed a one-year, $7 million contract to return to the Dodgers on Dec. 9, much earlier in the offseason when it seemed like Kendrick would have a much more robust free agent market, lessening the likelihood of his return to Los Angeles.

Friedman said he didn't necessarily think Kendrick would end up back with the Dodgers, but that once his market regressed the club was able to reenter the fray.

"There is constant readjusting and reevaluating and reassessing, and turning different directions. If you are able to stay flexible, opportunities present themselves," Friedman said. "We did a really good job this winter of staying in contact with different teams and different agents."

Utley on Saturday didn't seem too worried about his playing time in 2016.

"There's going to be some opportunities to play, and I'll get a chance to compete," Utley said "Wherever Dave [Roberts] calls my name, I'll be ready to go."

Friedman said he spoke with Utley once the opportunity to bring back Kendrick arose.

"It's really important to us to communicate with our players, give them a sense of what's going on. If a situation has an impact on someone else, we'll reach out and be honest. Dave Roberts will do the same," Friedman said "We have a lot of at-bats to go around, and a lot of really talented players who we'll make sure stay fresh."

Hernandez was a jack of all trades in 2015 with the Dodgers, starting 18 games in center field, 15 at second base, 11 games at shortstop, five games in left field and once each in right field and third base, so he has multiple opportunities to earn some of those at-bats.

"I'm not just a second baseman, I can play everywhere so I'm not worried about Howie Kendrick," Hernandez said. "I can play six different positions."

Justin Turner is at third base, but after a season of getting every fourth or fifth day off as a proactive measure, he is hoping after knee surgery he will be able to play more often in 2016. But he knows the drill.

"I would love to go play 162 games. But it's not up to me. That's up to Dave and the training staff," Turner said. "I've talked to Dave about it and to our training staff [about] how we're going to approach it."

Depth and versatility seem to be the theme of the 2016 Dodgers. Even versatility from Kendrick, who has made 1,061 of his 1,146 career starts at second base.

"Howie is open to playing some third, playing some second. The season as it plays out, we're going to move guys around a little bit. The guys are open to it, and there are a lot of plate appearances to go around," Roberts said. "The number one thing is that there was a buy-in as far as 'whatever is good for the ball club' from Howie, from Chase, from Kiké, from JT."

Kendrick played one major league game and six innings at third base back in 2006, and played seven games in the minors that year at the position, his only year as a professional at the hot corrner. He has moved around a bit, starting 20 games in left field in 2011, and starting 64 times at first base though his last start at the position was in 2011.

But even if Kendrick stays at second base, the Dodgers have versatility surrounding him as well as depth behind him.

That depth has Gonzalez thinking of lofty goals.

"We're the deepest team in baseball. We'll be able to afford basically any injury. A lot of teams can't say that," Gonzalez said. "Talent wise, we're at the top."