Stults on the Move?

It's possible. According to Dylan Hernandez of the Times, Ned Colletti was quoted just moments ago that the Dodgers "have something going with [Eric Stults]." Colletti declined to elaborate on the details, but we do know that Stults has been scratched from his scheduled start today.

Stults is out of options but there has been some interest in him from teams in Japan.

This might also mean the Dodgers have probably already decided on Ramon Ortiz as their fifth starter to start the season.

Stay tuned.

Items from the Ranch

The inevitable has arrived. We now have an idea who that primary left-handed bat off the bench will be in 2010. His name is Garrett Anderson.

This all became more clearer after the Dodgers informed Doug Meintkiewicz on Friday that he would not make the Opening Day roster. Meintkiewicz, who still wants to play in the Majors, then left camp after talking with Ned Colletti to weigh his options.

Both players were hitting the ball well this Spring, but the Dodgers have apparently opted to go with Anderson, who was signed a Minor League deal two weeks into Spring Training.

Also getting a roster spot on Opening Day will be Ronnie Belliard, who finally got his weight down to 208. That essentially guaranteed his $850K contract for the 2010 season.

Depending on who starts the season at second base, and even that's still up in the air despite Blake DeWitt's offensive prowess this Spring, the bench will probably consist of two of the three among Belliard, DeWitt and Jamey Carroll, with one of them getting the Opening Day nod, Anderson, Reed Johnson and either Brad Ausmus or A.J. Ellis, depending on Russell Martin's status.

The Blue are also set to move forward without Ronald Belisario, who still has not reported to camp due to visa issues in his native Venezuela. And with Hong-Chih Kuo all but expected to start the season on the DL with elbow issues, the bullpen and fifth rotation spot are still uncertain.

We know the front four rotation guys are Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and Vicente Padilla, who just named the Opening Day starter for April 5th in Pittsburgh (which means Kershw will get the home opener the following week), and the back end of the bullpen is Jonathan Broxton, George Sherrill and Ramon Troncoso. Beyond those seven guys, the pitching staff is still undetermined.

The Two Ortizes, Russ and Ramon, Carlos Monasterios, Jeff Weaver, Josh Lindblom, Eric Stults and Charlie Haeger are still options to sort out the final five spots on the pitching staff. And there's also still a possibility the Dodgers might go out of the organization and sign just-released Chad Gaudin, who was last seen on the Yankees. Ramon Ortiz appears, at the very least, to be the in-house front-runner at the moment.

So obviously, there's still a lot at stake here, and with only about a week left before the season opener, Colletti, Joe Torre and the rest of the coaching staff have a lot of decisions to make.

More on Gagne, Torre, Martin

As it turns out, Eric Gagne asked for his release, and it was granted. Gagne apparently decided he didn't want to be in the minors and exercised the opt-out clause in his contract.

As for Joe Torre, he suspended all talks for an extension until after the season, saying he didn't want it to become a distraction for the team. He insists he still wants to manage the team another year after this.

And Russell Martin's batting practice session was cut short today after he was knocked down once and plunked twice by minor league pitcher Tom Corcoran. Martin was heard to have shouted a couple of obscenities as he entered the hallway outside the clubhouse after being shut down, but laughed about it later while he was getting treatment in the training room. Corcoran, on the other hand, appeared to have been rattled after knocking down Martin, which could have led to his controls problems that resulted in plunking Martin twice thereafter.

Angel Berroa, signed in the off-season to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, was released today. However, the Yankees returned Jamie Hoffmann, whom they selected in the Rule 5 Draft from the Dodgers in December, back to the Dodgers. However, Hoffmann could find his way back to New York in a deal with the Dodgers involving either Chad Gaudin or Sergio Mitre. This would allow the Yankees to send Hoffmann to the minors with out the Rule 5 thing attached to it.

Game Over... Again

Well, it was fun while it lasted, but the Dodgers have decided to release their former closer and 2003 Cy Young Winner, Eric Gagne. Gagne didn't look very sharp in Major League camp and was demoted last week to Minor League camp to get more game innings. Unfortunately, it appears he didn't fare any better there, and the Dodgers felt the best thing to do was to sever all ties with him.

Gagne hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2008 while with Milwaukee, and it all but appears that unless another team decides to take a flyer on him, his career is likely over.

More on this tomorrow.

Couple More News Bits

Dodgers Minor League instructor and former Dodger player Lenny Harris is stable after undergoing an emergency quadruple heart bypass surgery on Saturday. Harris complained of chest and arm pain on Friday, and while he did not suffer a heart attack, doctors went ahead with the surgery to unblock four arteries, including one that was 95% blocked.

Twins and catcher Joe Mauer have agreed on an 8-yr, $184MM extension. Mauer, the reigning A.L. MVP and two-time batting champ, was in the final year of his current contract. He would have been a highly sought-after free agent next winter. Twins owner Jim Pohlad, who took over the team in January 2009 after his father, Carl, passed away, vowed that the Twins would be more active when it came to free agency, especially in light of the team moving into a brand new ballpark this season, Target Field.

Catching Up in Dodgertown

When we last spoke about a week or so ago, half of the Spring Training roster was halfway around the world playing an exhibition series against a Taiwanese All-Star team, Blake DeWitt was making noise to be named the team's starting second baseman, Garrett Anderson was working out at first base, a beardless Casey Blake was out with a ribcage injury, and Don Mattingly admitted the Dodgers have made "overtures" about him becoming Joe Torre's heir apparent.

Since then, the roster has been cut in size as Opening Day nears, DeWitt still hasn't been officially named the starting second baseman, Anderson is still working out at first base, Blake has returned from his minor ribcage deal, and Mattingly has returned to his current role as hitting coach.

As for the roster cuts, Eric Gagne and Scott Elbert were reassigned to minor league camp. The Dodgers want Gagne to continue to pitch and get some innings under his belt in games, something they can't give him in Major League camp right now. There is still mutual interest from both sides for Gagne to get a shot at the big club again, but Gagne has an out clause in his contract that he can exercise if he's not on the Major League roster by a certain date. It seems at this point that Gagne won't be exercising it.

Cory Wade, who made a plea to get his old job back from 2008 as the club's primary set-up guy, will be out approximately three months after undergoing shoulder surgery. Wade struggled early last year that he was sent back out to Albuquerque, and was eventually sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Meanwhile, Garrett Anderson continues to workout at first base. The back-up job and primary lefty bat off the bench is now down to Anderson and Doug Meintkiewicz as Brian Giles called it a career last week and retired due to his nagging injuries. All indications are the Anderson-Meitnkiewicz battle will go down to the wire.

And don't look now, but Ramon Ortiz - yes, that Ramon Ortiz - is making a case to be the team's fifth starter out of Spring Training. Even if he does make it, there's no guarantees he'll be the long-term solution there as the season goes on. But for now, he's become the leading candidate, or, at the very least, the best option. With both Eric Stults and Charlie Haeger out of options, the Dodgers have some decisions to make as far as the fifth rotation spot is concerned.

No longer a candidate for any roster spot is James McDonald, who was also optioned to the minors. McDonald has struggled immensely this spring, and his 20.25 ERA was enough for the Dodgers to send him down. His demotion came just days after the team said he would be headed to the bullpen.

Rule-5 pick Carlos Monasterios is quickly gaining momentum to be included on the bullpen staff. As of right now, the only guarantees in the pen are Jonathan Broxton, George Sherrill and Ramon Troncoso. But with Hong-Chih Kuo still sidelined with a sore elbow after he was scratched from his start in his native Taiwan, and with Ronald Belisario still having visa issues and not in camp yet, an opportunity has opened up for Monasterios, and he hasn't disappointed. Monasterios has pitched well in eight Spring Training innings, and the Dodgers like the fact he has the ability to strike people out, as his K/9 IP ratio in the minor leagues last season proves. Unless someone else steps up to be the sixth inning guy out of the pen, there's no reason Monasterios won't be given first crack at it.

Though Russell Martin still won't be ready for Opening Day after he pulled his groin earlier in the spring, he's making progress and is ahead of schedule on his rehab, etc. There are still plenty of people blaming the injury on the 25 pounds of added bulk Martin added to his frame in the off-season, but Martin assures us that is far from the case. Either way, Martin is progressing nicely and he should be ready to go by mid-April.

Off the field, Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully is back in the booth today after falling in his home the other day getting out of bed and hitting his head. The 82-year old was taken to the hospital as a precaution for observation, but was released the following day. He's on the air right now doing the Dodgers-Indians game from The Ranch.

And finally, Giles wasn't the only player of note retiring last week. Former Dodger and L.A. native Nomar Garciaparra called it a career, as well. Nomar, who was a free agent after spending last season with Oakland, signed a one-day contract with the Red Sox and then retired because of nagging injuries.

Nomar certainly left Dodger fans with plenty of excitement as he hit the game-winning walk-off homer in the 10th of the "4+1" game. And had it not been for the rash of injuries over the past five or six seasons, Nomar could have finished his career as one of the greatest shortstops who ever lived. He was certainly well on his way to that. He finished his career with a .313/.361/.521 line with 229 home runs, 927 runs scored and two A.L. batting titles with the Red Sox in 1999 and 2000. Nomar was also the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1997.

A Few More Spring Training Tidbits

I'm usually one who tries to stay on top of things when it comes to the Dodgers, especially during the season (Spring Training included). For whatever reason, I've been slacking, and throwing a bunch of posts into one big post, such as this one. In any case, a few notes from the past few days to get caught up.

First, it appears more and more likely that Blake DeWitt will be given the everyday second base gig to start the season. Defensively, he could still use some more seasoning, but his offense is probably what's already getting him the nod over Ronnie Belliard. As for Jamey Carroll, I doubt the team ever considered him a serious candidate for the everyday job, although he'll likely get some starts against lefties periodically. Carroll was brought in to be the super-utility guy anyway. Either way, good news for DeWitt fans. This also probably means Belliard is a longshot to make the team.

Meanwhile, still no word on beardless Casey Blake, who was pulled early from Monday's game because of a strain in the ribcage area. He opted against an MRI, so it appears as if the strain is nothing serious, though he was given the last two games off. My guess is if this had been the regular season, he would probably be back in the lineup by now.

It also appears that the Dodgers are doing whatever they can to keep Garrett Anderson over Brian Giles and Doug Meintkiewicz. Anderson has been working out the past few days at first base, and given that he's probably the healthiest of the three, he probably has the best chance of the three to make the team. On the flip side, Anderson has never played first base in his 16 years in the Majors, so we'll see how this all turns out as we get closer to Opening Day. Anderson still has not appeared in a Spring Training game.

About half of the team is currently en route to Taiwan for a weekend exhibition "goodwill" series with a Taiwanese All-Star team. Among those making the trip are Taiwan-born Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-Lung Hu, as well as Manny, and manager Joe Torre. As for Kuo, he will get the starting nod in the series finale after Charlie Haeger was scratched from the split-squad to Taiwan due to some sort of hip injury.

Meanwhile, with Torre on his way to Taiwan to manage that split-squad, hitting coach Don Mattingly was left behind to manage the split-squad in Arizona for five games. And there might be more to it than we think.

When Joe Torre was hired to manage the Dodgers before the 2008 season, he brought along a couple of his buddies with him from New York. Mattingly was one of them. It was said in New York that when Torre hired Mattingly to be the hitting coach there, it was done with the idea of grooming Mattingly to eventually be the heir apparent when Torre retired. But Torre never got that chance in New York, and he was eventually not offered a new contract after the 2007 season, thus making him a "free agent." The Yankees eventually hired Joe Girardi as their manager even after interviewing Mattingly.

In all actuality, nothing really changed when Torre was hired by the Dodgers and he brought Mattingly along with him. The same speculation has been made for the past two-plus years with the Dodgers. This past off-season, Mattingly interviewed for the vacant manager's job in Cleveland, but eventually withdrew himself as a candidate and then opted against interviewing for the same vacant job in Washington. And the reasons are pretty obvious.

Today, Mattingly finally confirmed that the Dodgers have made "overtures" to him about being the heir apparent to Torre whenever he steps down as the Dodger manager. Torre has one year left on his contract with the Dodgers but he's stated that he wants to manage beyond this season, and the Dodgers say they want him to manage the team until he decides to retire. So whenever that happens, I think we can expect that Mattingly will in fact be the next Dodger manager.

As for today's game, an interesting rarity involving Andre Ethier took place against the D-backs. Here's what happened, as explained by MLB.com's Doug Miller.

And finally, a sad day yesterday in Dodgertown and the baseball world as former Dodger outfield great Willie Davis passed away. Davis was an integral part of the Dodgers success during the 1960s as he manned centerfield for the Dodgers for 13 seasons beginning in 1961. In 1969, he hit in a Dodger record 31 straight games, and finished his career with a .279 average and 2,561 hits. Davis also had short stays in Montreal, St. Louis, Texas and San Diego before calling it quits after playing for the Angels in 1979. Davis was 69 years old.

A Few Spring Training Notes

First, Russell Martin will miss 4-6 weeks after an MRI revealed a strained hamstring area. This means Martin could miss Opening Day. In the interim, A.J. Ellis takes over as the starting catcher.

Garret Anderson, who nearly retired last week before the Dodgers came calling, says he'll need about a week before he'll be ready for any kind of game action. Anderson is competing with Brian Giles and Doug Meintkiewicz for a potential bench role as the primary left-handed bat off the bench. I say potential because yesterday Joe Torre hinted at the possibility of going without a left on the bench this year. (Good luck with that, Joe. You'll put the Dodgers at a huge disadvantage when teams start throwing all their right-handed relievers at you and you've got no one to counter with.)

Eric Gagne, battling with a handful of others for a spot on the roster out of Spring Training, didn't look very sharp in his Spring debut yesterday against the White Sox. Gagne gave up two runs on three hits in an inning pitched. He'll likely have to start the season at AAA-Albuquerque before getting a crack at the Bigs again. He's clearly got a long ways to go.

The Dodgers have split the first two games of the Spring so far. On Friday, they beat the White Sox 8-3 at The Ranch. Vicente Padilla, Reed Johnson and Jamey Carroll had solid days. However, the White Sox returned the favor yesterday, beating the Blue 8-4. Gagne, Jeff Weaver and James McDonald all struggled on the bump for the Dodgers.

Manny appears to be in mid-season form. In five plate appearances, he's 4-for-4 with a walk and two RBI in two games.

Dodgers are in Mesa today taking on the Cubs.

Spring Training Has Arrived

It's been a relatively quiet past two weeks for the Dodgers.

Oh, yeah, sure, Manny had something to say. And then he had something to say again.

But did he really tell us anything the first time that we didn't already know? Not really.

And was he just having fun with us when he changed courses the second time around? You betcha.

And of course, the media ran with it both times.

Ah, it's that time of year again.

The warm air; the sunny Arizona and Florida skies. The green grass. The muffled sounds of a 95-mph fastball hitting a catcher's mitt. The hallowed sound of a bat cracking on impact with another 95-mph fastball.

Ah yes, life is finally back to normal.

The Blue have taken refuge at The Ranch for the next four weeks. They have their official Spring Training opener this Friday against their "Ranchmates," the White Sox. A home-and-home series, so-to-speak. One team is the home team on Friday, and the other on Saturday.

And with that, as the Dodgers continue to figure out who will be their fifth starter, or who will be their everyday second baseman, or who will round out the bench, and the bullpen, they quietly keep adding to their collection of veterans coming in on minor league contracts with Spring Training invitations.

Today's addition: Garret Anderson.

Anderson played for a number of years with the cross-town Angels, and then bolted for Atlanta before last season as a free agent. So of course, G.A., as he was so popularly known as down in the O.C., finding a home in Dodger Blue can only sting a little when it comes to Halo fans down I-5.

Of course, there's also no guarantees Anderson even makes the team. He's competing with Brian Giles and Doug Meintkiewicz to be the left-handed bat off the bench. And, as it's been said here before, unless by some miracle chance the Blue go with 11 pitchers out of Spring Training instead of the recent customary 12, Meintkiewicz would seem to have the inside track to serve as not only the primary lefty bat off the bench, but also as James Loney's back-up. That would all but eliminate any chance of the Dodgers carrying five outfielders.

But then again, with the health questions of Giles and Meintkiewicz, Anderson might be the only sure thing among the three.

You can't really even fault Ned Colletti for at least trying. He knows most of these guys he's brought in have little-to-no chance of panning out. So naturally, the plan is to bring in as many of these guys as possible anyway, throw them out there in Spring Training, hope one or two of them pan out (my votes go to Anderson, Ronnie Belliard, Jeff Weaver and Eric Gagne, for nostalgia purposes), and then take the credit for it later in the year when he's labeled a genius for pulling a rabbit out of his hat.

Ah, the joys of Spring Training.