One of the most intriguing parts of Spring Training for me each year is seeing which young buck or grizzled veteran will emerge from the sea of players to unexpectedly make a major league roster.  And when you’re a general manager, finding those diamonds in the rough has added significance, with the potential savings of million upon millions of dollars.

Ned Colletti is definitely not a GM who shies away from such projects, and yesterday’s addition of former Royals and Nationals relief pitcher Mike MacDougal is yet another proof point. The former closer (who turns 34 in March) will look to reclaim some of the magic he had in 2003 when he had notched 24 saves in half a season and was named to the American League All-Star team (he finished the year with 27 saves).

MacDougal did sign a minor deal with the Dodgers, so it’s expected that he will start the season in Albuquerque, but will eventually rise up to LA as additional bullpen options are needed.

MacDougal bounced around the Cardinals minor league organization last season, but did play in 17 games for St. Louis, giving up 23 hits and 15 runs in 18.2 innings for a 7.23 ERA.

Photo Credit: Keith Allison (per Wikipedia)

As we know from Ken Gurnick, the 33-year-old often injured power hitter worked out at Camelback Ranch this past Thursday for assistant general managers De Jon Watson and Logan White and batting coach Jeff Pentland.  Remember when Chavez was a young hitter, full of potential?  The kid seemed like a lock for 100 RBIs and 25+ home runs. 

I’ve always felt that, if healthy by the start of Spring Training, Chavez would be a great value-based signing for Colletti and the Dodgers.  Plus Chavez loves playing in California (in Ned-speak: “a guy who wants to be here.”)  Here’s part of what I wrote back on November 17, 2010 ( “Eric Chavez and the Dodgers are a Good Fit” ):

Ned’s going to be looking at inexpensive sources of power, and having Chavez platoon with Casey Blake at third base seems completely realistic.  Plus the Dodgers like signing players that are rebounding from injuries that they might be able to catch on the uptick.  The Dodgers’ signing of Orlando Hudson is probably the best comparison to how a possible Chavez deal could look (obviously the dollars would be different), but the Dodgers did work Hudson out in secret on two consecutive days to test out his surgically repaired wrist before signing him.  Granted, Chavez could be considered a bigger gamble than Hudson was at that time, but I could easily see Chavez working out for Ned & Co. a couple of times and then getting a one-year deal that’s low on base salary, yet full of incentives if everything checks out physically.  I like it.

And here’s what Gurnick reported on Thursday:

If the Dodgers are impressed, they would be looking at Chavez as a backup or platoon-mate with Casey Blake at third base and a power left-handed bat off the bench. They would likely offer him an incentive-filled Minor League contract, as their 40-man roster if full.

The deal isn’t done yet, but this is totally the type of signing that has Ned Colletti written all over it.  If there was a way to bet on free agent signings, I would put money down on Chavez being in Dodger Blue by this time next month.

Photo Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images North America

Ned Colletti has surprised me on several ocassions during this offseason, and he did so again today by picking up RHP Jon Garland on a one-year, $5 million contract (kudos to the Times’ Dylan Hernandez for breaking the story on Twitter).

As Dodgers fans know, Garland has averaged 190+ innings per year over the past nine years and is about as stable and reliable as they come, going 14-12 with a 3.46 ERA over 33 starts and 200 innings in 2010.  The contract also includes a club option for 2012 for $8 million, along with an automatic kicker if Garland reaches 190 innings this season.

“We’re very pleased to have Jon join this group and give us five very strong starters going into Spring Training,” said General Manager Ned Colletti in a statement. “We saw what Jon was capable of down the stretch in 2009 and again last year within our division. Year after year, he takes the ball 30-plus times and gives his team a chance to win every time out.”

While I’m not totally surprised to see Garland back in Dodger Blue (he seemed to like it here in 2009), I am surprised to see him as the #5 starter on this team.  Before the signings of Ted Lilly and Hiroki Kuroda, I could have seen the Dodgers trying to get Garland and sliding him into a #3 or #4 slot, but getting him at the #5 position is just fantastic news and gives the Dodgers a very, very solid  and impressive starting five…the best five starting pitchers we’ve seen in years in LA – certainly in the Frank McCourt era.

Per Ken Gurnick, the move also allows the Dodgers to shore up the bullpen a bit by sliding former #5 starters Carlos Monasterios back to the bullpen full-time while giving John Ely the chance to stay on the roster as the long-reliever (a role previously occupied by Jeff Weaver).

While the Dodgers recent spending spree in November has been impressive, at some point Ned & Co. need to turn their attention to the offense, and look for a power-hitting left-fielder and/or first baseman (if Loney is somehow traded).  My gut tells me that Ned will most likely work on shoring up the bullpen first, figuring out who is going to catch all of these new starters and then pulling in a few aging sluggers to act as part-time players in left field and maybe at first or third.  I just don’t see 2011 as the year that the Dodgers unload with a mega-contract for an Adam Dunn or a Carl Crawford, especially after the moves for Lilly, Kuroda and Garland.  But then again, Ned has been full of surprises so far this offseason, so maybe we will get a Christmas Miracle after all.

Photo Credit: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2009

Eveland pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates last season. He was 3-5 with a 6.79 ERA in 12 games (10 starts).  For his career, Eveland has pitched 330.2 innings with a 5.74 ERA and a 16-22 record with stops in Milwaukee, Arizona, Oakland, Toronto and Pittsburgh.  And for the record, five teams in six years officially earns you the title of being a journeyman pitcher.

Plus, if Eveland does make the Dodgers, he replaces former reliever Justin Miller as one of the biggest fans of ink on the team.  Eveland apparently has his last name tattooed across his back.

As readers of this blog know, I really like signings like this.  It’s classic Ned Colletti strategy to invite a bunch of pitchers with question marks to Spring Training as it’s a cheap roll of the dice.  If Eveland performs well at Camelback Ranch, he could be the #5 starter or be a long reliever in the bullpen.  Maybe he ends up in Albuquerque or maybe he’s just released.  However it plays out, the Dodgers will have a relatively young arm in camp that could provide dividends in 2011 for pitching coach Rick Honeycutt without much of a financial investment.

Photo Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Dodger fans should already feel pretty good about this offseason with the signings of free agent starting pitchers Ted Lilly and Hiroki Kuroda, but there are several additional names that the Dodgers are reportedly linked to that I want to bring up over the course of the next few weeks.  And as always, please remember that my analysis is based off of current rumors; this is the Hot Stove League, after all.  While some reports are inevitably true (or have grains of truth to them), many are fabricated to serve the needs of the agents, players or teams.  So take everything you read with a grain of salt.  And with that said, here’s my first name that I wanted to throw out there:

Eric Chavez (3B):

Earlier in his career, Eric Chavez was a #10 overall pick by the A’s, a six-time Gold Glove-winning third baseman with power and was considered a lock for 27+ HR and 100+ RBI.  As a result, he signed a six-year, $66 million contract with Oakland.  But those days ended around 2005, which seems like a long, long time ago.  Since then, Chavez has been riddled by injuries, most recently with a few bad discs in his back and neck.  He’s now attempting a comeback at the age of 32 (he’ll be 33 in December) and his agent claims the Dodgers are interested in having him work out for them.  Per the Boston Herald:

“…according to his representative, Scott Leventhal, Chavez is handling ‘pretty strenuous workouts’ five days a week at Athletes Performance in Arizona just fine and ‘from our perspective, is completely healthy.’ Chavez turns 33 next month.”

Now this is actually the kind of rumor that I believe.  Ned’s going to be looking at inexpensive sources of power, and having Chavez platoon with Casey Blake at third base seems completely realistic.  Plus the Dodgers like signing players that are rebounding from injuries that they might be able to catch on the uptick.  The Dodgers’ signing of Orlando Hudson is probably the best comparison to how a possible Chavez deal could look (obviously the dollars would be different), but the Dodgers did work Hudson out in secret on two consecutive days to test out his surgically repaired wrist before signing him.  Granted, Chavez could be considered a bigger gamble than Hudson was at that time, but I could easily see Chavez working out for Ned & Co. a couple of times and then getting a one-year deal that’s low on base salary, yet full of incentives if everything checks out physically.  I like it.

Photo Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

I realized I hadn’t commented on the return of Ted Lilly (well, outside of Twitter) so wanted to officially weigh in on his return to the Dodgers.  To recap, Lilly signed a three-year contract worth a total of $33 million.  At nearly 35, Lilly isn’t exactly a spring chicken, but he is a durable, consistent starting pitcher that’s had a high degree of success throughout his career. 

Most importantly, he’s a veteran who knows how to win and will be an excellent mentor to both Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw in the years ahead.  I think this is just one of many intangibles that are often overlooked by fans and bloggers when assessing whether or not a free agent signing or trade is a success or not.  Yes, bringing back Lilly shows the Dodgers are willing to spend money to improve the club, but more importantly it shows they are willing to invest in a quality starting pitcher.

Plus, Lilly’s a really good guy and character matters when building a baseball team. 

Like many fans, I would have liked for the deal to have been for two years instead of three.  But the reality is that Lilly would have commanded three years in today’s free agent market and I’m not opposed to spending the extra $11 million if that’s what it takes to bring him back.

Lilly had solid success while in LA (and was simply amazing upon his arrival), going 7-4 with a 3.52 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 12 starts.  For the season, Lilly was 10-12 with a 3.62 ERA.  I’m sure Lilly recognized that his season really turned around when he came to the Dodgers, and was a factor in him resigning vs. testing the free agent market and probably obtaining a slightly larger contract elsewhere.  Whatever the reason, I’m glad he’s back and will look forward to him pitching and representing LA for the next few years while he’s in Dodger Blue.

Now for a #4 starter…any ideas?

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Danny Moloshok

On December 23, 2009, Dodgers’ President Dennis Mannion said the following to the Times’ Bill Shaikin:

Ned has demonstrated a fantastic ability to read the talent market. We made back-to-back NLCS appearances for the first time in three decades as a result of Ned’s ability to make the right acquisitions at the right time. We want the same thing our fans want, a team that can compete for a world championship year in and year out, and we’ve been in that position for the last two seasons. We expect that to continue.

From the Dodgers’ official press release:

“Vicente did a tremendous job for us down the stretch and his continued success in the postseason proved that he can pitch when there’s a lot at stake,” said Colletti.

The 32-year-old Padilla has won 14 or more games in four of the last eight seasons, joining Andy Pettitte as the only two pitchers to accomplish that feat among a free-agent pitching market that has included John Lackey, Randy Wolf, Joel Pineiro, Brett Myers, Jason Marquis and Jon Garland, among others.

That’s an interesting statistic, but is losing Wolf and bringing pack Padilla to be the veteran presence among the Dodgers’ starting pitchers a step in the right direction for “a team that can compete for a world championship year in and year out?”  Call me skeptical.  Don’t get me wrong, I think that top to bottom, the Dodgers are in an excellent position to make another deep run in the 2010 post-season – no matter who the Dodgers plug in as the 5th starter.  But is this a team that has the starting pitching to truly and legitimately compete for a World Series by getting by a Phillies team that’s bolstered their starting rotation with the likes of Roy Halladay?  Time will tell, as we see Kershaw, Bills and Kuroda continue to develop into strong veteran starters.

The 32-year-old Padilla has won 14 or more games in four of the last eight seasons, joining Andy Pettitte as the only two pitchers to accomplish that feat among a free-agent pitching market that has included John Lackey, Randy Wolf, Joel Pineiro, Brett Myers, Jason Marquis and Jon Garland, among others.

Now I wasn’t expecting the Dodgers to really make a run at the guys looking for $8-$10 million per year, so the Padilla signing makes sense, especially after looking at the remaining starters on the market and the bargain price of $5 million that Ned was able to negotiate.  Plus he was clutch down the stretch.  I get it.  If he pitches like he did last year, Padilla would be a bargain for a solid #4 starter.

But from an emotional standpoint as a fan of this team, I’ve been hoping since October that the Dodgers would make an impact signing to put this club over the top for the coming year, rather than just filling the remaining holes with less commanding options.  In my opinion, that didn’t happen.  Call me frustrated, but that’s how I feel right now.  I’m sure I’ll come around once Spring Training arrives though!

Photo credit: AP Photo/Tom Gannam

Think about it, there really aren’t that many quality starters left on the free agent market and those that are will be looking for long-term deals (Joel Pinero, Jon Garland, etc.).  Then there are the second-tier pitchers (Vicente Padilla, etc.).  That leaves the Big Enigma: Ben Sheets.

Out of baseball since 2008, we really don’t know a lot about how good Sheets is these days and how he’s recovered from his surgery for a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow.  What we do know is that he’s supposedly looking for $10-12 million per year which just isn’t going to happen.  His last year in the majors was 2008 when he started 31 games, going 13-9 with five complete games and 198.1 innings pitched, along with 1 3.09 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  Not bad, right?  When not hurt, he’s an innings-eater.  Before the need for elbow surgery was discovered, Sheets was on track to sign a two-year deal with the Rangers before the 2009 season.

What we do know is that Ned loves a good late-season deal.  Let’s look back on Orlando Hudson.  At the time, there was a lot of concern about his surgically-repaired wrist and teams were hesitant to give him a multi-year contract.  Ned worked him out very late in the off-season and eventually signed him on to an incentive-based contract for one year, paying him a base salary of $3.38 million plus another $4+ million in incentives.  Not bad, right?  At the time, this contract looked like a steal. 

In the end, Hudson went on to an All-Star year, playing in 149 games (until being benched by Joe Torre in favor of Rafael Belliard), batting .282 with 62 BI, 9 HR, 8 SB and 35 doubles (a career high).  In addition to being named a 2009 All-Star, he also won a Gold Glove for his defensive prowess.  All of this netted him a whopping $7.99 million.  I don’t have a problem with the Dodgers paying for performance, and I appreciate Ned’s business philosophy of focusing on shorter-term details that are tied to pay-for-performance models and incentives that reward the players for delivering while limiting the Club’s financial exposure when a high-degree of risk is involved.

In the end, it will come down to how well Sheets pitches on Tuesday and how much interest there is from other clubs, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Ned try to land Sheets with a Hudson-type of contract structure if he pitches halfway decently, especially given the rumored financial difficulty the Dodgers are currently facing.

Photo Credit: AP/Morry Gash

According to Dylan Hernandez, the 36 year-old Carroll played in 93 games last season for Cleveland, hitting .276 with two home runs and 26 RBI.

This deal also is a classic Ned Colletti deal: Carroll is also known as a good guy in the clubhouse and Ned likes adding those guys to the mix for obvious reasons.  Plus, he’s reasonably affordable and only with the team for two years (short contracts being another signature Ned Colletti move).  Hell, Carroll could even play third base or the outfield, so he gives Joe Torre a ton of options, which I love.  And as has been previously reported, Carroll was excited to work with Joe Torre and Don Mattingly and that’s what pushed the Dodgers to the top of his list.

Ned was on the “Mason & Ireland” show this evening on 710 ESPN this evening and explained how a veteran bench can help you as much when they’re not playing, as when they’re on the field, coaching and giving advice to the Dodgers’ younger players.  Carroll fits that description.

“I see him (Carroll) as a more versatile player than Mark (Loretta) right now, and someone who can get more playing time…Carroll is maybe a 300 or 350 at bat kind of guy.”

Good move, Ned!

“We’re not going to make any outlandish-type decisions in a rough economy.” [said Dennis Mannion]

He [Manion] said that would rule out Lackey “unless there is an effective way to make that kind of deal.”

Given the financial uncertainty in the ownership ranks of the Dodgers, I’m not surprised that club president Dennis Mannion is out of the John Lackey sweepstakes, but I am surprised the Dodgers are out before any offers have been made.  As I wrote earlier, Ned Colletti has a history of going after value picks, and giving Lackey a long-term, big money contract would be out of character.  However it’s a bit early to call any Lackey contract an “outlandish-type decision” at this stage of the game.

While I would argue that what the Dodgers really need is a #1 starter and true ace of the rotation, the Dodgers feel that they have that with the combination of Billingsley and Kershaw at #1 and #1a.  They need a #3 starter to replace Randy Wolf, followed by Kuroda and a #5 starter from their ranks of potential candidates.  In theory, given another year of maturity for Bills and Kersh, this would be a better starting five than we had the previous season.

One question I’ve been mulling in my head this off-season is what I really think about Chad Billingsley in my heart of hearts.  Will he develop into a dominant #1 starter, or will his head always get in the way of his natural talent?  I’ll save that for a future post.