Roger Arrieta
GETTING THEIR WORK IN: Today was the fourth day of workouts for pitchers and catchers at Camelback Ranch – Glendale. Position players will officially report tomorrow, with the first full-squad workout of 2014 scheduled for Friday.
* Back in LA, the groundscrew began to lay new sod at Dodger Stadium, replacing the field torn up by the NHL’s Stadium Series game between the Kings and Ducks, which took place on Jan. 25.
* A few more position players reported to camp early for voluntary workouts Wednesday in advance of tomorrow’s report date, including Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Juan Uribe and Chone Figgins.
* Uribe, 34, re-signed with Los Angeles this past offseason, agreeing to a two-year deal, after posting his best year as a Dodger in 2013 with a .278 batting average, 22 doubles, 12 home runs and 50 RBI in 132 games. He was Los Angeles’ primary third baseman and committed just five errors in 900.1 innings at the position, good for a .983 fielding percentage. Uribe’s fielding percentage ranked second among Major League third basemen, earning him recognition by Wilson as the Dodgers’ Defensive Player of the Year. In the postseason, Uribe hit safely in six of the Dodgers’ 10 games and drove in seven runs, including his series-clinching two-run home run in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the Division Series against Atlanta.
* Figgins, 36, is new to the Dodgers, but is a familiar face for Southern California baseball fans after spending eight seasons with the Angels from 2002-09. The 2009 All-Star, who enters camp as a non-roster invitee, last appeared in the Majors with Seattle in 2012 and has a .277 career batting average with 35 home runs and 402 RBI in 11 Major League seasons. On defense, Figgins has a .969 career fielding percentage, appearing in games at second base (274 games), third base (630 games), shortstop (27 games) and the outfield (349 games).
INKED: Yesterday, the Dodgers announced that they had reached a one-year contract with closer Kenley Jansen, avoiding arbitration with the right-hander. Jansen, 26, went 4-3 with a career-high 28 saves and a 1.88 ERA in 75 appearances last season, ranking among the NL relief leaders in ERA (6th), strikeouts (111, 2nd), opponents’ batting average (.177, 7th), games (T-4th) and WHIP (0.86, 2nd). Since making his MLB debut in 2010, Jansen, a converted catcher, ranks fourth among NL relievers in ERA (2.10), third in opponents’ batting average and third in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (14.05).
HURLERS: Today marked the second official bullpen sessions for hurlers Zack Greinke, Brandon League, Jamey Wright, Paco Rodriguez, Paul Maholm, Chris Withrow, Pedro Baez, Yimi Garcia, Jarret Martin, Carlos Frias and Red Patterson.
* Baez split time between Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Chattanooga during the 2013 campaign, his first season as a pitcher. The 25-year-old combined to post a 3-3 record with two saves and a 3.88 ERA in 48 games before pitching in the Arizona Fall League following the season. Baez began his career as a third baseman, compiling a .248 batting average in 507 career games in six seasons, after he was originally signed by the Dodgers in 2007 out of the Dominican Republic.
UNMARK YOUR CALENDAR: This Saturday, every pitcher in camp will have a scheduled day off, designated by Dodger Manager Don Mattingly. This plan was conceived in the offseason because the club does not have a normally scheduled off day this spring due to the March 16 trip to Sydney, Australia.
AMATEUR HOUR: College baseball takes center stage at Camelback Ranch-Glendale this weekend when Seth Rosin’s Minnesota Golden Gophers face Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti’s alma mater, the Northern Illinois Huskies, in a three-game series to open their 2014 seasons. The Gophers and Huskies will meet in the Camelback Ranch main stadium at 1:00 p.m. Friday-Sunday, February 14-16. Admission is free and food and beverages will be available for purchase during workouts and the college games.
ALL DODGERS, ALL THE TIME: We’re just 13 days away from the launch of SportsNet LA on February 25, the new 24-hour-a-day network of the Dodgers. SNLA will televise all of this year’s Dodger Cactus League games, with the exception of two split-squad games, giving fans more Spring Training coverage than ever before. In addition to airing games during Spring Training, SportsNet LA will also air a nightly show, “Access SportsNet: Dodgers,” at 7:00 p.m. PT.
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE: This year, an early report date means an early exit from Arizona as the Dodgers will depart the Valley of the Sun on March 16 for Sydney, Australia. Once Down Under, Los Angeles will battle the D-backs on March 22-23 in Major League Baseball’s Opening Series, which will mark MLB’s first regular-season games ever to be staged in Australia. The Dodgers will return stateside and play three exhibitions against the Angels in the Freeway Series before opening the “North American” portion of their schedule March 30 at San Diego on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.
