Brian Giles looks pretty toast, which is too bad given how he was regularly unheralded during his very solid MLB career.

The fourth outfielder better be able to handle CF, which leaves Anderson, Giles, and I guess Gross out. Johnson could be useful, I guess. I'd rather they let Xavier Paul be the fourth outfielder, though.

Brian Giles looks pretty toast, which is too bad given how he was regularly unheralded during his very solid MLB career.

He was one of the NL's best hitters in '08, and last year was the first bad season he's ever had. I think 61 bad games aren't enough to decide that he's done.

The correct answer is: None of the above.

The correct answer is: None of the above.

This. The correct answer is "Jonny Gomes."

Johnny Gomes looks like he'll re-sign with the Reds on a NRI.

The fourth outfielder better be able to handle CF

That can be the 5th OF's job. But, yes, depending on what else the Dodgers have on their roster, Johnson would probably be my choice among these guys.

Hmmm, Gabe Gross has been a much worse hitter than I thought. Career 91 OPS+, 96/98/79 the last three years.

Giles is a tough one -- his 2008 is as out of character with his recent performance as his 2009 was. But obviously, as a 4th OF, you'd be thrilled to have his 2006-7 performance. Meanwhile, he'll be 39 and has that ugly incident with his girlfriend.

So presumably it will be Garret Anderson which will give us much mirth -- then when Manny is out for a month, Anderson will hit 350/400/550 just because God hates us.

Walt, the bench players right now is Jamey Carroll, Brad Ausmus, and Ronnie Belliard, with Blake DeWitt on the bench or back to triple-A, and Doug Mientkiewicz on a NRI, but likely to make the team if healthy. The Dodgers will likely carry 12 pitchers for the majority of the season as well. There won't be a 5th outfielder on the team unless Carroll can play some CF.

Johnny Gomes looks like he'll re-sign with the Reds on a NRI.


Which baffles me. Okay, Brian Anderson deserves a guaranteed MLB contract, but Johnny Gomes does not? Hell, Gomes is better than Scott Podsednik who not only has a guaranteed deal, but is being paid millions.

Walt, the bench players right now is Jamey Carroll, Brad Ausmus, and Ronnie Belliard, with Blake DeWitt on the bench or back to triple-A, and Doug Mientkiewicz on a NRI, but likely to make the team if healthy.

If Belliard, Carroll and DeWitt are all on the bench, who plays second base?

Sorry, one of Belliard, Carroll and DeWitt will play 2nd base, but it'll likely be a rotation at 2nd and 3rd when Casey Blake needs a rest. The Dodgers will need all 3 roster spots for Belliard, Carroll and DeWitt unless they think Belliard and Carroll are adequate and send DeWitt back to Triple-A.

Walt, the bench players right now is Jamey Carroll, Brad Ausmus, and Ronnie Belliard, with Blake DeWitt on the bench or back to triple-A, and Doug Mientkiewicz on a NRI, but likely to make the team if healthy.

Well if you're going to carry a backup 1B and 2 backup IFs, you deserve what you get. :-)

If Belliard, Carroll and DeWitt are all on the bench, who plays second base?

A good question.

Anyway, if they go with that combo plus Minky, at least one of them will have to log some fairly major OF time (which really shouldn't be a problem for any of them) ... but, yes, would require the 4th OF to cover CF and means that Johnson is the only one of those 4 names they should be looking at. (I know nothing of Xavier Paul)

But I seriously doubt they will go into the season with all of DeWitt, Belliard, Carroll, and Minky on the roster (barring injury). Or that roster construction won't last more than a month.

Johnny Gomes

Maybe teams overlook him because they keep mis-spelling his first name. :-) Gomes' problem is that he's horrible defensively -- or at least such is his rep and it's backed up by TZ and UZR. Chone and fangraphs both have him as replacement level or worse over the last 4 seasons. Even last year, the second best hitting season he's ever had, he was only .6 WAR (by both systems). Add in that he's a RHB and that lefty mashers are a dime a dozen
and I don't see any reason to give him a guaranteed contract.

Which should not be taken as a defense of the Anderson/Pods signings.

Are the Dodgers even trying to sign Orlando Hudson?

Nope. The Dodgers didn't offer Hudson arbitration, and Torre benched Hudson for Belliard in Sept. and Oct.

Which made me look at the ZiPS article on the Dodgers: ZiPS has Hudson at OPS+ 104, defense Avg; Belliard at OPS+ 95, defense Fr. And Belliard is three years older than Hudson, and I would think would carry a considerably greater downside risk. How much would Hudson have cost, anyway?

OCF, Hudson wants 9 million a year, at multiple years. Even if they wanted him back, the Dodgers are at the stage that everyone in their core are either signed as FAs, or in their more expensive arbitration years. The only exception to this is Clayton Kershaw.

Anyway, Hudson was pretty pissed about the benching thing, and made it clear that he had no interest in coming back to LA. I doubt he would re-sign with the Dodgers unless he received absolutely no other competitive offers.

2:55pm: Rosenthal tweets a confirmation that Dodgers are indeed close to a deal with Johnson.

2:50pm: Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Dodgers are going hard after Reed Johnson, and that a deal may be close or already done.

Johnson, 33, hit .255/.330/.412 with the Cubs last season, seeing time at all three outfield positions, though primarily in center field. He was limited to just 65 games as a result of a fractured left foot.

The correct answer is: None of the above.

This. The correct answer is "Jonny Gomes."

Reed Johnson is a better player than Jonny Gomes. I'd rather have Johnson's CHONE projection of 335/385 with good defense in a corner and passable defense in CF than a DH who hits 321/447.

Really, though, Johnson and Gomes are totally separate pieces. Gomes is a pinch-hitter and maybe a backup LF. The Dodgers need a backup outfielder who can cover CF, so Gomes is out. On a team that didn't need their 4th OF to be able to play center, but needed a bat off the bench, Gomes might be a better choice.

Johnson is better than Gomes in the abstract, but with bench talents like these guys, their relative value is determined by the team's roster needs.

OCF, Hudson wants 9 million a year, at multiple years.

Yeah, but by now it should be obvious to everyone involved that he ain't getting that.

Back to Gomes -- he really needs to add 1B to his "defensive" repertoire. He wouldn't necessarily be a bad option as Loney/Ethier backup. Heck, if Gomes is secretly a decent defensive 1B, a Gomes/Loney platoon might even work (though Loney's splits are not bad by LHB standards).

Gomes is a pinch-hitter and maybe a backup LF.

I think he's a little better than that. He's the short half of a corner OF or DH/platoon job share. His career numbers against LHP in 600 AB are pretty good. Walt Davis is right about the 1b thing. I am not sure why the Reds have dealt with Gomes the way they have, given how he hit against LHP last year and how crappy the team's offense is.

Isn't Gomes the one who had a heart attack at the age of 22, or something?