Colletti also said he had discussed Choi with the Newark Bears. "Yes, Rickey Henderson's name came up."

Why in #### would he sign with the Dodgers of his own free will? They'll never play him.

Dodgers current roster:

Signed to Garunteed Contracts (16):

C: Sandy Alomar
IF: Nomar Garciaparra, Olmedo Saenz, Hee Seop Choi, Jeff Kent, Rafael Furcal, Bill Mueller, Cesar Izturis
OF: JD Drew, Jose Cruz, Kenny Lofton, Ricky Ledee
SP: Odalis Perez, Derek Lowe, Brad Penny
RP: Eric Gagne

Non-Garunteed Contracts (12):

C: Dioner Navarro, Jason Phillips
IF: Oscar Robles, Willy Aybar
OF: Jayson Werth, Jason Repko
SP: DJ Houlton, Edwin Jackson
RP: Duaner Sanchez, Yhency Brazoban, Steve Schmoll, Franquelis Osoria

So, the Dodgers bench is now Alomar, Choi, Saenz, Robles/Aybar, Ledee, and Werth? Not a bad bench, I must say. Although, the idea has struck my mind of Nomar in left field, with Choi at 1B, which would be a pretty good lineup:

Furcal SS
Lofton CF
Drew RF
Kent 2B
Nomar LF
Choi 1B
Mueller 3B
Navarro C

When Drew goes down, Cruz takes over and moves everyone except Navarro up a spot. Not too bad, I don't think.

Even if he signs a contract to avoid going to arbitration does that still mean he can't be traded for six months or however long a time that is.

Maybe he knows Nomar will go down after four weeks and he thinks stepping in for and outhitting a former member of the Trinity will look good on his resume. It's one thing to be a better first basemen than the other dreck they were throwing out there last year, quite another if he's replacing Nomar. Granted he's still probably third on the depth chart behind Jason Phillips.

I don't really understand why Choi agreed to sign with the Dodgers after the Garciaparra signing. But as a Dodgers fan I love the depth we're building up, particularly after the parade of injuries that was 2005. I'm dubious that Garciaparra will learn two new positions (1B and LF), but if he did that would give us fantastic flexibility for when the inevitable OF injuries start happening.

Even if he signs a contract to avoid going to arbitration does that still mean he can't be traded for six months or however long a time that is.

No, because Choi wasn't free-agent eligible, like the players that had the THEIR deadline last night.

He could be traded tomorrow, if the Dodgers wanted to.

Non-Garunteed Contracts (12):

C: Dioner Navarro, Jason Phillips

Scratch Phillips, he is supposedly being non-tendered.

I know Phillips is likely to be nontendered, but I had to list him as of the moment I made that list.

choi figures nomar will land on the dl in early may.

Why in #### would he sign with the Dodgers of his own free will? They'll never play him.

and

I don't really understand why Choi agreed to sign with the Dodgers after the Garciaparra signing.

Reserve clause.

Choi's taken these matters into his own hands before (see bottom of page).

But they'd made it clear they were going to non-tender him if he didn't sign this contract, thereby rendering him a free-agent.

I wonder if it's a pride thing - he'd rather sign a contract, and be traded (or sent down) if he's not wanted, than be cut.

Oh, and caspian88 - Phillips was officially nontendered, along with Mike Edwards and Brian Myrow.

I know Phillips was awful, but why take Alomar over him? Phillips will give you an occasional homerun at least, while Alomar is done. Of course, they should have signed Robert Fick instead. And, yes, I am very glad that Choi was signed.

I know Phillips was awful, but why take Alomar over him?

Somebody who knows how to catch, to mentor Navarro?

Phillips isn't as bad as he played last year, but it sure didn't speak well of his fundamentals.

Even forgetting the playing time issue, WTF? Choi basically refused to call the Dodgers' bluff. He took less than he'd get in arb (apparently) and then, instead of taking the opportunity to negotiate with 30 teams, limited himself to one. Ridiculously bad idea for 06, and because of playing time, it will kill his 07 salary too. Dumb.

A 100% raise for a player they don't need is a "modest raise"??

A 100% raise for a player they don't need is a "modest raise"??

No shite, the average person would be beyond thrilled to get a 10% raise.

If they're counting on Garciaparra, they'll need a backup firstbaseman or two at some point.

was signed for $725,000, a modest raise after earning $351,500 in 2005.

TFW already pointed it out, but doubling your salary, a raise of over 370,000 american dollars, is considered "modest"?

What a country. In soviet Korea, baseball team modest you.

I don't know if people are serious, but considering the system in place allowing guys to be grossly underpaid their first 3 years, Choi definitely got only a modest raise.