Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Tag: Onelki Garcia

Zach Lee, Chris Reed and Scott Schebler join 40-man

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Ahead of tonight’s deadline to protect players before the December 11 Rule 5 draft, the Dodgers selected the contracts of pitchers Zach Lee and Chris Reed and outfielder Scott Schebler to the team’s 40-man roster.

The Dodgers have 39 players on the 40-man, after reliever Onelki Garcia was claimed on waivers by the Chicago White Sox. Garcia, who allowed two runs in 1 1/3 big-league innings with the Dodgers in 2013, missed most of 2014 because of arm surgery before a brief return at season’s end for Rancho Cucamonga.

— Jon Weisman

Notebook: Three weeks to go …

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Arizona Diamondbacks

For more photo highlights from Sunday, visit LA Photog Blog.

Padres at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Kershaw CCVI: Kershawffice Space 
Dee Gordon, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, CF
Justin Turner, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

I’m starting today’s pregame notebook with perhaps the least relevant note, but today before batting practice, Erisbel Arruebarrena and Alex Guerrero were practicing 6-4-3 and 4-6-3 double plays, and they put on a show in my eyes.

Arruebarrena has had some recent injury issues, but he was healthy today and back to showing as quick a release after fielding a grounder as you’ll ever see. And I know Guerrero doesn’t have as great a reputation at second base, but he looked smooth on the turn to me.

Of course, what do I know? For one thing, there weren’t any actual baserunners bearing down on Arruebarrena and Guerrero, but Don Mattingly agreed that they looked good, so there’s that.

In other notes:

  • The Dodgers have definitely benefited from the month that Clayton Kershaw missed, Mattingly said, in terms of being fresh for the stretch run and able to go longer in games.
  • Zack Greinke had no issues after Sunday’s six-inning start, Mattingly said.
  • Carlos Frias is not expected to start another game for the Dodgers this year, and Mattingly said that Frias’ two shutout innings Sunday in relief explains why — there’s increasing viability for him to become a more integral part of the bullpen. “First inning he comes in, he pretty much attacks, throws strikes, gets three outs and then he’s able to go back out,” Mattingly said. “We’ve had some kind of middle-innings issues of where to go at certain times, so he could be a valuable guy right there where he was at yesterday.”
  • Sixteen of Frias’ past 17 innings have been scoreless, with only three hits and one walk in those 16 frames. Only blemish: three runs in his fourth inning of work August 24 vs. the Mets.
  • Onelki Garcia is healthy and a contender to see MLB game action before this season is over. Garcia, who made his big-league debut on September 11, 2013 but had two offseason surgeries, pitched a shutout inning for Chattanooga in their Southern League semifinal-round victory Sunday.
  • Injured reliever Paco Rodriguez threw on flat ground and is moving forward again.
  • Three weeks and 19 games remain in the regular season. The Dodgers’ magic number is 17, but in reality, 15 victories would guarantee the title because of the number of games they play against second-place San Francisco. (Thanks to Bob Timmermann for the note.)

In case you missed it: Saturday night jive

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By Jon Weisman

Notes from a Saturday in the park …

  • Dylan Hernandez of the Times and Ken Gurnick of MLB.com have pieces on Carl Crawford’s physical status. From Hernandez:

    … Living in Arizona over the winter, Crawford addressed his health problems by spending a significant part of his off-season at the Dodgers’ spring-training complex. Under the supervision of Dodgers trainers, he worked to strengthen his core and back.

    Crawford, who was a four-time American League stolen-base champion with the Tampa Bay Rays, intends to become a threat on the basepaths again.

    “I really want to run,” he said. “I got gun shy last season because any time I stole a base, I had pain. I know I can steal 25 bases. It’s frustrating when I’m stealing 10 or 11. I do everything else fast. I still run down balls in the outfield, I still get triples, I still go first to third, so it’s frustrating I don’t steal more bases.” …

  • Because the Dodger pitchers got their one off day from Spring Training today, Dodger catchers had a precious day to focus on hitting, notes Gurnick. “Being a catcher, sometimes you’re unavailable to get in the quality swings other position players get,” A.J. Ellis said.
  • Miguel Rojas discussed the challenges of transitioning from shortstop to second base — keeping Alex Guerrero in mind — with J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News.
  • Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles writes about the comfort zone for Cuban Dodgers Yasiel Puig, Alex Guerrero and Onelki Garcia, who locker side-by-side-by-side.
  • Aaron Harang, one of the Spring Training starting pitchers with the Dodgers a year ago, has just signed a minor-league deal with Cleveland and will compete for a spot in the Indians’ rotation, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
  • Another 1961 Dodger artifact comes from Ernest Reyes of Blue Heaven, featuring Walter Alston. Definitely worth the click.
  • Mark Mulder, whose Paco Rodriguez-inspired comeback after more than five years away from the majors looked like it might be the story of the year in baseball, saw that hope end when he ruptured his left Achilles’ tendon in an agility drill before his first bullpen session for the Angels, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Times.

Age is just a number (even if it’s the wrong number)

Mets at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, SS
Elian Herrera, 3B
Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B
Bobby Abreu, LF
A.J. Ellis, C
James Loney, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, RF
Tony Gwynn Jr., CF
Aaron Harang, P

I’ve spent most of the year thinking I’m the wrong age. What does this have to do with the Dodgers and R.A. Dickey? Maybe nothing at all, but find out the scoop at Los Angeles Magazine’s CityThink blog.

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