Garret Anderson comes back to Los Angeles. It just happens to be with the Dodgers instead of the Angels. The 16-year veteran played for the Angels the first 15 years of his career before heading to Atlanta last year. With the change to Dodgers Anderson is also trying new things the most notable one being a first basemen glove.
The Dodgers also have Doug Mientkiewicz trying to make the team again this year and it may ultimately come down to which player has the hot hand this spring for what appears to be one roster spot.
The Dodgers biggest concern is whether to keep Blake DeWitt in the majors or to send him back to Triple-A. DeWitt, 25, has yet to show he’s worthy of a big league roster space for the course of a season. Chin-lung Hu on the other hand is almost certainly headed back down and it’s unclear if the Dodgers are serious about keeping Jason Repko on the 25 man roster or not. Should all three go down it’s likely both Anderson and Mientkiewicz find themselves on the opening day roster.
Anderson’s one year in Atlanta was more of a jail sentence for both sides. Never known for drawling a walk and with knees that have already faded away Anderson’s time in Atlanta is more likely a reflection of things to come rather then a hiccup. His batting average tumbled 25 points last year down to a career low of .268 and just 8 times in his career has his OBP topped .330 (and two of those times consist of 1994 in which he had 13 at-bats and 1995 in which he had 374).
If Anderson makes the roster it’s because he makes contact this spring and his past contributions. He’s not a regular option in the outfield and his acceptance of playing first base from time to time only allows for the occasional off day for James Loney.
At 37 years of age it’s clear there’s not much left in the tank but there are certainly worse options out there for a roster spot.
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Non-Roster Invitees | ||||||
| Pitchers | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |||
| 26 Luis Ayala | R/R | 6-2 | 190 | 01/12/78 | |||
| 88 Scott Dohmann | R/R | 6-1 | 200 | 02/13/78 | |||
| 79 Francisco Felix | R/R | 5-11 | 205 | 07/28/83 | |||
| 38 Eric Gagne | R/R | 6-0 | 240 | 01/07/76 | |||
| 70 Josh Lindblom | R/R | 6-5 | 240 | 06/15/87 | |||
| 45 Justin Miller | R/R | 6-2 | 200 | 08/27/77 | |||
| 35 Ramon Ortiz | R/R | 6-0 | 175 | 05/23/73 | |||
| 48 Russ Ortiz | R/R | 6-1 | 220 | 06/05/74 | |||
| 78 Juan Perez | R/L | 6-0 | 180 | 09/03/78 | |||
| 28 Josh Towers | R/R | 6-1 | 185 | 02/26/77 | |||
| 36 Jeff Weaver | R/R | 6-5 | 200 | 08/22/76 | |||
| Catchers | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |||
| 77 JD Closser | S/R | 5-10 | 180 | 01/15/80 | |||
| 81 Gabriel Gutierrez | R/R | 5-11 | 190 | 11/24/83 | |||
| 82 Justin Knoedler | R/R | 6-2 | 210 | 07/17/80 | |||
| Infielders | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |||
| 30 Angel Berroa | R/R | 6-0 | 195 | 01/27/77 | |||
| 21 Nick Green | R/R | 6-0 | 180 | 09/10/78 | |||
| 76 John Lindsey | R/R | 6-1 | 245 | 01/30/77 | |||
| 13 Doug Mientkiewicz | L/R | 6-0 | 210 | 06/19/74 | |||
| 72 Russ Mitchell | R/R | 5-11 | 205 | 02/15/85 | |||
| 63 Argenis Reyes | S/R | 5-10 | 180 | 09/25/82 | |||
| Outfielders | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |||
| — Alfredo Amezaga | S/R | 5-10 | 180 | 01/16/78 | |||
| 00 Garret Anderson | L/L | 6-3 | 225 | 06/30/72 | |||
| 66 Brian Barton | R/R | 6-3 | 190 | 04/25/82 | |||
| 61 Prentice Redman | R/R | 6-3 | 185 | 08/23/79 | |||
| 29 Michael Restovich | R/R | 6-6 | 240 | 01/03/79 | |||
