The Dodgers decided not to tender contracts to Takashi Saito, Scott Proctor, Yhency Brazoban and Angel Berroa making them all free agents. The 38-year old Saito was the surprise of this bunch but the Dodgers were worried about his health. He pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last season and he was 4-4 with 18 saves, a 2.29 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has now pitched in 180 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 12-7 with 81 saves, a 1.95 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has whiffed 245 batters and only allowed 121 hits in his three years with the Dodgers covering 189.2 innings. Scott Proctor had a very rough 2008 for the Dodgers. He pitched in 41 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last season and he was 2-0 with a 6.05 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He has now pitched in 262 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 16-10 with 1 save, a 4.42 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. 28-year old Yhency Brazoban just could never stay healthy for the Dodgers. He pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last season and he was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP. Brazoban has now pitched in 116 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 10-12 with 21 saves, a 4.70 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. 30-year old righty swinging shortstop Angel Berroa was not much of a player for the Dodgers in 2008. He played in 84 games for the Dodgers in 2008 and he was 52 for 226 (.230 avg, .614 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 1 homer and 16 RBIs. Berroa has now played in 711 games in his major league career and he is 658 for 2,526 (.260 avg, .683 OPS) with 319 runs scored, 46 homers, 251 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. The only one of these players that the Dodgers could miss in 2009 is Saito.

UPDATE: The Los Angeles Dodgers have brought back Yhency Brazoban on a minor league deal.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have re-signed 35-year old 3B Casey Blake to a three year deal. Blake played in 152 games for the Dodgers and Indians last season and he was 147 for 536 (.274 avg) with 71 runs scored, 21 homers and 81 RBIs. He has now played in 917 games in his major league career in which he is 873 for 3,304 (.264 avg, .781 OPS) with 472 runs scored, 128 homers and 447 RBIs. It will be interesting to see if Blake is worth the $17 million bucks that the Dodgers have given him. But, nonetheless, he is a solid baseball player.

The Dodgers have signed 37-year old righty swinging infielder Mark Loretta to a 1-year deal. Loretta played in 101 games for the Astros last season and he was 73 for 261 (.280 avg, .733 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 4 homers and 38 RBIs. He has now played in 1,619 games in his major league career in which he is 1,671 for 5,631 (.297 avg, .760 OPS) with 749 runs scored, 76 homers and 604 RBIs. This was a great signing for the Dodgers as Loretta will give them a solid bat off of the bench.

42-year old righty starting pitcher Greg Maddux has decided to walk away from the game of baseball. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Padres and Dodgers last season compiling a 8-13 record with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Maddux pitched in 744 games (740 starts) in his major league career and he was 355-227 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Maddux likely picked a good time to call it quits but he could have hung on a couple of more years if he wanted to.

The Dodgers have signed 30-year old lefty Carmen Cali and 27-year old lefty Eric Threets to compete for a job in the bullpen. Threets pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Giants last season and he was 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. He has pitched in 10 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with a 6.57 ERA and a 2.27 WHIP. Cali pitched in 50 games (2 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 5-1 with 2 saves, a 4.52 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Cali has also pitched in 40 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA and a 2.13 WHIP. It will be interesting to see if either Threets or Cali make the Dodgers who better still be looking for lefty relief help.