The Dodgers have signed 34-year old lefty swinging 1B Doug Mientkiewicz to a minor league deal. He played in 125 games for the Pirates last season in which he was 79 for 285 (.277 avg, .753 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 2 homers and 30 RBIs. Mientkiewicz has now played in 1,067 games in his major league career in which he is 893 for 3,294 (.271 avg, .765 OPS) with 422 runs scored, 66 homers and 402 RBIs. Mientkiewicz is one of the best defensive first basemen in all of baseball but he also played 3B and in the outfield last season for the Pirates so he should be a valuable reserve for the Dodgers in 2009. This was a good move for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers need more power out of 24-year old lefty swinging 1B James Loney in 2009. He played in 161 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 172 for 595 (.289 avg, .772 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 13 homers and 90 RBIs. Loney also needs to improve on defense some as he made 13 errors in 158 games at 1B last season for the Dodgers. Look for Loney to improve in the field and with the bat in 2009.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C

The Dodgers have signed 31-year old switch hitting 2B Orlando Hudson to a 1-year, $3.4 million dollar contract with $4.6 million in incentives. He played in 107 games for the Diamondbacks last season in which he was 124 for 407 (.305 avg, .819 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 8 homers, 41 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Hudson has now played in 865 games in his major league career in which he was 879 for 3,119 (.282 avg, .779 OPS) with 419 runs scored, 68 homers, 372 RBIs and 42 stolen bases. This was a bargain for the Dodgers as Hudson should help the team on both offense and defense as he is a Gold Glove caliber 2B.

The Dodgers will look to give 26-year old righty swinging catcher Russell Martin more time off this season to keep him fresh as he wore down at the end of 2008. Martin played in 155 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 155 for 553 (.280 avg, .781 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 13 homers, 69 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. That was actually a down year for him but look for him to rebound in 2009 with more rest. Martin only threw out 17 of 87 (20%) basestealers last season, but, Dodgers’ pitchers had a 3.63 ERA with him behind the plate so they liked to throw to him.

39-year old righty swinging Brad Ausmus will be the new backup for the Dodgers this season and he’s a defensive whiz. He only threw out 4 of 23 (17%) basestealers last season but Astros’ pitchers had a 3.71 ERA with him behind the plate. But, Ausmus didn’t hit much last season as he played in 81 games for the Astros in which he was 47 for 216 (.218 avg, .599 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 3 homers and 24 RBIs. Look for Ausmus to hit a little bit better in 2009 due to a lighter workload.

34-year old righty swinging Danny Ardoin was the backup catcher last season for the Dodgers but he will likely start this season in AAA. He played in 34 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 12 for 51 (.235 avg, .592 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Ardoin is a solid defender however as he nailed 3 of 13 (23%) basestealers while Dodgers’ pitchers had a 3.78 ERA throwing to him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: A-

The Dodgers have signed 33-year old lefty starting pitcher Eric Milton to a minor league deal. Milton did not pitch last season as he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Milton has pitched in 266 games (265 starts) in his major league career to date and he is 87-84 with a 5.01 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. This was a no-lose situation for the Dodgers as they just add to the competition for the #5 starter job in 2009.