The Dodgers have signed 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Brian Barton to a minor league deal. Barton played in 124 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 101 for 397 (.254 avg, .715 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 7 homers, 47 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He also played in 1 game for the Braves last season and he got caught stealing as a pinch runner. Barton has now played in 83 games in two years in the bigs and he is 41 for 153 (.268 avg, .746 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Barton could win a job on the Dodgers bench in 2010 with a strong spring.

The Dodgers have signed 31-year old righty swinging shortstop Angel Berroa to a minor league deal. Berroa played in 35 games for the Mets and Yankees last season and he was 7 for 49 (.143 avg, .391 OPS) with 10 runs scored and 3 RBIs. He has now played in 746 games in his 9 years in the majors and he is 665 for 2,575 (.258 avg, .677 OPS) with 329 runs scored, 46 homers, 254 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. Berroa will likely start the season at AAA and get promoted if the Dodgers have some injuries in 2010.

The Dodgers have signed 35-year old lefty swinging 1B Doug Mientkiewicz to a minor league deal. He played in 20 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 6 for 18 (.333 avg, .789 OPS) with 3 RBIs. He has now played in 1,087 games in his 12 years in the majors and he is 899 for 3,312 (.271 avg, .765 OPS) with 422 runs scored, 66 homers, 405 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. You can never have too many players like Mietkiewicz in the organization so I think it was smart to bring him back for the 2010 season.

The Dodgers have signed 31-year old righty reliever Luis Ayala to a minor league deal. Ayala pitched in 38 games (0 starts) last season for the Twins and Marlins in which he was 1-5 with a 5.62 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He has now pitched in 377 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 29-39 with 18 saves, a 3.67 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. It was worth taking a chance on Ayala who used to be a great pitcher before hurting himself in the World Baseball Classic a few years ago.

The Dodgers have signed 35-year old righty swinging 2B/SS/3B Jamey Carroll to a 2-year, $3.85 million dollar contract. Carroll played in 93 games for the Indians last season and he was 87 for 315 (.276 avg, .695 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 2 homers, 26 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 786 games in his 8 years in the majors and he is 593 for 2,171 (.273 avg, .701 OPS) with 369 runs scored, 12 homers, 174 RBIs and 41 stolen bases. Carroll will serve as the top back-up in the infield this season for the Dodgers and he will likely do a good job for them.