36-year old righty swinging Casey Blake will be the starter at 3B again in 2010 for the Dodgers. Blake played in 139 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 136 for 485 (.280 avg, .831 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 18 homers, 79 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Blake made 10 errors in 134 games at 3B for the Dodgers last season while showing above average range. Blake is a gamer who likes to get dirty and you can pencil him in for 17-20 homers and 70-80 RBIs every year.

24-year old lefty swinging Blake DeWitt will likely start the season in AAA and get a call from the Dodgers if the need arises. DeWitt played in 31 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 10 for 49 (.204 avg, .623 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. He also played in 92 games in AAA last season and he was 90 for 352 (.256 avg, .775 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 7 homers and 47 RBIs. DeWitt made 1 error in 14 games at 3B for the Dodgers last season while showing below average range.

36-year old righty swinging Jamey Carroll will likely backup Blake this season at 3B. He played in 23 games at 3B last season for the Indians and he made 2 errors while showing above average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2010 SEASON: B

32-year old switch hitting Rafael Furcal had a off year in 2009 but I have a feeling that he will rebound in 2010 with the bat. Furcal played in 150 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 165 for 613 (.269 avg, .710 OPS) with 92 runs scored, 9 homers, 47 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The Dodgers hope that Furcal hits his career norm of a .284 batting average with a .758 OPS and 27 stolen bases. Furcal made 20 errors in 149 games at SS for the Dodgers last season while showing slightly below average range.

The Dodgers signed 31-year old righty swinging Nick Green to compete for a job on the bench in 2010. Green played in 103 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 65 for 276 (.236 avg, .669 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 6 homers and 35 RBIs. Green made 14 errors in 81 games at SS last season while showing below average range.

32-year old switch hitting Alfredo Amezaga will have a good shot to make the Dodgers as a backup infielder/outfielder if his knee that he had surgery on last season is healthy. Amezaga played in 27 games for the Marlins last season and he was 15 for 69 (.217 avg, .528 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Amezaga has a career batting average of .251 with a .652 OPS so expect him to be much better than last season if he is healthy. Amezaga didn’t make any errors in 5 games at SS last season while showing slightly below average range.

26-year old Chin-lung Hu was once one of the Dodgers’ better prospects but the shine is starting to wear off on him. Hu played in 5 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 2 for 5 (.400 avg, .933 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Hu also played in 130 games in AAA-ball and he was 146 for 496 (.294 avg, .725 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 6 homers, 53 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Hu didn’t make any errors in 3 games at SS last season while showing poor range.

32-year old righty swinging Angel Berroa is also with the Dodgers in spring training. Berroa played in 35 games with the Yankees & Mets last season and he was 7 for 49 (.143 avg, .392 OPS) with 10 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Berroa made 2 errors in only 8 games at SS last season while showing good range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: B

34-year old righty reliever Eric Gagne has signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers that will pay him $500,000 bucks if he makes the pitching staff plus he can earn potentially another $500,000 bucks in incentives. Gagne pitched in 17 games (all starts) in Independent Ball last season and he was 6-6 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2008 with the Brewers. Gagne has now pitched in 402 games (48 starts) in his major league career and he is 33-26 with 187 saves, a 3.47 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. It never hurts to bring back players like Gagne on minor league deals.

The Dodgers have signed 33-year old righty starting pitcher Seth Etherton to a minor league deal. Etherton pitched in 28 games (26 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 11-8 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2006 with the Royals. Etherton has now pitched in 23 games (all starts) in his major league career and he is 9-7 with a 6.30 ERA ad a 1.57 WHIP. He will likely start the season in AAA and get a call to the Dodgers if the need arises.

The Dodgers brought in a lot of players to compete for the 2B job in 2010. It appears that 34-year old righty swinging Ronnie Belliard will get the bulk of the P.T. at 2B in 2010. He played in 24 games last season for the Dodgers after coming over in a trade with the Nationals and he was 27 for 77 (.351 avg, 1.034 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 5 homers and 17 RBIs. He played in 110 games overall with the Nationals and Dodgers in which he was 73 for 264 (.277 avg, .776 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 10 homers, 39 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Belliard played in 60 games at 2B last season and he made 4 errors there while showing good range. He is the best hitter of the 2B the Dodgers have assembled this spring and that is why I think he will be the starter in 2010.

35-year old righty swinging Jamey Carroll will likely be the Dodgers’ top utility man this season. He 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. The Dodgers expect that Carroll will help them out a lot off the bench in 2010. He only made 1 error in 56 games at 2B last season for the Indians but he showed pretty poor range.

24-year old lefty swinging Blake DeWitt thought he was going to be the starting 2B for the Dodgers in 2010 but that was before they brought back Ronnie Belliard. He played in 31 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 10 for 49 (.204 avg, .633 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. He didn’t make any errors at 2B last season while showing pretty outstanding range. Look for DeWitt to likely start the season in AAA and get a call from the Dodgers if either Belliard or starting 3B Casey Blake gets injured.

31-year old righty swinging Nick Green played a lot of shortstop for the Red Sox last season. He only played in 7 games at 2B for the Red Sox last season but he didn’t make any errors while showing poor range. Green’s best asset is his versatility in the field and that is what gives him his best chance to make the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster.

32-year old switch-hitting Alfredo Amezaga missed most of last season due to injury. He didn’t play 2B for the Marlins but he is a very capable defender there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: C-