The Dodgers hope that 37-year old righty swinging Manny Ramirez will forget about his suspension of last season and give them at least 140 games in 2010. Ramirez played in 104 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 102 of 352 (.290 avg, .949 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 19 homers and 63 RBIs. Ramirez has played in 2,207 games in his major league career and he has a .313 batting average with a 1.002 OPS so the Dodgers expect him to hit better than he did last season. But will a drug free Manny Ramirez still be productive as he didn’t play great upon his return from his suspension? Only time will tell. Ramirez played in 101 games in LF last season for the Dodgers and he made 4 errors while showing pitiful range there. He did have 3 assists last season but his arm isn’t what it used to be.

33-year old righty swinging Reed Johnson will back up Ramirez in LF and likely serve as his defensive replacement late in games. Johnson played in 65 games for the Cubs last season and he was 42 of 165 (.255 avg, .742 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 4 homers, 22 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Johnson has a career batting average of .282 in 784 games so the Dodgers expect him to hit better than he did in 2009 for the Cubs. Johnson didn’t make any errors in 10 games in LF for the Cubs last season but he showed below average range. Johnson is a natural CF so look for his range to improve in 2010 for the Dodgers.

29-year old righty swinging Jason Repko is still around for the Dodgers. He played in 2 error-free games in LF for the Dodgers last season and he showed outstanding range. He will be a longshot to make the Dodgers’ opening day roster.

21-year old lefty swinging Andrew Lambo is one of the better prospects in the Dodgers’ system but they will likely take it slow with him. Lambo played in 130 games in AA-ball last season and he was 126 of 492 (.256 avg, .717 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 11 homers, 61 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Lambo has now played in 315 games in his three years in the minors and he is 338 of 1,181 (.286 avg, .805 OPS) with 173 runs scored, 34 homers, 184 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: B