When Jonathan Broxton started to have issues closing out games the Dodgers decided to replace him at closer with 28-year old lefty Hong-Chih Kuo. Kuo has been incredible all year long and it hasn’t changed with his new role as he has been lights out so far. Kuo has pitched in 54 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 3-2 with 11 saves, a 1.24 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. He has only given up 28 hits in 58 innings this year while whiffing 69 batters showing just how dominating he has been. Kuo also has outstanding control as he has only walked 17 batters so you have to go up to the plate swinging against him. I see no reason to think that Kuo won’t be the Dodgers’ closer on Opening Day 2011.

The Dodgers have dealt 23-year old righty swinging outfielder Preston Mattingly to the Cleveland Indians for 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Roman Pena. Mattingly is the son of the Dodgers’ new manager starting next year, Don Mattingly. Preston Mattingly played in 49 games in Rookie+A-ball for the Dodgers this year and he was 36 of 165 (.218 avg, .538 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Roman Pena played in 21 games in A-ball for the Indians this year and he was 9 of 61 (.148 avg, .602 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Pena has now played in 421 games in five years in the minors and he is 369 of 1,514 (.244 avg, .711 OPS) with 218 runs scored, 34 homers, 214 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. This was likely done as a favor to Preston Mattingly to give him a fresh start with a new organization as Roman Pena isn’t much of a prospect either.

33-year old righty swinging 1B John Lindsey will miss the remainder of the season due to a broken left hand. Lindsey played in 10 games for the Dodgers this year and he was 1 of 12 (.083 avg, .237 OPS). This is a shame as Lindsey worked so hard to get to the majors. He has played in 1,571 games in 16 years in the minors and he is 1,589 of 5,597 (.284 avg, .839 OPS) with 821 runs scored, 219 homers, 1,035 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.

Over the winter, 24-year old righty reliever/starter Carlos Monasterios was selected off the Phillies roster in the Rule 5 Draft by the Mets who sold him to the Dodgers. That meant that the Dodgers had to either keep Monasterios on the active roster all year long or they had to offer him back to the Phillies. But, Monasterios made that a moot point as he pitched pretty decent for the Dodgers this year. He has pitched in 31 games (12 starts) for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 3-5 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. It looks like the Dodgers made a shrewd move in buying Monasterios from the Mets over the winter.

The Dodgers have dealt 36-year old righty reliever Octavio Dotel to the Rockies for a player to be named later. Dotel pitched in 19 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers in which he was 1-1 with 1 save, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Getting Dotel from the Pirates could wind up being a horrible move for the Dodgers if James McDonald keeps pitching well in Pittsburgh and Andrew Lambo develops.