The Dodgers have traded 30-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Ryan Theriot to the Cardinals for 27-year old righty reliever Blake Hawksworth. Theriot played in 54 games for the Dodgers last season after coming over in a deal with the Cubs and he was 48 of 198 (.242 avg, .606 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Blake Hawksworth pitched in 45 games (8 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 4-8 with a 4.98 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. In his first two seasons in the majors, Hawksworth has pitched in 75 games (8 starts) in which he is 8-8 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. I like this deal for the Dodgers as they weren’t going to tender a contract to Ryan Theriot after signing Juan Uribe. Hawksworth will likely work in middle relief for the Dodgers in 2011.

The Dodgers have signed 31-year old righty swinging Juan Uribe to a 3-year, $21 million dollar deal to take over as the starting 2B. Uribe played in 148 games for the rival San Francisco Giants last season and he was 129 of 521 (.248 avg, .749 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 24 homers and 85 RBIs. Uribe has now played in 1,256 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 1,114 of 4,357 (.256 avg, .731 OPS) with 546 runs scored, 151 homers, 599 RBIs and 39 stolen bases. This was a good move for the Dodgers as Uribe gives them another power bat while at the same time hurting the Giants.

The Dodgers have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Jon Garland to a 1-year, $5 million dollar deal with a option that is worth $8 million bucks that automatically vests if he pitches 190 or more innings in 2011. Garland started 33 games for the Padres last season and he was 14-12 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He has now pitched in 344 games (321 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 131-114 with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Garland is a dependable workhorse type pitcher who gives the Dodgers a very solid rotation 1-5 as he joins lefties Clayton Kershaw, Ted Lilly and righties Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda.

The Dodgers have signed 29-year old righty reliever Oscar Villarreal to a minor league deal. Villarreal pitched in 49 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Phillies last season and he was 4-3 with 1 save, a 4.40 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Villarreal has also pitched in six seasons in the majors, working in 258 games (5 starts) in which he was 24-15 with 1 save, a 3.86 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. It never hurts to sign a guy like Villarreal who has had some success in his major league career despite going through a down time right now. He will get a chance to earn a bullpen spot next spring.

The Dodgers have signed 27-year old lefty starter/reliever Dana Eveland to a minor league deal. Eveland pitched in 12 games (10 starts) for the Pirates & Blue Jays last season and he was 3-5 with a 6.79 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. He has now pitched in 95 games (54 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 16-22 with 1 save, a 5.74 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Eveland will get a shot to make the Dodgers’ bullpen next spring but don’t expect any miracles out of him.