33-year old switch hitting Rafael Furcal is still a top shortstop when healthy. He only played in 97 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 115 of 383 (.300 avg, .826 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 8 homers, 43 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He has played in only 130+ games once in last three years for the Dodgers. The important thing about the 130+ games is that Furcal has averaged 100.9 runs scored, 10.4 homers, 52.4 RBIs and 30.1 stolen bases in the 8 years he has played in that many games. The Dodgers would be happy with Furcal’s average numbers in 2011 for playing in 130+ games. Furcal made 19 errors (too many) in 93 games for the Dodgers last season while still showing pretty good range. Furcal will likely play better defense if he’s healthy in 2011.

37-year old righty swinging Jamey Carroll will probably be Furcal’s top backup in 2011. He played in 69 games for the Dodgers last season at SS and he had 4 errors while showing slightly above average range. The Dodgers hope that Carroll doesn’t have to play as much at SS as he did in 2010.

31-year old righty swinging Juan Uribe is going to be the starting 2B for the Dodgers this season, but he can handle playing short if they get into a pinch. Uribe only had 6 errors in 103 games for the Giants last season at SS but he showed pretty pathetic range. The Dodgers don’t likely want Uribe playing any games at SS in 2011.

34-year old switch hitting Aaron Miles will likely be battling 38-year old righty swinging Juan Castro for one spot on the Dodgers bench. Miles didn’t make any errors in 6 games at SS last season while showing out of this world range. Castro made 3 errors at SS in 33 games there last season while showing pretty poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DODGERS SHORTSTOPS IN 2011: B

33-year old righty starter/reliever Vicente Padilla will be out until at least the All-Star break after undergoing surgery on his right elbow earlier this week. Padilla pitched in 16 games (all starts) for the Dodgers last season and he was 6-5 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has pitched in 24 games (23 starts) in parts of two years with the Dodgers and he is 10-5 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. The Dodgers were going to use Padilla as the long man out of the pen this season so losing him won’t hurt as bad as it would have if he were in the starting rotation. This is still a decent sized loss for the Dodgers though.

The Dodgers signed 31-year old righty swinging Juan Uribe to take over as the new starting 2B over the winter. Uribe played in 148 games for the evil San Francisco Giants and he was 129 of 521 (.248 avg, .749 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 24 homers, 85 RBI and 1 stolen base. The Dodgers hope he can crack 20+ homers for them in 2011 and I don’t see any reason to think he won’t be able to do that. Uribe is a shorstop by trade. He played in 24 error-free games at 2B for the Giants last season while showing excellent range. I think Uribe is going to be a very solid fit for the Dodgers in 2011.

37-year old righty swinging Jamey Carroll is back to back up everyone in the infield in 2011. He played in 133 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 102 of 351 (.291 avg, .718 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 0 homers, 23 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Carroll played in 48 error-free games at 2B for the Dodgers last season and he also showed excellent range there. Carroll is a nice asset off the bench for the Dodgers and that will continue in 2011.

38-year old righty swinging Juan Castro and 34-year old switch hitting Aaron Miles will likely be duking it out for one roster spot this spring. Castro played in 55 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 25 of 129 (.194 avg, .470 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 0 homers and 13 RBIs. Castro is a natural SS. He played in 7 games at 2B last season and he had 2 errors while showing excellent range. Aaron Miles played in 79 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 39 of 139 (.281 avg, .627 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 0 homers and 9 RBIs. Miles only had 2 errors in 50 games at 2B last season and he showed excellent range. Castro is the better fielder and Miles is the better hitter, so the Dodgers will have to pick their poison.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DODGERS 2B IN 2011: B

The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed 30-year old righty reliever Lance Cormier to a minor league deal. Cormier pitched in 60 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last season and he was 4-3 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. He has now pitched in 281 games (24 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 24-27 with 3 saves, a 4.93 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. He has walked 222 batters in only 455 innings in his major league career, so he’s going to have to tighten up his control if he’s going to make the Dodgers’ bullpen out of spring training.

The Dodgers have signed 32-year old righty reliever Juan Rincon to a minor league deal. Rincon pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Rockies last season and he was 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP. He has now pitched in 444 games (3 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 35-29 with 3 saves, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Rincon will get a shot to make the Dodgers’ pen this weekend.