The Dodgers have signed 35-year old lefty swinging infielder Adam Kennedy to a 1-year deal. Kennedy played in 114 games for the Mariners last year and he was 89 for 380 (.234 avg, .632 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 7 homers, 38 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,605 games in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 1,444 of 5,305 (.272 avg, .711 OPS) with 660 runs scored, 78 homers, 555 RBIs and 178 stolen bases. Kennedy will serve as the Dodgers’ top utility infielder as he can handle playing all four infield positions.

The Dodgers have signed 27-year old righty swinging infielder Luis Cruz to a minor league deal. He played in 83 games in AAA (Texas) and Mexico last year in which he was 101 of 339 (.298 avg, .828 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 16 homers, 52 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Cruz last played in the majors back in 2010 with the Brewers. He has now played in 56 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 34 for 154 (.221 avg, .535 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 0 homers, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Cruz will get a shot to win a job on the Dodgers’ bench next spring.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be looking in the bargain bin in free agency due to money problems. These are the three guys I would sign up to play for the Dodgers in 2012:

1. Joel Pineiro - A return to the National League should be just what the doctor ordered to get Pineiro back on the right path as the #5 starter for the Dodgers in 2012.

2. Ramon Santiago - The Dodgers could use a solid, versatile backup infielder like Ramon Santiago. He can also help them out as a pinch hitter off the bench.

3. Scott Hairston - Scott Hairston would give the Dodgers a nice power bat off the bench in 2012.

27-year old righty swinging CF Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers finished 2nd in the voting for the 2011 N.L. MVP Award behind Ryan Braun. Braun essentially won the award because he played on a better team than Kemp. Kemp played in 161 games for the Dodgers last year and he was 195 of 602 (.324 avg, .986 OPS) with 115 runs scored, 39 homers, 126 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. He has now played in 787 games in his first six years with the Dodgers and he is 840 of 2,862 (.294 avg, .846 OPS) with 464 runs scored, 128 homers, 457 RBIs and 144 stolen bases. Kemp got robbed as he should have been the MVP as he put up all of his numbers without much help in the batting order.

23-year old lefty starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been named the 2011 National League Cy Young Award winner. Kershaw pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 21-5 with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He only gave up 174 hits while whiffing 248 batters in his 233 1/3 innings pitched last year and those are impressive numbers. But, he took the next step by improving his control as he only walked 54 batters in 2011. Kershaw has now pitched in 118 games (116 starts) in his first four years with the Dodgers and he is 47-28 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. As long as Kershaw keeps attacking the strike zone with his outstanding stuff, the sky is the limit for him. I could easily see him winning more Cy Young Awards in the future as he is plain nasty on the mound.

UPDATE: (11/23/2011) - Clayton Kershaw finished 12th in the N.L. MVP voting yesterday.