The Dodgers have signed 31-year old righty reliever Todd Coffey to a 1-year, $1 million dollar deal with a club option for 2013 valued at $2.5 million bucks. Coffey pitched in 69 games (0 starts) for the Nationals last year and he was 5-1 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has now pitched in 438 games (0 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 24-18 with 11 saves, a 4.08 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. This was a good pickup at a nice price for the Dodgers as Coffey will give them another dependable arm in the bullpen in 2012 and maybe beyond.

The Dodgers have signed 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Chris Pettit to a minor league deal. Pettit played in 1 game for the Angels last year but he didn’t get any ABs. He also played in 124 games in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 83 for 455 (.182 avg, .587 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 10 homers, 67 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Pettit has now played in 11 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 2 for 7 (.286 avg, .571 OPS) with 2 runs scored. He will try to win a backup job this spring, but he’s more likely to start the 2012 season in AAA-ball for the Dodgers.

Instead of making a huge splash in free agency, the Dodgers decided to spread out their resources. It will be interesting to see if it’s enough to get them back into the race in the N.L. West, but at least they are trying. Here’s a look at the new faces:

In the field: The biggest addition in the field of play for the Dodgers was the signing of 2B Mark Ellis. He will take over as the starting 2B for the Dodgers in 2012. Jerry Hairston and Adam Kennedy will provide the Dodgers with some solid depth off the bench due to their versatility in the field and their bats. Matt Treanor and Josh Bard were signing on to compete for the starting job behind the plate, but, neither of them scare anyone with their bats. Cory Sullivan and Josh Fields are going to compete for bench jobs but they are going to have a hard time winning them in spring training.

On the mound: This is where the Dodgers spent most of their money this winter. They inked starting pitchers Aaron Harang (righty) and Chris Capuano (lefty) to fill the #4 and #5 spots in the starting rotation. This will give the Dodgers a very deep starting rotation and they will feel good about their chances to win 162 times next year. They also signed lefty reliever John Grabow and he could help them as a situational pitcher in 2012.

Overall: I think the Dodgers stretched their money the best they could this winter. They got all of these guys for the money Prince Fielder is likely to make in 2012.

The Dodgers have re-signed 34-year old righty reliever Mike MacDougal to a 1-year deal with a club option for 2013. He pitched in 69 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 3-1 with 1 save, a 2.05 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. MacDougal has now pitched in 400 games (3 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 18-23 with 71 saves, a 3.94 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. This was a good move for the Dodgers as MacDougal really pitched well for them last year.

The Dodgers have signed 29-year old righty swinging 3B/1B/OF Josh Fields to a minor league deal. Fields played in 90 games in AAA+Japan last year and he was 87 of 287 (.303 avg, .897 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 13 homers, 54 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Fields last played in the majors back in 2010 with the Royals. Fields has played in 217 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 167 of 713 (.234 avg, .724 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 34 homers, 107 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. This was a smart move for the Dodgers as Fields is versatile in the field and he has some thunder in his stick.