The Dodgers spent a lot of their free agent budget to bolster the back end of the starting rotation this winter. They added righty Aaron Harang and lefty Chris Capuano, which will give them one of the deepest rotations in all of baseball. Here is a look at the starting rotation as of right now:

#1: Clayton Kershaw: 23-year old lefty Clayton Kershaw cut down on his walks in 2011 and they result was that he won the N.L. Cy Young Award. 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 has now pitched in 118 games (116 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 47-28 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. The sky is the limit for Kershaw as he keeps getting better, and that has to be scary for the rest of the National League.

#2: Chad Billingsley: 27-year old righty Chad Billingsley had a rough year in 2011. He pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 11-11 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Billingsley has now pitched in 192 games (163 starts) in his first six years with the Dodgers and he is 70-52 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. The Dodgers need Billingsley to rebound in 2012 and get back to the pitcher he was before 2011.

#3: Ted Lilly: 36-year old Ted Lilly has turned into quite a crafty lefty. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 12-14 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Lilly has now pitched in 45 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Dodgers and he is 19-18 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has now pitched in 343 games (318 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 125-110 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. I look for Lilly to have another solid year in 2012 for the Dodgers.

#4: Aaron Harang: 33-year old righty Aaron Harang had a nice bounceback season for the Padres in 2011. He pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Padres last year and he was 14-7 with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Harang has now pitched in 268 games (262 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 95-94 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Harang gives the Dodgers a workhorse at the back end of the rotation in 2012.

#5: Chris Capuano: 33-year old lefty Chris Capuano also had nice bounceback year for the Mets last year. He pitched in 33 games (31 starts) for the Mets last year and he was 11-12 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Capuano has now pitched in 181 games (156 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 57-64 with a 4.39 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Capuano will be one of the better #5 starters in baseball in 2012.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STARTING ROTATION IN 2012: A

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.