Repko back but big names are missing

1-12-2010 @ 14:15 Andy Charles

The signings are beginning to filter through for the Dodgers at last, although none of the names setting themselves up for a trip to Spring Training in March is exactly going to excite anyone quite yet.

So far the Dodgers have not been in particularly deep on any of the big-name free agents, although rumours did float about Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman being an interest until Cincinnati upped the stakes and splashed out $30M-plus on the 100mph flamethrower, who could easily be a hit or a bust.

As things stand, a couple of months before the pre-season games start and MLB odds start to be released, it’s one player avoiding arbitration and three players given a chance to shine – nothing exciting but at least it shows that the club’s front office isn’t completely asleep.

Last year’s player returning for another crack at making the major league roster is outfielder Jason Repko, who managed only five at-bats with the Dodgers in 2009 but did hit 16 home runs and steal 24 bases for Albuquerque.

He avoided arbitration by signing a $500,000 one-year deal with $125,000 extra in performance bonuses, but his only real chance of breaking camp with the team, as far as MLB Predictions are concerned,  is as a fourth outfielder behind Matt Kemp, Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier.

Eight Dodgers are due for arbitration hearings later in the month, with a number of them likely to get a handy raise on last season’s salary, especially Kemp, Ethier and current closer Jonathan Broxton.

The free agents unlikely to make back page headlines are pitcher Scott Dohmann and middle infielders Argenis Reyes and Nick Green.

Green probably has the most to gain in camp as he could be quite a handy bat off the bench for the Dodgers after some excellent backup seasons for Boston. With a good Spring Training run, returning from back surgery, he could win a spot ahead of Chin Lung-Hu as the main backup to Rafael Furcal.

Reyes appeared in a few games for the Mets last season, while Dohmann spent 2009 in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp before being released. He also pitched with Triple-A Reno, in Arizona’s farm, last year but put up a 6.14 ERA and was not offered a deal.