Dioner Navarro Coming Back To The Dodgers

The Dodgers have reached an agreement with catcher Dioner Navarro.

From Dodgers.com:

Former All Star and former Dodger Dioner Navarro has agreed to terms to compete with A.J. Ellis as backup to starting catcher Rod Barajas, according to multiple baseball sources, pending passing a physical exam.

Navarro was non-tendered by Tampa Bay last week. The 26-year-old switch-hitter came to the Dodgers from the Yankees in the 2005 three-team trade that sent Shawn Green to Arizona and Randy Johnson to New York.

Navarro opened his rookie season as the Dodgers' starting catcher, but injured his wrist and quickly lost his job to Martin. Halfway through that season, Navarro was traded with Jae Seo to Tampa Bay for Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson.

Navarro became the starting catcher in Tampa Bay and was an All-Star in 2008 with a career-high .295 average and 54 RBIs, but sagged to .218 in 2009 and fell completely out of favor in 2010, losing playing time to John Jaso and Kelly Shoppach. After playing in 119, 120 and 115 games in 2007-09, Navarro played in only 48 games this year, batting .194 with seven RBIs.

Told he would not be on Tampa Bay's postseason roster for the first round of the playoffs, he left the club and went home, assuring his non-tender. He was in the second year of a two-year, $4.2 million contract.

Now Navarro becomes a low-risk potential long-term replacement to Martin. The short-term replacement is Barajas, signed to a $3.25 million deal as the starting catcher, presumably to team with Ellis, who now must compete with Navarro to stay in the Major Leagues.

Once again, I'm jumping for joy.

Dodgers Sign Tony Gwynn Jr.

According to Tom Krasovic, the Dodgers have signed Tony Gwynn Jr. to a one-year deal.There are no details on the money yet. Gwynn batted .204 with three homeruns and 20 RBI in 339 plate appearances for the Padres last year.

Of course, Gwynn is the son of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn and nephew of former Dodger Chris Gwynn.

This signing has me jumping for joy.

Around The Dodger Blogosphere

Is Matt Diaz the next Dodger Left Fielder? It could happen. According to Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com, the Dodgers search for a left fielder has been narrowed to free agents Matt Diaz and Scott Podsednik and possibly one more name that remains a mystery.

In the same article, Jackson mentions the Dodgers pursuit of another catcher, possibly Russell Martin. He also talks about Vicente Padilla joining the Dodgers as a reliever and possibly as a candidate for the closer's role if Jonathan Broxton struggles.

Ruling in Dodgers' divorce case expected Tuesday. Frank and Jamie McCourt are expected to find out Tuesday whether a judge has thrown out an agreement that could determine the ownership of the Dodgers.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon is expected to rule Tuesday on the validity of a marital agreement that would provide Frank McCourt with sole ownership of the Dodgers, according to multiple sources familiar with the case.

No Hall for Garvey. The 1974 NL MVP was on the Hall of Fame veterans committee ballot. To be elected, a candidate must appear on at least 75% of the 16 ballots. Only one person on the special ballot got the votes, Pat Gillick, who built three World Series champions and has served baseball for nearly 50 years, who had the necessary 75 percent (12 votes) to make it in. The results of the Expansion Era Ballot (12 votes needed for election): Gillick (13 votes, 81.25 percent; Marvin Miller (11 votes, 68.75 percent; Dave Concepcion (8 votes, 50 percent). Those receiving less than eight, aside from Garvey: Ted Simmons, Vida Blue, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Billy Martin, Al Oliver, Rusty Staub and George Steinbrenner.

Garvey's next chance at the Hall won't come until 2013.

The Minotaur gets married. Dodgers' Ace Clayton Kershaw got married this past Saturday. Roberto at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy has the details.

Feelin' Kinda Blue. There's a new Dodger blog that I'm really enjoying. It's called "Feelin' Kinda Blue".  Check it out.

Bobblehead Of The Day: Hideo Nomo

It's time for another Dodger bobblehead. I've only got a few more of these bobbles left. Today we're gonna take a look at one of my all-time favorite Dodger pitchers, Hideo Nomo. You can check out Hideo's bio here. The Dodgers honored "the Tornado" with a bobblehead in 2002. 

On Saturday, August 24, 2002, the Dodgers gave away Hideo Nomo bobbleheads to the first 50,000 fans in attendance. Presented by US Bank, this bobble was made by BD&A. This was the third of three bobbleheads given away in 2002. The other two were Paul LoDuca(5/31) and Shawn Green(7/18).

The Dodgers played the Atlanta Braves that day, and won 4-3. Andy Ashby started for the Dodgers, Tom Glavine for Atlanta. Relief pitcher Paul Shuey won the game, Glavine lost. Of course, Eric Gagne got the save.

Let's take a look at Hideo:

                                                                

For the life of me, I don't know what the hell I did with the box for this bobblehead. Here are a couple of pics I got online. I have always said how much I hate the BD&A bobbleheads. This is one of the better BD&A bobbles. The facial features are OK, but the overall look is pretty bland. They really should have put Hideo in his "tornado" windup. I like the way P2 used Japanese letter on Takashi Saito's bobblehead. BD&A could have done something like that, but that may have taken some creativity.

2007 Bowman's Best Russell Martin Autograph

On Thursday, the Dodgers non-tendered catcher Russell Martin, making him a free agent. Even though Russell's numbers had been declining over the last 2 seasons, I still hoped the Dodgers could come to an agreement with him. Unfortunately, his asking price for 2011 was a bit steep at $5 miilion + $1 million in incentives. I understand why the Dodgers did what they did. I wish the best for Russell. Hopefully he finds a team that gives him a chance to start and maybe even regain that 2007 All-Star form he lost.

Since Russ is leaving LA, I wanna show his auto card  before he puts another team's uniform on. This is his 2007 Bowman's Best Autograph #49. I always wanted to get Russell's bobblehead autographed. Since I'll probably never get that opportunity, this is the next best thing.

Terrible signature

Dodgers Sign Rod Barajas

After non-tendering Russell Martin earlier tonight, the Dodgers wasted no time in signing another catcher. Rod Barajas will be back in Dodger blue in 2011. According to the LA Times' Steve Dilbeck, the deal is for one year, pending a physical.


Barajas, was a late-season pickup for the Dodgers last season, hitting .297 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 64 at-bats. Including his time with the Mets, he had 17 home runs and 45 RBI on the season.

I'm curious as to what the terms were. Regardless, signing Barajas for one year is a good move for the Ned Colletti. The hole at catcher is now filled, leaving the left field slot still open.

Update:
The contract details are in, and Barajas will make $3.25 million in 2011. I didn't expect Barajas to get that much. I was thinking he'd get something in the $1.5-2 million range. So Ned overpaid a bit, I'm not really shocked. At least it's only a one-year deal.

Dodgers Non-Tender Russell Martin

The Dodgers have non-tendered Russell Martin. The two sides tried to work out a deal that would keep him in Los Angeles. According to the LA Times Dylan Hernandez, Martin's last proposal to the Dodgers was $5 million plus $1 million in incentives for 2011. That seems a bit much for a declining catcher coming off of a hip injury. Ned Colletti says the Dodgers still have interest in bringing Martin Back. According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Dodgers tried to trade Russell first.

So, who'll be the next Dodgers catchers? Dylan Hernandez says the team is close to re-signing Rod Barajas. AJ Ellis had a nice September. So, we could possibly have a Barajas/Ellis tandem in 2011.

Earlier today, the Dodgers tendered contracts to Chad Billingsley, James Loney and Hong Chih Kuo. They also non-tendered George Sherrill and Trent Oeltjen.