Chad Gaudin signs minor-league deal with Dodgers after missing all of 2014.

Chad Gaudin

Chad Gaudin went 5-2 with a 3.06 earned-run average for the San Francisco Giants in 2013. He did not pitch last season. (Getty Images)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dodgers signed veteran pitcher Chad Gaudin to a minor-league contract Wednesday with an invitation to major-league camp.

Gaudin, 31, has pitched for nine teams since breaking in with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2003. That doesn’t include a brief look in the Philadelphia Philies’ camp last season, which ended when he failed his physical.

Speaking to reporters in the Dodgers’ clubhouse Wednesday, Gaudin said that he had “dexterity problems” in his forearm and hand as early as 2013. He went on the disabled list for what was said to be carpal tunnel syndrome in August of that year. Ultimately, the cause was traced to a nerve problem in his neck that required surgery and wiped out his 2014 season.

Gaudin said the Dodgers watched him throw in Los Angeles seven weeks ago. He thinks sitting out last season might ultimately have been a blessing, giving him a chance to recuperate and impress teams this year.

“The medicals were good,” he said. “Now here I am.”

Gaudin will wear number 30 in camp. Infielder Darwin Barney switched from number 30 to number 6 yesterday.

General manager Farhan Zaidi told reporters that Gaudin projects as a depth starter in the minor leagues. He’s appeared in 344 games in his career, starting 87. In 2013 Gaudin pitched 30 games for the San Francisco Giants, starting 12.

“Whatever they want,” Gaudin said of his role. “Starting, relieving — I’ve done everything.”

That’s an easy quote to take out of context.

According to a Las Vegas police report, Gaudin fondled a woman in a Las Vegas hospital in January 2013 and was ultimately charged (later, in the middle of the season) with “open and gross lewdness” by the local district attorney.

Citing court documents, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Gaudin pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct in September 2013. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and impulse control counseling.

Gaudin declined to discuss the incident Wednesday, saying “it’s all past and gone.”

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.