According to Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, outfield prospect Jerry Sands has been called up from Triple-A Albuquerque and Xavier Paul has been designated for assignment.

Sands, 23, is in the Dodgers’ starting lineup for tonight’s game against Atlanta, playing left field and batting seventh. He was hitting .400 (10 for 40) with five home runs and 17 RBIs at Albuquerque.

As the organization’s position player of the year last year, Sands hit 35 home runs between Class A Great Lakes and Double-A Chattanooga.

Paul, 26, was hitting .273 (3 for 11) with no home runs or RBIs while trying to find playing time behind Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Marcus Thames and Tony Gwynn Jr.

Another season, another trip to the disabled list for Rafael Furcal.
The Dodgers shortstop has been placed on the 15-day disabled list after breaking his left thumb while sliding headfirst into third base during a 6-1 win over the San Francisco Giants
on Monday night.
Furcal, 33, is expected to miss about four to six weeks.
The Dodgers recalled rookie infielder Ivan De Jesus, who started the season in Los Angeles but went went 0 for 7 with five strikeouts, from Triple-A Albuquerque. De Jesus was sent down last Tuesday when third baseman Casey Blake came off the disabled list.
Furcal, who was batting just .192 from the leadoff spot, is returning to Los Angeles to get examined by a hand specialist.
He missed about two months last season with injuries to his lower back and right thigh.
Furcal, who is making $12 million this season, is in the final year of a three-year, $30 million contract. The Dodgers hold a $12 million option for next season, but it becomes guaranteed if Furcal reaches 600 plate appearances.

Does Manny Ramirez belong in Cooperstown?
Or is his legacy tainted by what appears to be two positive drug tests?
Some of Ramirez’ numbers to consider:

• His .312 batting average is 87th all-time.
• His .411 on-base percentage ranks him 32nd.
• He finishes ninth with a .585 slugging percentage.
• What’s more, his .996 career OPS ranks ninth all-time.
• He’s 14th all-time with 555 homers, 18th with 1,831 RBIs.
• His 21 grand slams puts him just two behind leader Lou Gehrig.
• No one has hit more postseason homers than his 29 shots.

So what say you? Comment away …

According to The Associated Press, Tampa Bay slugger Manny Ramirez tested positive for a banned substance for the second time and informed Major League Baseball on Friday that he is retiring rather than face a 100-game suspension.
A person familiar with the events that led to the announcement confirmed to The Associated Press that Ramirez tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the nature of Ramirez’ issue with MLB’s drug policy was not publicly disclosed.
Less than two years ago, Ramirez served a 50-game suspension for violating the drug policy while with the Dodgers. At the time, Ramirez tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a banned female fertility drug often used to mask steroid use.
Second-time violators get double that penalty, so Ramirez was probably looking at a 100-game sitdown.
“Major League Baseball recently notified Manny Ramirez of an issue under Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” the commissioner’s office released in a statement. “Rather than continue with the process under the Program, Ramirez has informed MLB that he is retiring as an active player. If Ramirez seeks reinstatement in the future, the process under the Drug Program will be completed.”
MLB said it would have no further comment.
In 18-plus seasons, Ramirez was a .312 hitter with 555 home runs. Whether his recent troubles with positive drug tests will taint what was once an inevitable nomination to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown remains to be seen.

The Dodgers have announced their Opening Day roster for the 2011 championship season. As far as injuries go, they placed catcher Dioner Navarro, third baseman Casey Bake and pitchers Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 22. Outfielder Jay Gibbons was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26.

The Dodgers are carrying 11 position players — including three catchers — and 14 pitchers. A fifth starter won’t be needed until April 10, so look for a position player to probably get sent down by then.

As for today’s starting lineup against the World series champion San Francisco Giants, veteran Jamey Carroll will get the nod at second base after speculation all week that rookie Ivan De Jesus Jr. would start.

The 25-man roster, as broken down by position:

Pitchers (11):
Chad Billingsley
Jonathan Broxton
Lance Cormier
Matt Guerrier
Blake Hawksworth
Kenley Jansen
Clayton Kershaw (L)
Hong-Chih Kuo (L)
Hiroki Kuroda
Ted Lilly (L)
Mike MacDougal

Catchers (3):
Rod Barajas
A.J. Ellis
Hector Gimenez (S)

Infielders (6):
Jamey Carroll
Ivan De Jesus
Rafael Furcal (S)
Aaron Miles (S)
James Loney (L)
Juan Uribe

Outfielders (5):
Andre Ethier (L)
Tony Gwynn, Jr. (L)
Matt Kemp
Xavier Paul (L)
Marcus Thames