Alfredo Silverio, six others sign minor-league deals.

The Dodgers re-signed Alfredo Silverio among seven minor-league free agents who were also invited to spring training.Alfredo Silverio

Silverio, 25, missed all of last season after suffering a concussion among numerous injuries in an off-season car crash. Prior to the crash Silverio was among the Dodgers’ top prospects, batting .306/.340/.542 with 11 stolen bases and 16 homers in his first full Double-A season at Chattanooga in 2011.

Next spring he’ll be joined by infielders Ozzie Martinez and Nick Evans, right-handed pitchers Juan Abreu and Gregory Infante, left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz and catcher Wilkin Castillo.

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Reports: Hiroki Kuroda re-signs with Yankees.

The Dodgers can cross one name off the list available free-agent starting pitchers.

Hiroki KurodaRight-hander Hiroki Kuroda agreed to terms with the New York Yankees on a one-year contract Tuesday, according to multiple reports. The former Dodgers pitcher is the first big-name starter to leave the market, and his $15 million price tag (plus incentives) is significant.

It should come as very good news for free agents Anibal Sanchez and Zack Greinke, both of whom fit the profile of the second or third starter that the Dodgers are seeking. The 37-year-old Kuroda was looking for a short-term deal, but that’s not believed to be the case with the 29-year-old Greinke and the 28-year-old Sanchez. Both pitchers can probably command a better average annual value than Kuroda on the open market.

But that could also be good news for the Dodgers, baseball’s new big spenders, who may have the financial edge in any bidding war for Greinke and Sanchez this winter.

The hot stove is heating up.

Poll: Who should play third base?

Luis Cruz doesn’t plan on playing third base the when he suits up for the Culiacan Tomateros of the Mexican Winter League. “Probably,” he said Monday at Dodger Stadium, “second base, outfield.”

Luis  CruzIs this a sign that Dodgers are trying to turn their emerging everyday third baseman into a utility player? Hardly.

“I try to play the position I didn’t play in the States,” Cruz said. “It’s better for me so I can play more positions. … In winter ball I like to play one game at third, one game at second base, then if they ask me to go play the outfield in the middle of the game, I go to the outfield.”

It’s a nice plan if it works in Cruz’s favor, which it did last year. The Dodgers used him mostly in the outfield in spring training, Cruz did well, and when he got off to a hot start for Triple-A Albuquerque, he got called up and became a fixture at third — the Dodgers’ greatest position of need, not Cruz’s primary position in Albuquerque.

This season, it’s a different story. Continue reading

Why the Dodgers probably won’t sign Torii Hunter.

Free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter said Monday in an appearance on the MLB Network that he’d like to make a decision on his future soon. On the surface, the Dodgers appear to be a bad fit. Torii  HunterLeft fielder Carl Crawford is expected to be healthy on opening day after having Tommy John surgery in August. Center fielder Matt Kemp should be ready following his shoulder procedure in September. Andre Ethier is healthy and entrenched in right field, and general manager Ned Colletti said Monday that he hasn’t talked to any teams about trading Ethier.

For Hunter, who can play both center and left — and did so while hitting .313/.365/.451 over 140 games last season in Anaheim — Dodger Stadium looks like a bad place to ply your trade.

But rumors gained steam last week when the Dodgers talked to Hunter’s agent at the GM meetings. There was no word how far those talks got, but I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point Hunter broached the subject with his pal, Kemp, too. Hunter lives in Southern California and plans stay once he retires. At age 37, that probably isn’t too far off.

Colletti has stated his interest in acquiring someone who can back up Kemp in center field — so why not Hunter? It’s not as if the Dodgers can’t afford him.

There’s one problem with that, manager Don Mattingly said Monday.

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Dodgers’ free-agent wish list starts with two pitchers.

Baseball’s annual general manager meetings are nearly wrapped up. Here’s what we know: The Dodgers’ free-agent wish list is headlined by a pair of right-handed starting pitchers. One is Hiroki Kuroda. According to CBSSports.com, the other is Anibal Sanchez.

Writes Jon Heyman:

This news should be of some comfort to the Angels, who internally have wondered whether their crosstown rival might try to blow them out of the water on (Zack) Greinke, who is clearly their far and away No. 1 winter goal.

The Dodgers are likely to at least look at Greinke, Kyle Lohse and others, as they are determined to land at least one starting pitcher — and maybe two

General manager Ned Colletti didn’t want to lose Kuroda as a free agent last winter. But due to the Dodgers’ shrinking budget, he opted instead to sign Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang at a discount — their combined 2012 salaries of $6 million were less than the $10 million Kuroda got from the New York Yankees.

Hiroki Kuroda
Given the opportunity, it makes sense why the Dodgers might want to bring back Kuroda. In three seasons in Los Angeles from 2008-11 he won 41 games while compiling a 3.45 earned-run average. Last season he led the Yankees with a 3.32 ERA and shared the staff lead in wins (16-11).

Sanchez has been consistently good the past three seasons. Shipped to Detroit at midseason in the Marlins’ semi-annual fire sale, he went 4-6 in 12 regular-season starts for the Tigers. Anibal SanchezBut Sanchez shined in the playoffs, posting a 1.77 ERA in three starts as Detroit advanced to the American League Championship Series. His six-pitch arsenal is anchored by a low-90s fastball. The 28-year-old from Venezuela is regarded as a ground-ball pitcher whose control has improved greatly in recent years.

Don’t expect either pitcher to sign anywhere this week. It’s a relatively thin market for starting pitchers and the best of them might not leave the board until December.

The general managers will reconvene Dec. 3-6 at the annual winter meetings in Nashville.

Dodgers re-sign Brandon League.

The Dodgers addressed their top in-house priority Tuesday, signing reliever Brandon League to a 3-year contract. According to the AP, the 29-year-old will earn $22.5 million over the life of the deal.

That’s closer-type money. League served as the Dodgers’ closer for the final month of the 2012 season and general manager Ned Colletti said that “we think, after what he did the last two or three weeks in the season, that closing is the role.”

The Dodgers obtained League on July 30 from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for prospects Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom. League, who made $5 million last season, was free to sign with any team in free agency beginning Friday, but wanted to remain close to his San Diego home.

In a nine-year career, League has saved 60 games — 37 for Seattle in 2011. He lost his closer’s job early in the 2012 season and never regained it with the Mariners. But Dodgers coaches Ken Howell and Rick Honeycutt helped correct a mechanical problem that led to instant results. From Sept. 1 on, League was 2-0 with a 0.55 earned-run average and six saves in six opportunities.

More to come.

Ten Dodgers become free agents.

The Dodgers declined to exercise the 2013 club options on Todd Coffey, Juan Rivera and Matt Treanor.

They join another seven players who became free agents today: Brandon League, Shane Victorino, Randy Choate, Jamey Wright, Joe Blanton, Adam Kennedy and Bobby Abreu.

In other words, no big names or surprises for the Dodgers on the first day of free agency. Players can only sign with new teams beginning at 9 p.m. Friday. Between now and then, the Dodgers can re-sign any of their in-house free agents, and they’ve already opened discussions with League’s representatives.

General manager Ned Colletti said that he would like to bring back Choate and Wright, as well, to keep intact a bullpen that finished the 2012 season strong.

Coffey, Rivera and Treanor now fall into the category of Victorino, Kennedy and Abreu: highly unlikely to be on the roster next season.

Blanton is an interesting case. The Dodgers gave him what amounted to a 10-start audition in August and September. In five starts at home, the 31-year-old right-hander went 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA. Not bad. In five road starts he was 1-3, 6.51. Bad.

I guess that makes Blanton a “known quantity” for a team that is looking to add a starting pitcher. But looking at a free-agent market that now includes Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, Ryan Dempster, Kyle Lohse  and Hiroki Kuroda (another “known quantity”), the Dodgers probably figure they can do better.

The hot stove is just warming up.