Dodgers sign first-round draft pick Gavin Lux.

The Dodgers signed first-round draft pick Gavin Lux, a shortstop from Indian Trail Academy in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Lux receives a $2.317 million signing bonus, slightly above the $2.316 million value MLB assigned to the 20th overall pick.

The Dodgers have a total pool of $9,336,500 to spend from.
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Game 43: Melvin Upton Jr. walks off Kenley Jansen and the Dodgers. (Video)

Yasiel Puig watches his fifth home run of the season leave Petco Park on Friday in San Diego. (Getty Images)

Yasiel Puig watches his fifth home run of the season leave Petco Park on Friday in San Diego. (Getty Images)


The San Diego Padres hit the last of five home runs Friday, a walk-off shot by Melvin Upton Jr. against Kenley Jansen, in an 8-7 win over the Dodgers. The box score is here.

The Dodgers are 21-22, 3 ½ games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants. Jansen isn’t the problem, but they’ll carry eight men in their bullpen for another five games after today anyway.

Here are some postgame comments from Dave Roberts, Scott Kazmir, A.J. Ellis and Yasiel Puig:

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On the meaning of ‘ploach,’ and what A.J. Ellis and Robin Ventura have in common.

A.J. Ellis

Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis has taken on a mentorship role with rookie Austin Barnes. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff photographer)

SAN DIEGO — Austin Barnes is catching today, A.J. Ellis is catching tomorrow, and that’s a sentence I should probably copy and paste for future use this week.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he likes the every-other-day rotation between his two catchers. Barnes is 26 and just made his first Opening Day Roster. Ellis is 34 and has experience in parts of nine major league seasons.

“I love the way that (Ellis) can mentor Austin,” Roberts said. “Those two guys, it’s a nice combination.”

In Ellis, Roberts said, “I see a mentor, I see a big brother a great teammate. A.J. is in it for the right reasons. He’s a mid- to low-round pick who’s had to establish himself to carve out a nice career. He’s here for the right reasons. He’s here to win baseball games. Whatever it takes.”

Maybe the best thing Roberts did in his pregame media scrum Tuesday was introduce a word into the baseball lexicon: Ploach.
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Game 1: Dodgers make Dave Roberts a convincing winner in his debut.

Opening Day

The Dodgers shut out the San Diego Padres 15-0 at Petco Park on Monday. (Scott Varley/Staff photographer)

Dave Roberts‘ energy apparently spoke louder than his words in the Dodgers’ season-opening 15-0 win over the Padres on Monday. The box score is here. The photo gallery is here.

Chase Utley took a rare turn in the leadoff spot and went 3-for-5, including a double off Tyson Ross to begin the game.

Two quotes that didn’t make either story are worth mentioning here:
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Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal might start the season on the disabled list.

Yasmani Grandal was set to join the Dodgers in Anaheim for the finale of the Freeway Series. Friday night, manager Dave Roberts said the plan had changed.

Grandal will stay in Arizona and play in a minor league game Saturday, “six or seven innings,” Roberts said.

“He was OK coming out of (his minor league game) today,” Roberts said of Grandal. “Not great.

“We have to make the decision whether he starts the season active or on the disabled list. … The window is closing.”

Opening Day rosters must be submitted to MLB by 9 a.m. Sunday.

If Grandal does begin the season on the disabled list, Austin Barnes figures to make the Opening Day roster along with A.J. Ellis.