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.
Continue reading “On the meaning of ‘ploach,’ and what A.J. Ellis and Robin Ventura have in common.” »

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.