Around the minors: Reed, Gordon, Puig.

Chris Reed was pulled from his start for Double-A Chattanooga after just two innings Sunday. Reed pitched well, facing the minimum six batters, so unless there was an injury it’s hard to explain on the surface why he was pulled. I couldn’t find any reports out of Jackson (the Jackson Generals beat the Lookouts, 5-4) so I put in an email to the Lookouts to get the skinny.

Without knowing anything else, it’s tempting to believe that Reed is the next Dodgers prospect headed out in a blockbuster trade. A first-round draft pick (16th overall) out of Stanford last year, Reed was the Dodgers’ representative in the Futures Game this year.

But even if Reed was pulled because he’s involved in trade talks, that doesn’t mean he’s been traded. That was the case when Garrett Gould was scratched from a start in June. He ended up not going anywhere.
Continue reading “Around the minors: Reed, Gordon, Puig.” »

Dodgers sign NFL’s Jarrad Page.

Jarrad Page made enough of an impression at the Dodgers’ open tryout last Thursday to earn a contract. The team announced today that it has signed the Minnesota Vikings safety and former two-sport star at UCLA, who will report to minor-league camp and play outfield.

Page, 27, played 90 baseball games over two seasons in college. He batted .233 with three home runs in 2003-04 and .149 with one home run in 2004-05. Page was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth round of the MLB Draft out of high school in 2002, in the 36th round by the Colorado Rockies in 2005, and in the seventh round in 2006 by the Angels.

But he didn’t turn pro in anything until 2006, when the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Page following an All-American senior season for the Bruins’ football team. His NFL career includes stints with the Chiefs (2006-09), New England Patriots (2010), Philadelphia Eagles (2011, until his release on Nov. 16) and the Vikings.

Page will wear number 48 with the Dodgers.