Opening day roster just about finished

This morning the Dodgers opening day roster became a little clearer as Jamey Wright was officially moved to the 40 man roster this morning. The corresponding move to this was moving Blake Hawksworth to the 60 day DL. This also prompted John Grabow to leave camp looking for work on a big league roster. While some may be sad to see the 33 year old left hander leave, as it means Elbert will be the only lefty on the opening day roster, history has shown that Grabow is not a lefty only specialist as right-handers are hitting 263 against him, and left-handers are hitting 262. Plus the Dodgers have two other young(er) lefty relievers in long shot Scott Rice, who has been very effective, and Matt Chico, both of whom have options, and can be brought up and sent down though out the year if added to the 40 man roster.

So as of now the roster shapes up with :

Starters (4/5): Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsly, Aaron Harang, and Chris Capuano. Ted Lilly we all know will be the number 3, but with his neck stiffness he might be moved to the DL and skipped for a start to allow for an extra player to be put on the 25 man roster.

Starters (8): C AJ Ellis, 1B James Loney, 2B Mark Ellis, 3B Juan Uribe, SS Dee Gordon, LF Juan Rivera, CF Matt Kemp, RF Andre Either.

Bullpen (7): Todd Coffey, Mike MacDougal, Scott Elbert, Javy Guerra, Kenley Jansen, Jamey Wright, Matt Guerrier. This also has Blake Hawksworth on the 60 day DL and Ronald Belisario on the suspended list. Both guys could come back mid-season to bolster the bullpen

Bench (4-6): Tony Gywnn Jr, Adam Kennedy, Jerry Hairston Jr, Matt Treanor. At the moment the last bench spot, once thought to be Jerry Sands, is open as Sands was sent to the minor league camp today. This leave Josh Fields, Luis Cruz, and Justin Sellers in the hunt for the last bench spot. With Fields potential pop I see him as the favorite, especially considering that Mattingly has said he prefers having a right-hander with pop on the bench. Sellers would be my number two due to his defensive prowess, and spring performance, however with options, I don't see him getting the opening day nod. This leave Luis Cruz. Cruz like Sellers can play short (though his defense is not as sharp), but with no options left I see Cruz getting an extended look as Lilly is placed on the DL to skip his first start of the season.

One more note. It's not that I hate Juan Uribe, but one of my hopes for this season is that Mattingly keeps the free swinger on a short leash. Especially since Fields has shown good growth during his short time as a journey-man. Watching Fields' at bats this spring he has shown patience and a solid swing, working the count full many times, and fowling off a number of pitches till finding one he likes. This certainly differs from Uribe's 3 swings and out approach. Though the 8 million would be a tough pill to to swallow for a bench bat and utility player, I think the Dodgers would be a better club for playing Fields as the everyday 3B. Thus, as stated before, I hope Mattingly keeps Uribe on a short, short leash so that we may see him benched and Fields produce.