April 05--Times reporter Dylan Hernandez sizes up the Dodgers' projected 25-man roster for opening day:
No.; STARTERS; Pos; B/T; Age; Comment
11; Jimmy Rollins; SS; S/R; 36; The former National League MVP remains an above-average defender though the last time his batting average reached .270 was 2008.
66; Yasiel Puig; RF; R/R; 24; Says he wants to be the LeBron James or Kobe Bryant of baseball; they both led their teams to championships.
23; Adrian Gonzalez; 1B; L/L; 32; As close as there is to an automatic 100-RBI player in the NL; led the circuit with 116 last season.
47; Howie Kendrick; 2B; R/R; 31; Former Angel is a solid defender and, on offense, a line-drive machine who drove in 75 runs last year.
9; Yasmani Grandal; C; S/R; 26; Acquired in trade for Matt Kemp, he is expected to be the primary catcher for several seasons.
3; Carl Crawford; LF; L/L; 33; Productive when healthy, but the last time he played more than 130 games in a season was 2010.
5; Juan Uribe; 3B; R/R; 36; Don Mattingly says, "If you hit it to Juan, you're out." In last two seasons has been a productive hitter too.
31; Joc Pederson; CF; L/L; 22; Rookie is upgrade defensively, and he had a big spring as a hitter. Made Kemp expendable.
No.; ROTATION; B/T; Age; Comment
22; Clayton Kershaw; L/L; 27; Reigning NL MVP and Cy Young Award winner has dominated everyone except the Cardinals in the playoffs.
21; Zack Greinke; R/R; 31; Has record of 32-12 as a Dodger; could choose to become a free agent at the end of the season.
38; Brandon McCarthy; R/R; 31; Journeyman has the best Twitter account on the team; follow him at @BmcCarthy32.
35; Brett Anderson; L/L; 27; Had strong spring, but can he stay healthy? Has pitched fewer than 100 innings in each of his last four seasons.
No.; BULLPEN; B/T; Age; Comment
56; J.P. Howell; L/L; 31; At times last season he was only left-hander in bullpen. Can Mattingly avoid running him into the ground again?
62; Joel Peralta; R/R; 39; Well-traveled veteran has allowed less than a hit per inning in his career: 508 in 591 2/3 innings.
41; Chris Hatcher; R/R; 30; Converted catcher was considered potential fill-in as closer while Kenley Jansen is on DL, but hasn't produced.
75; Paco Rodriguez; L/L; 23; Looked as if he regained his 2013 form in spectacular Cactus League season.
52; Pedro Baez; R/R; 27; Converted third baseman made big league debut last season. He has closer-caliber stuff.
63; Yimi Garcia; R/R; 24; Rookie appeared in eight Cactus League games; allowed one run, eight hits in 9 1/3 innings and struck out 12.
12; Juan Nicasio; R/R; 28; Career starter made transition to bullpen with Colorado last season. Here, would be a long reliever.
No.; RESERVES; Pos; B/T; Age; Comment
17; A.J. Ellis; C; R/R; 33; Might be used in a reduced role, but he's still a popular handler among the team's pitchers.
10; Justin Turner; IF; R/R; 30; Last year's breakout player -- he batted a career-high .340 -- continued to hit this spring.
33; Scott Van Slyke; OF/1B; R/R; 28; The most dependable source of power off the bench; had 11 home runs in 212 at-bats.
16; Andre Ethier; OF; L/L; 32; Former All-Star wants to be traded, but his declining production has made him difficult to move.
14; Enrique Hernandez; IF/OF; R/R; 23; A capable hitter who can play multiple positions in the infield and outfield.
7; Alex Guerrero; 2B/3B/LF; R/R; 27; Has proved he can hit, but still hasn't found a defensive position.
Projected disabled list: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu, RHP Kenley Jansen, RHP Brandon League, RHP Brandon Beachy, RHP Chris Withrow.
