February 11th, 2017 at 9:16 am 
by Ron Cervenka On Friday the Dodgers announced their 40-man roster and list of non-roster invitees scheduled to attend major league spring training camp, which officially begins on Wednesday morning, February 15, 2017 at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. As of this writing the team will send 33 position players and 32 pitchers to camp, including 22 non-roster invitees.
That “as of this writing” thing is significant because on Friday evening it was reported that the Dodgers had signed veteran outfielder (and former Dodger) Franklin Gutierrez to a one-year / $2.6 million major league contract with an additional $400,000 possible in incentives. And although the Dodgers have yet to formally announce the deal for the soon-to-be 34-year-old (on February 21) Caracas, Venezuela native, his signing will force a corresponding move to the already overcrowded 40-man roster, with veteran right-hander Sergio Romo also yet to be added.
Gutierrez, who was initially drafted by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 2000, has 11 years of major league service – four with the Cleveland Indians and seven with the Seattle Mariners. He has the dubious distinction of having been traded by the Dodgers to Indians on April 3, 2004 (along with fellow minor leaguer Andrew Brown) for troubled outfielder Milton Bradley.
In his 11 big league seasons, Gutierrez posted a career slash-line of .257 / .311 / .409 for an OPS of .720. He has 96 career home runs and 353 career RBIs. But there is zero doubt that the primary reason why the Dodgers elected to sign the 6’2″ / 200-pound outfielder is his career .289 batting average against lefties. That said, he joins a spring training camp that already had 13 guys vying for three starting outfield jobs.
In addition to his Gold Glove Gutierrez boasts a career .289 batting average against left-handed pitching, which undoubtedly was a key factor in the Dodgers acquiring him. (Photo credit – Otto Greule Jr.)
But wait … there’s more!
Late Friday night it was reported that 38-year-old veteran second baseman Chase Utley had re-signed with the Dodgers for a yet-to-be-confirmed one-year contract believed to be in the $8 million range. While there is little doubt that Utley’s role will be that of a utility bench player at second and third base, his re-signing is far more important to the team to continue his mentoring of Dodgers 2016 Rookie of the Year shortstop Corey Seager.
“You never say never with a guy like Chase just because of the type of guy he is and the impact that he has,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters during a January 23, 2017 press conference.
There may be some Dodger fans unhappy with the Utley re-signing, but you’d be hard-pressed to name three. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
As it stands right now (enter that “as of this writing” thing again), here are the players scheduled to attend spring training 2017 for the Dodgers; but here again, three spots must be cleared on the team’s 40-man roster to make room for Romo, Gutierrez and now Utley:
Dodgers current 43-man roster:
| # | Pitchers | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB |
| 43 | Luis Avilan | L/L | 6’2″ | 225lbs | 7/19/1989 |
| 52 | Pedro Baez | R/R | 6’0″ | 235lbs | 3/11/1988 |
| 75 | Grant Dayton | L/L | 6’2″ | 195lbs | 11/25/1987 |
| 70 | Chase De Jong | L/R | 6’4″ | 205lbs | 12/29/1993 |
| 46 | Josh Fields | R/R | 6’0″ | 195lbs | 8/19/1985 |
| 63 | Yimi Garcia | R/R | 6’1″ | 220lbs | 8/18/1990 |
| 41 | Chris Hatcher | R/R | 6’1″ | 200lbs | 1/12/1985 |
| 44 | Rich Hill | L/L | 6’5″ | 220lbs | 3/11/1980 |
| 74 | Kenley Jansen | S/R | 6’5″ | 270lbs | 9/30/1987 |
| 29 | Scott Kazmir | L/L | 6’0″ | 195lbs | 1/24/1984 |
| 22 | Clayton Kershaw | L/L | 6’4″ | 225lbs | 3/19/1988 |
| 36 | Adam Liberatore | L/L | 6’3″ | 240lbs | 5/12/1987 |
| 18 | Kenta Maeda | R/R | 6’1″ | 175lbs | 4/11/1988 |
| 38 | Brandon McCarthy | R/R | 6’7″ | 235lbs | 7/7/1983 |
| 58 | Vidal Nuno | L/L | 5’11” | 210lbs | 7/26/1987 |
| 71 | Josh Ravin | R/R | 6’4″ | 215lbs | 1/21/1988 |
| 67 | Jacob Rhame | R/R | 6’1″ | 215lbs | 3/16/1993 |
| 99 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | R/L | 6’3″ | 250lbs | 3/25/1987 |
| 48 | Brock Stewart | L/R | 6’3″ | 210lbs | 10/3/1991 |
| 68 | Ross Stripling | R/R | 6’3″ | 210lbs | 11/23/1989 |
| 7 | Julio Urias | L/L | 6’0″ | 215lbs | 8/12/1996 |
| 57 | Alex Wood | R/L | 6’4″ | 215lbs | 1/12/1991 |
| * | Sergio Romo | R/R | 5’11’ | 185lbs | 3/4/1983 |
| Catchers | |||||
| 15 | Austin Barnes | R/R | 5’10” | 195lbs | 12/28/1989 |
| 65 | Kyle Farmer | R/R | 6’0″ | 205lbs | 8/17/1990 |
| 9 | Yasmani Grandal | S/R | 6’1″ | 235lbs | 11/8/1988 |
| Infielders | |||||
| 11 | Logan Forsythe | R/R | 6’1″ | 205lbs | 1/14/1987 |
| 23 | Adrian Gonzalez | L/L | 6’2″ | 215lbs | 5/8/1982 |
| 28 | Darin Ruf | R/R | 6’3″ | 250lbs | 7/28/1986 |
| 5 | Corey Seager | L/R | 6’4″ | 215lbs | 4/27/1994 |
| 25 | Rob Segedin | R/R | 6’2″ | 220lbs | 11/10/1988 |
| 3 | Chris Taylor | R/R | 6’1″ | 195lbs | 8/29/1990 |
| 10 | Justin Turner | R/R | 5’11” | 205lbs | 11/23/1984 |
| * | Chase Utley | R/L | 6’1″ | 195lbs | 12/17/1978 |
| Outfielders | |||||
| 50 | Brett Eibner | R/R | 6’4″ | 225lbs | 12/2/1988 |
| 16 | Andre Ethier | L/L | 6’2″ | 210lbs | 4/10/1982 |
| 14 | Enrique Hernandez | R/R | 5’11” | 200lbs | 8/24/1991 |
| 31 | Joc Pederson | L/L | 6’1″ | 220lbs | 4/21/1992 |
| 66 | Yasiel Puig | R/R | 6’2″ | 240lbs | 12/7/1990 |
| 21 | Trayce Thompson | R/R | 6’3″ | 225lbs | 3/15/1991 |
| 60 | Andrew Toles | L/R | 5’10” | 185lbs | 5/24/1992 |
| 33 | Scott Van Slyke | R/R | 6’4″ | 215lbs | 7/24/1986 |
| * | Franklin Gutierrez | R/R | 6’2″ | 200lbs | 2/21/1983 |
| * | (not yet on 40-man roster) |
Non-Roster Invitees:
| 73 | Stetson Allie | OF | 3/13/1991 |
| 61 | Cody Bellinger | IF/OF | 7/13/1995 |
| 84 | Willie Calhoun | IF | 11/4/1994 |
| 72 | Ralston Cash | RHP | 8/20/1991 |
| 80 | Fabio Castillo | RHP | 2/19/1989 |
| 6 | Charlie Culberson | IF | 4/10/1989 |
| 77 | Ike Davis | IF | 3/22/1987 |
| 79 | O’Koyea Dickson | IF | 2/9/1990 |
| 51 | Steve Geltz | RHP | 11/1/1987 |
| 47 | Tyler Holt | OF | 3/10/1989 |
| 17 | Brandon Morrow | RHP | 7/26/1984 |
| 60 | Jack Murphy | C | 4/6/1988 |
| 88 | Trevor Oaks | RHP | 3/26/1993 |
| 78 | Henry Ramos | OF | 4/15/1992 |
| 76 | Wynston Sawyer | C | 11/14/1991 |
| 89 | Josh Sborz | RHP | 12/17/1993 |
| 62 | Patrick Schuster | LHP | 10/30/1990 |
| 81 | Yaisel Sierra | RHP | 6/5/1991 |
| 37 | Darnell Sweeney | IF | 2/1/1991 |
| 83 | Alex Verdugo | OF | 5/15/1996 |
| 35 | Bobby Wilson | C | 4/8/1983 |
| 59 | Madison Younginer | RHP | 11/3/1990 |
Posted in 
There has got to be a trade in the horizon, Too many players.
Utley for 9 million seems mighty steep. I understand the chemistry and all with Seager, but I don’t see him getting more than 200 ABs.
Last I heard is that it is an $8 million deal, although your point is well taken.
Keep in mind that Utley is also a very good defender at 3B, where he will more than likely be used to spell JT – this in addition to spelling Logan Forsythe at 2B. He is (IMO) a better option than Kiké Hernandez – unless, of course, Kiké somehow finds his bat somewhere. In fact, it is probably a bad time to be named Kiké Hernandez or Scott Van Slyke right about now … if you get my drift
I don’t think there is any evidence that Chase is a good 3rd baseman but Forsythe can definitely slide over there.
That (Forsythe playing 3B) was mentioned on Twitter this morning. Makes good sense.
Utley has played a grand total of four games at 3B in his career … all with the Dodgers. He did not commit an error in nine total chances. It will be interesting to see if he gets any playing time there this spring.
I know he isn’t a third baseman but he is Chase, the consummate professional. I have no doubt he can fill in very well at third but don’t expect to see him play long stretches at any position.
Six catchers. I thought there might have been more to go to ST but I expect that is close to the usual number.
Henry Ramos was the last Dodger player standing in the Winter League playing for PR in the Championship Game. PR defeated Mexico 1-0 in extra innings. Romo had not signed as of the championship game.
Kyle Garlick had better AA numbers than Stetson Allie but will only be starting his third year of pro ball in 2017.Stetson has displayed more power.
Having personally seen Kyle Garlick play (and spoken with him a few times) I believe that he will make it to The Show one day ,,, although probably not as a Dodger. He is very talented.
I like his attitude, work ethic, confidence. I expect you are right that he will play MLB in another uniform as there is quite a waiting line for Dodger outfield time and some more kids on the way. I just hope he gets the opportunity somewhere which means he has to be traded or released. He is a long ways from minor league free agency. It takes seven years including his signing year.
A bit o’ trivia:
50% of the Dodgers 40-man roster were born since they last won the World Series. That includes all 3 catchers.
Grandal is closest with a DOB of Nov. 8, 1988.
This is the official 40-man, not including the three who haven’t been added yet, none of whom are in that group.