Dodgers set opening-day roster, sort of
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SAN FRANCISCO -- The Dodgers set their opening-day roster Sunday, with a catch.
Baseball rules required the Dodgers to set a 25-man roster by noon Sunday. The Dodgers submitted a roster that included pitcher Claudio Vargas and outfielder Delwyn Young, both of whom will start the season on the disabled list. That will enable the Dodgers to add two non-roster players before Monday’s opener. They left room to add a third non-roster player as well by submitting a 24-man roster, which is allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
The roster so far:
Starting pitchers: Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Hiroki Kuroda, James McDonald, Randy Wolf
Bullpen: Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, Guillermo Mota, Ramon Troncoso, Cory Wade, Claudio Vargas
Catchers: Russell Martin, Brad Ausmus
Infielders: Casey Blake, Blake DeWitt, Rafael Furcal, Orlando Hudson, James Loney, Mark Loretta
Outfielders: Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Juan Pierre, Manny Ramirez, Delwyn Young
The Dodgers will use one of the non-roster spots for reliever Will Ohman.
Although Troncoso is on the roster, Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said he is competing with Josh Lindblom, Ronald Belisario and Erick Threets for the final two bullpen spots. The Dodgers could option Troncoso tomorrow if they chose, and they also could option DeWitt and keep Juan Castro as a utility infielder if they chose. Infielder Doug Mientkiewicz also is expected to be added to the roster.
Torre said that pitcher Jason Schmidt would report to extended spring training to continue his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery and that pitcher Tanyon Sturtze had agreed to report to triple-A Albuquerque.
-- Bill Shaikin