Dodgers: Notes from winter development camp
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Ivan DeJesus Jr. was sidelined for most of last season with a broken leg, but the middle-infield prospect said he would go into spring training with the goal of making the Dodgers’ opening-day roster.
‘To be honest, I don’t want to go to triple A,’ DeJesus said. ‘I want to be here.’
DeJesus, 22, is one of 19 prospects working out at Dodger Stadium this week as part of the club’s annual winter development camp.
The Dodgers’ minor league player of the year in 2008, DeJesus went into spring training last year with an outside shot at making the opening-day roster. A collision at home plate put an end to that ambition.
‘When the season started, I was kind of down,’ DeJesus said. ‘I saw guys I played with in the fall league and double A in the big leagues.’
DeJesus made it back to the field before the end of the season, playing four games in rookie ball.
‘I wasn’t 100% in the four games I played, but I was so happy,’ he said.
DeJesus played winter ball in his native Puerto Rico, but cut his season short because his surgically repaired left leg was bothering him. The pain is now gone, he said.
‘I’m 95% now,’ DeJesus said.
This spring, DeJesus figures to compete with the likes of veteran minor league signings Nick Green and Angel Berroa to be the Dodgers’ backup shortstop behind Rafael Furcal.
DeWitt continues to work
Blake DeWitt has logged plenty of miles this off-season, traveling to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball and dropping by Texas to work out with minor league infield coordinator Matt Martin.
DeWitt’s latest trip was to Evansville, Ind., where he worked with hitting coach Don Mattingly.
DeWitt, 24, will compete with free-agent acquisition Jamey Carroll for the starting job at second base. A converted third baseman, DeWitt said he is starting to feel more comfortable at his new position.
‘I really feel I have a good understanding of second base,’ he said. ‘A lot of 2008 and last year, I learned a lot of basic stuff. Now I’m able to do more detailed stuff. When I do something wrong, I know what I did wrong. Before, it was go out there and play.’
Lindblom: Back to starting
Top pitching prospect Josh Lindblom, who split time as a starter and reliever in the minors last season, will go into camp as a starting pitcher.
Making the team, Lindblom said, ‘is always in the back of your mind. But that can’t be my focus. I have to master pitching.’
Lindblom said he is working to add a cutter to his arsenal.
The 22-year-old proposed to his longtime girlfriend this winter. The couple plan to get married in their native Indiana next off-season.
-- Dylan Hernandez