Dodgers announce Australia roster, with a few surprises

About 30 minutes after the rosters were due, the Dodgers announced the 25 players who will be active for their 2-game series in Australia against the Diamondbacks.

	Dodgers			Diamondbacks
	1:30 am PT			Sydney, Australia
RF	Puig		CF	Pollock
2B	Turner		2B	Hill
SS	Ramirez		1B	Goldschmidt
1B	Gonzalez		3B	Prado
LF	Van Slyke		LF	Trumbo
3B	Uribe		C	Montero
CF	Ethier		SS	Owings
C	Ellis		RF	Parra
P	Kershaw		P	Miley

The biggest surprise is Tim Federowicz getting option to the minor leagues in favor of Drew Butera. The only reason Federowicz was optioned is because he had options and Butera doesn’t. If the Dodgers don’t have to make a 40-man roster decision before they have to, then why would they? Odds are, Butera doesn’t see the field because A.J. Ellis will start both games down under.

I don’t think the Dodgers have to worry about teams lining up to claim Butera when he’s eventually designated for assignment (they’ll need the 40-man roster spot eventually), but they’re just delaying the inevitable.

Jose Dominguez, Seth Rosin and Chris Withrow also made the roster, solely because the Dodgers only brought three starting pitchers for the two games. Dominguez and Withrow will likely be optioned prior to the stateside opener, and the Dodgers will have to decide what to do with Rosin at that point. Odds are, Brandon League will remain on the disabled list longer so the Dodgers can keep Rosin around.

Alex Guerrero also made the cut, but like Dominguez, it’s a temporary move as he’ll be optioned to the minors after the Dodgers’ trip in favor of Dee Gordon, Chone Figgins and Justin Turner.

Here’s the full roster.

Pitchers
Jose Dominguez
J.P. Howell
Kenley Jansen
Clayton Kershaw
Paul Maholm
Chris Perez
Seth Rosin
Paco Rodriguez
Hyun-Jin Ryu
Brian Wilson
Chris Withrow
Jamey Wright

Catchers
Drew Butera
A.J. Ellis

Infielders
Chone Figgins
Dee Gordon
Alex Guerrero
Adrian Gonzalez
Hanley Ramirez
Justin Turner
Juan Uribe

Outfielders
Mike Baxter
Andre Ethier
Yasiel Puig
Scott Van Slyke

Disabled list
Josh Beckett
Chad Billingsley
Matt Kemp

Exemptions
Zack Greinke
Dan Haren
Brandon League

Paternity
Carl Crawford

Reassigned
Zach Lee
Joc Pederson
Miguel Rojas

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The pregame starts at 1 a.m. on SportsNet LA, and first pitch is scheduled for approximately 1:45 a.m. Pacific time. It can be seen on locally SNLA. It will also air on MLB Network and MLB TV outside the Los Angeles coverage area. Those in the LA area who don’t have SNLA can listen to the game on AM 570 Fox Sports LA.