Dodgers announce Australia roster, with a few surprises

Alex Guerrero's time on the 25-man roster will be short -- for now.
Alex Guerrero’s time on the 25-man roster will be short — for now. (By: Dustin Nosler)

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.

About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.