While Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman worked to assemble a roster with depth and versatility, those same factors have the club soon needing to make multiple decisions as several players are in the process of completing a rehab assignment.
Dodgers outcast Alex Guerrero is leading the pack, as he’s already played six rehab games with High-A Rancho Cucamonga. Guerrero batted .238/.273/.381 (5-for-21) with one home run, three RBIs and three strikeouts.
He had two multi-hit games for the Quakes, and collected a hit in all but one game. Guerrero split six games evenly — starting two at third base, two in left field, and a pair as the Quakes’ designated hitter.
The 29-year-old Cuban native has now joined Double-A Tulsa, and he’ll likely spend time with Triple-A Oklahoma City before the clock on his rehab assignment runs out.
Although there doesn’t appear to be a fit for Guerrero on the roster, he doesn’t plan on accepting a Minor League assignment and believes he can help the Dodgers, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
He can also refuse an assignment to the minor leagues, and Sunday he said he has no interest in going to the minors once he’s healthy. Guerrero thinks he can help the Dodgers now. “I think so, yes, because they haven’t been hitting much,” he said. As for where he fits on the 25-man roster, “I don’t know what plan they have for me,” Guerrero said, “but I’m ready for anything.”
Along with a clause preventing Guerrero from being optioned to the Minors without his consent, there’s another that would allow him to opt out after a season in which he is traded. The Dodgers reportedly attempted trading him during the offseason.
Guerrero is owed $7.5 million this year and next, in a four-year, $28 million deal he signed in October 2013. He batted .238/.238/.571 with one double, two home runs, two RBIs and four strikeouts in 21 plate appearances over nine games this spring.
The knee issue he suffered from forced Guerrero to miss more than one week during Spring Training. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he was looking for Guerrero to collect hits throughout the rehab assignment, and prove he’s healthy.
Roberts added he believes Guerrero’s best position — for the club and Guerrero — is third base. Guerrero’s disabled list stint is retroactive to March 25, making him already eligible to be reinstated.
