Last November the Los Angeles Dodgers signed utility man Charlie Culberson to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training. An injury to Howie Kendrick led to Culberson being included on the Opening Day roster.
He made an immediate impact, coming up with a diving catch and hitting a go-ahead double in an extra-innings victory over the San Francisco Giants, who selected Culberson in the first round of the 2007 Draft.
The 27-year-old spent much of the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, joining the Dodgers on multiple instances when someone was lost to injury or a left-handed starter was on the mound.
Although he was not yet eligible for salary arbitration, Culberson agreed to a contract with the Dodgers ahead of Friday’s deadline to tender players, via Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball:
Charlie culberson settles at 550K #dodgers
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 1, 2016
Culberson appeared in 70 games with OKC and hit .260/.310/.385 with 17 doubles and 33 RBI. He joined the Dodgers in late-August and remained with the club through the remainder of the regular season.
Culberson’s season, and perhaps career highlight, came on Sept. 25 when his walk-off home run in extra innings sealed a fourth straight National League West title for the Dodgers. The homer was Culberson’s first in the Majors since 2014; he did not reach the Majors in 2015 due to a back injury.
Logging 68 plate appearances over 34 games with the Dodgers this season, Culberson batted .299/.309/.388 with three doubles, one home run and seven RBI. He logged time at shortstop (11 games; eight starts), second base (10; nine), third base (four; two) and left field (two games).
Also on Thursday, the Dodgers avoided arbitration with Chris Hatcher and Scott Van Slyke by signing both to one-year contracts.
