After rounding out their starting rotation with the singings of Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda, the Los Angeles Dodgers have continued to tinker with the edges of the 40-man roster and overall organizational depth.
Brandon Beachy was re-signed to a one-year deal, while Joe Wieland was traded on Tuesday to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Minor League infielder Erick Mejia.
Shortly after, the Dodgers sent Tyler Olson and Ronald Torreyes to the New York Yankees for Rob Segedin.
Neither of the trades were headline-grabbers, but they both serve the purpose of the Dodgers continuing to work toward balanced depth throughout their Minor-League affiliates.
Los Angeles appears to have taken another step in that direction as former Minnesota Twins center fielder Jordan Schafer signed a Minor-League contract, per Jon Heyman:
Jordan schafer agrees to dodgers minors deal. $1M in majors.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2016
Schafer was selected in the third round of the 2005 draft by the Atlanta Braves. He made his Major-League debut with the club in 2009, appearing in 50 games and batting .204/.313/.287.
Schafer next played in the Majors during the 2011 season, splitting time with the Braves and Houston Astros. He began last season as the Twins center fielder, but suffered a knee injury and was released by the organization in June.
In 27 games with Minnesota, Schafer hit .217./.250/.261. He spent all but one of the 27 games playing center field; the other was in right. The 29 year old has logged 213 games in center field, 65 in left field and 35 in right over parts of six seasons in the Majors.
Given the current outfield depth on the Dodgers’ roster, Schafer figures to be a candidate to begin the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
