Dodgers sign Jamey Carroll

The Dodgers have signed utilityman Jamey Carroll to a 2 year deal worth $4 million, according to ESPN. Carroll, who will be 36 in February, batted .276 in 93 games for the Indians last season.

I don't really understand this signing from a financial standpoint. If Carroll is replacing Mark Loretta, then why pay him twice as much to do the same thing? Why not give an NRI a shot or let a minor leaguer like Chin Lung Hu take the utility infielder role for a fraction of the cost?

Only a day after the Dodgers save millions by shipping Pierre's contract to the White Sox, they throw $4 million away on a bench player.

Arbitration deadline passes, Dodgers offer to none

Team Spokeman Josh Rawitch tells Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times that the team will offer none of its departing free agents salary arbitration.

The Dodgers have 7 free agents who were ranked by Elias as either Type A or Type B. They would have received compensation for any of them who were offered arbitration, declined and signed with another team. Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudson would have yielded a 1st/2nd rounder and a Supplemental 1st rounder under that scenario.

This is just unbelievable. I don't recall a team ever having so many free agents and offering none arbitration. An act of this nature indicates a complete unwillingness by management to even consider adding payroll, regardless of how unlikely it would be that any would actually come back. Wolf is primed to get a multi-year deal, something the Dodgers seem disinterested in pursuing. Hudson, who was benched last year for Ronnie Belliard, looked like he didn't even want to return. But it seems that saving money at any cost trumps pragmatism and actually improving the organization.

I can understand not offering the Type B free agents arbitration, since they likely would have accepted and commanded at least 80% of their previous year's salary. However, not taking a chance on either Wolf or Hudson signing with another team demonstrates a lack of interest in improving the organization without complete assurance that payroll obligations will not be incurred. This is no way to run a professional sports franchise.