--INF Angel Berroa was told recently that the Dodgers won't exercise his $5.5 million contract option for next season, a decision that basically had been made when the Dodgers acquired him from Kansas City on June 6. The Royals are responsible for the $500,000 buyout of the option, but the Dodgers would have been responsible for all of Berroa's 2009 salary if the option had been exercised. Berroa has slightly more than five years of major league service time and as such remains under the Dodgers' control as an arbitration-eligible player.
--OF Delwyn Young underwent arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 22 for the removal of a spur on the back of his right elbow and the repositioning of the ulnar nerve. He had been experiencing discomfort when throwing. He is expected to begin throwing in about six weeks and should be ready by the start of spring training. --LHP Brent Leach was selected to pitch in the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Game. Leach, a reliever who had a 2.60 ERA in 49 combined appearances for high Class A Inland Empire and Class AA Jacksonville this season, was off to a rough start in the AFL. Through five appearances with Surprise, he had given up nine runs on 11 hits over 7 2/3 innings, and opposing batters were hitting .367 against him.
--SS Ivan De Jesus, who had a monster year at Class AA Jacksonville, will play in the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Game. De Jesus, the Dodgers' top shortstop prospect, batted .324 with a .419 on-base percentage this season and could be in the majors as soon as next season. But he was off to a slow start in the AFL, batting just .231 with two extra-base hits in 39 at-bats through 10 games with Surprise.
--RHP Yhency Brazoban walked two batters and gave up a run in a total of one inning spanning his first two appearances for the Licey Tigers in the Dominican Winter League. The Dodgers' one-time closer, Brazoban has made a total of 11 major league appearances for Los Angeles over the past three seasons because of various injuries, including Tommy John surgery in 2006. Brazoban is arbitration-eligible, and his inability to stay healthy puts him in grave danger of being non-tendered by the Dodgers this winter.
BY THE NUMBERS: 6 -- Dodgers players who are known to be eligible for arbitration this winter, a list that could grow to eight if C Russell Martin and OF Andre Ethier are declared "super-twos." Already on the list are RHPs Yhency Brazoban, Jonathan Broxton, Scott Proctor and Takashi Saito, INF Angel Berroa and OF Jason Repko. If club officials are convinced Broxton is ready to become the full-time closer, Saito could be non-tendered.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We let him sneak in a little batting practice, but he didn't hit in any games. He was strictly there to work on his jumps and routes and reads and throwing mechanics. When you start at that (Arizona Fall League) level, with more advanced players, you want to make sure you are executing like you should." -- Dodgers assistant general manager De Jon Watson, on the reason coveted but defensively challenged outfield prospect Andrew Lambo was sent to the Arizona Instructional League for a week before the start of the AFL season.
