DEPARTURES: RHP Brad Penny (free agent, signed with Red Sox), RHP Derek Lowe (free agent, signed with Braves), 2B Jeff Kent (retired), RHP Greg Maddux (retired), INF Angel Berroa (non-tendered, signed minor league deal with Yankees), RHP Jason Johnson (non-tendered, signed minor league deal with Yankees), INF Nomar Garciaparra (free agent, unsigned), CF Andruw Jones (released, signed minor league deal with Rangers), INF Pablo Ozuna (free agent, signed minor league deal with Phillies), RHP Chan Ho Park (free agent, signed with Phillies), RHP Scott Proctor (non-tendered, signed with Marlins), RHP Takashi Saito (non-tendered, signed with Red Sox), LHP Joe Beimel (free agent, unsigned), INF Mark Sweeney (free agent, unsigned).

SPRING FOCUS: Partly because of the economy, this will be a spring like no other, and with so many positions already set, the Dodgers' focus could be as much off the field as on the field. The club figures to go to camp with the Manny Ramirez situation still unresolved, and that could dominate the headlines.

PROJECTED ROTATION:

1. RHP Chad Billingsley

2. LHP Clayton Kershaw

3. RHP Hiroki Kuroda

4. LHP Randy Wolf

5. RHP Claudio Vargas

Vargas is the favorite for the fifth spot, but he is far from a lock. If RHP Jason Schmidt is healthy, he'll compete, as will LHPs Eric Stults and Shawn Estes. Billingsley took a major leap forward last year. He suffered a spiral fracture of his left fibula in an offseason accident at home, but he is expected to be recovered by the start of camp.

Kershaw is one of the league's top young pitchers, and he'll benefit from the addition of the veteran Wolf, who has more major league service time than Billingsley, Kershaw and Kuroda put together.

PROJECTED BULLPEN:

RHP Jonathan Broxton (closer)

LHP Hong-Chih Kuo

RHP Guillermo Mota

RHP James McDonald

LHP Eric Stults

RHP Ramon Troncoso

RHP Cory Wade

The club was still hoping to add a veteran reliever before the start of spring training, something that figured to happen quickly once the Wolf signing was complete. If it's another lefty -- say, Dennys Reyes -- that could push Stults to the minors.

Broxton will take over the closer's role full time this season, and while he has overpowering stuff, he is a bit of an adventure at times. If he falters, Kuo would be a candidate to take over the job at some point, but he also has issues, what with his history of elbow problems and two Tommy John surgeries while in the minors.

PROJECTED LINEUP:

1. SS Rafael Furcal

2. 2B Orlando Hudson

3. C Russell Martin

4. CF Matt Kemp

5. 1B James Loney

6. 3B Casey Blake

7. RF Andre Ethier

8. LF Juan Pierre

If the Dodgers re-sign Manny Ramirez, Pierre would be pushed back to the same fourth-outfielder role in which he finished last season. Ramirez probably would then hit third, with everyone else dropping a spot.

The Dodgers weren't very good offensively before Ramirez arrived on July 31, but even if he isn't re-signed, all might not be lost. The club showed a dramatically different approach at the plate after the midseason arrival of new hitting coach Don Mattingly, who should be around for a full season this time.

PROJECTED RESERVES:

C Brad Ausmus

INF Mark Loretta

INF Juan Castro

OF Delwyn Young

OF Jason Repko

Repko will be another odd man out if Manny Ramirez returns, but the consolation prize will be that he'll receive $500,000 to play in the minors thanks to the wonders of the arbitration process. Castro will have to beat out Tony Abreu and Chin-lung Hu, but neither of them has done much to distinguish himself the past couple of years, so the job is Castro's to lose.

Ausmus won't play much behind Martin, but he was brought in as much for mentoring purposes as anything else. He and Loretta are on the down sides of their careers, but they are key pieces in the front office's effort to create a more professional clubhouse environment.

TOP ROOKIES: OF Andrew Lambo is the organization's top prospect, and although he is probably at least a year away and isn't expected to be invited to big-league camp, GM Ned Colletti and manager Joe Torre undoubtedly will want to look at him in a couple of Cactus League games. He hit .389 in a brief, end-of-the-season promotion to Class AA, hitting three homers and driving in 12 runs in eight games.

OF Xavier Paul had a strong season at Class AAA Las Vegas (.316, 28 doubles, nine homers, 68 RBIs and 17 steals) and a decent one in the Mexican winter league. But with Delwyn Young out of options and Jason Repko making big-league money, Paul's best bet might be to get traded to another organization.

MEDICAL WATCH:

RHP Chad Billingsley (left fibula fracture in November 2008) has been right on schedule in his recovery after slipping on ice at his home in Pennsylvania. He is expected to be healthy by the start of camp and ready to take his place at the front of the rotation.

RHP Jason Schmidt (right shoulder surgeries in June 2007 and September 2008) hasn't pitched in the majors in almost two years, and club officials are adamant about the fact they aren't counting on him. But he was expected to begin throwing off a mound shortly before the start of camp, and he should be fully capable of at least competing for a bullpen spot.

INF Tony Abreu (right hip surgery in May 2008) missed all of last season, but he was feeling fine by the time he got to Instructional League in the fall. He has been working out all winter at the team's facility in the Dominican Republic.