Reed Between the Lines: Johnson’s Arrival Spells Confusion at 2B

Reed Johnson is now a Dodger.  The outfielder will fill a fourth-outfielder role after Juan Pierre was traded to the White Sox.  Johnson is a good addition; he plays stellar defense in left-field, where he will presumably see most of his innings, and he has a decent bat.  However, the fact that he’s a right-hander is troubling.  Initial reports indicated the Dodgers were looking into a lefty outfielder.  While Johnson is a much better addition than, say, Garret Anderson or Brian Giles, the bench is now all right-handers: Brad Ausmus, Jamey Carroll, and Johnson.  The backup shortstop role still needs to be decided, and likely will not until after Spring Training.  But even with the backup shortstop competition, that would be between Nick Green and Chin-Lung Hu, both right-handers.

Doug Mientkiewicz and Xavier Paul are both lefty options, and the team can add a fifth outfielder as well.  But as of now, with the addition of Johnson, the team has little room for the three current second-basemen: Carroll, Ronnie Belliard, and incumbent Blake DeWitt.  The addition could make DeWitt the odd-man out, as if he starts, the bench becomes all right-handed.  Time will tell what Johnson’s arrival could mean for LA, but as of now, there’s more confusion than before.

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