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As countdowns to the beginning of the season have begun for Los Angeles Dodger fans, pitchers and catchers have reported and the start of spring training is just around the corner. While there are still a few questions, it’s important to know what to look for and expect as camp opens.

With a couple of major question marks and exceptions, the lineup probably will look much like it did last season. However, manager Don Mattingly will be able to use his discretion in a couple of spots.

That being said, though, here is what I expect the Dodger lineup to look like on March 22, when the Dodgers open the season in a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Sydney, Australia. These guesses are partly based on last season, partly on reported rumors and partly on just my expectations.

Note: All advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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With the Super Bowl over and spring training commencing in under a week, the start of the baseball season is legitimately within sight. And given that, it’s time to continue to preview the season.

The Dodgers head into 2013 with more injury questions than one wants to see before the season has even started—and the majority of those uncertainties are key players whom we should keep an eye on as the calendar unfolds.

MLB.com’s injury report lists three Dodgers as of February 3: Chad Billingsley, Scott Elbert and Matt Kemp. I will add a fourth—Josh Beckett—as he is recovering from career-threatening thoracic outlet syndrome.

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The report date for Los Angeles Dodger pitchers and catchers is just a few short weeks away, so it’s time to take a look at what we expect from each of them. Keep in mind that the team’s massive payroll means that many of the major league roster spots are all but guaranteed, so there probably won’t be many surprises.

With that being said, though, there are always excellent and unexpected stories, so here’s a primer on each player who will report to Camelback Ranch in the middle of February.

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With only one bit of business still left to conduct (the Masahiro Tanaka negotiations), the Los Angeles Dodgers’ offseason is just about over. They’ve shored up the back of their rotation, re-signed their big free agents and set themselves for the future.

In fact, by all accounts, they’ve had a very successful winter. Bringing back Juan Uribe filled the one big potential hole, and extending Clayton Kershaw took care of the one big cloud hanging over the front office.

So, given that we’re just under a month away from the beginning of spring training, let’s take a look at the winners and losers of the Dodgers’ offseason.

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With just a month to go until spring training starts (pitchers and catchers report February 8), the Los Angeles Dodgers are finalizing their roster and sending out final spring-training invites. With a fairly set roster, though, there are so many options the Dodgers have.

Last season, the backup shortstop was an integral part of the team because starter Hanley Ramirez played just 86 games. The rest of the time, Nick Punto, Dee Gordon, Justin Sellers and Luis Cruz filled in. As the primary backup, Punto was especially valuable—and indeed, he put up nearly 2.0 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs.

However, Punto is now a member of the Oakland Athletics, and the only shortstops currently on the 40-man roster, other than Ramirez, are Gordon and Sellers, neither of whom has proven to be a quality major league backup.

In addition to backup shortstop, expect the Dodgers to look at bullpen arms and catchers—both of which are positions that organizations often look at for cheap alternatives.

Players mentioned here will be ranked based on their likelihood to make the team and contribute, and all free agents are courtesy of the extremely helpful list at MLB Trade Rumors.

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Heading into the 2013 season, we figured that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting rotation would be a strong point. That turned out to be true, as the staff’s average game score (a Bill James creation that summarizes pitching outings into a single number) was the second-highest in baseball.

In 2014, the rotation figures to be of similar benefit for the Dodgers. Headlined by Clayton Kershaw and with a deep reservoir of talent to pull from throughout the season, the Dodgers’ rotation is the strength of the team and undoubtedly one of the best in the entire league.

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There are only a few potential items left for the Los Angeles Dodgers to attend to this offseason. With the inking of Juan Uribe to a contract, only optional moves remain.

The Dodgers roster is basically set, so general manager Ned Colletti doesn’t need to panic or make any desperation moves. Instead, any transaction would be solely to improve a Dodgers team that won 92 games last season.

As the market has slowed down over the past couple of weeks, there are no hot rumors surrounding the Dodgers—aside from, of course, the general hubbub over Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.

Cited rumors compiled by MLB Trade Rumors.

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With a roster that is basically settled and returning all of the key pieces from the team that won the 2013 NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in good shape. The recently re-signed Juan Uribe will slot in at third base, which was the only remaining hole on the depth chart. However, there are still a couple of organizational questions that will be addressed as the offseason moves on.

Despite it being full, the roster is not perfectly balanced—and questions still abound about how the front office will deal with this problem. The decisions they choose to make will be instrumental in shaping the future of the team.

The Outfield

The obvious big question surrounding the Dodgers is their outfield. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford are all big league outfielders—but only three can play at any given time. And with prospect Joc Pederson likely nearly ready (he played a full season in Double-A last year) to fill a fourth outfielder role, there is no sense in unnecessarily paying at least $18 million for a bench player.

Now, there is a clear problem: There’s no obvious one to trade. Kemp seems to be preferred, but rumors also surround Ethier. And while the team would not reject a Crawford offer out of hand, it’s the receiving the offer part of the trade process that has stymied general manager Ned Colletti. Puig, at just 23 years of age, will not be moved.

A final confounding factor is that of the four, only Kemp is a center fielder. Ethier played it last year in Kemp’s absence, but he’s not particularly good at it: He’s a career negative fielder in right, and he simply doesn’t have the speed necessary to play as a quality center fielder for a full season. Puig might be the best option, but the fact that he is prone to mental lapses might give the Dodgers pause when entrusting him with that kind of responsibility.

So basically, the Dodgers don’t have four outfielders; they have three corner outfielders and one center fielder, and only the most likely one to move is the center fielder.

Masahiro Tanaka

Tanaka is a good pitcher. This FanGraphs post compares him to Hiroki Kuroda, and this piece from Sports on Earth also projects success. Once we concede Tanaka’s talent and expect him to be a high-quality big league pitcher, analysis of the Dodgers’ pursuit of him gets far more interesting.

Dodger ownership continues to claim that the eventual goal is to reduce payroll (as mentioned recently at the bottom of this article in the Los Angeles Times). If that is the case and they intend to begin that process now that they have successfully bought a contending team, then expect them to ease up on their pursuit of Tanaka.

If, however, they still plan on being relatively reckless with their money, then it would be a minor shock to see them not mentioned among the final and highest bidders for the Japanese righty.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Early in the offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers have already been involved in several moves. With the departures of Skip Schumaker and Nick Punto and the arrival of Dan Haren, we already know that several members of the 2014 roster will be new faces.

There are still moves to be made as November turns into December, but this is a good time to take stock of where the Dodgers are and how they’ve made out during these first few transactions.

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As one would hope and expect for a team with a $241 million payroll this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are well positioned going forward. Over past two years, general manager Ned Colletti has made several big moves that have filled previous holes: trading for shortstop Hanley Ramirez, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, and left fielder Carl Crawford, and signing pitchers Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu and right fielder Yasiel Puig.

Keeping those names in mind is important, because all the Dodger returning starters are signed to long-term deals except ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw, and he will probably agree to an extension this offseason.

In addition, Dodger president Stan Kasten has said that he does not feel comfortable signing players to contracts that will keep them on the team past the age of 36, so that takes the team out of the running if bidding on high-priced players like Robinson Cano causes contracts to run past six seasons (Cano is currently 30 years old).

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