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The number of Minnesota Twins participating in next month’s World Baseball Classic is now six.

In addition to catcher Joe Mauer (USA), closer Glen Perkins (USA), first baseman Justin Morneau (Canada), and catcher Drew Butera (Italy), pitcher Samuel Duduno and utility infielder Jamey Carroll have been added to WBC rosters. 

RHP Deduno has been added to the pitching staff representing the Dominican Republic. He was 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA for the Twins last season. Deduno, who was left off the 40-man roster last November, could use the WBC as a springboard to audition for the Twins’ pitching staff in 2013.

“He was frustrated when he was taken off the roster because he felt like he’d earned a spot, but he understands,” Paul Kinzer (Deduno‘s agent) told the Minneapolis Star Tribune last November. “He feels like he’s going to come to spring training and earn a spot in the rotation.”

The eleven-year MLB veteran Carroll, who turned 39 yesterday, was added to Team USA as a reserve and would be added to the roster in case of an injury.

Carroll, who began his MLB career with the now-defunct Montreal Expos, had a career-high 537 PA for the 66-96 Twins last season. He made 64 starts at second base, 36 at shortstop and 30 at third base.

The six players will leave spring training on March 3 to head to play for their respective countries in the third WBC.

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The offseason trade for Dan Uggla created a hole on the Braves roster. Okay, maybe it created two holes considering how poorly he has hit thus far, but the hole I was referring to was the departure of utility man Omar Infante.

When the trade was official, I applauded Wren for nabbing a slugger for the mere price of a super utility player and a lefty specialist. Yet, there was a small piece of me who cringed thinking perhaps the bench’s most important spot, it’s utility infielder, would be left in the unsure hands of rookies or minor league journeymen. 

During the 2011 season, the Braves have given chances to Brandon Hicks, Diory Hernandez and now Julio Lugo. While the jury is still out on Lugo, there isn’t much to hope for considering he is a 35-year-old who left his best days back in Tampa Bay in 2006.

With that in mind, the Braves may be seeking utility players at the trade deadline, preferably a right handed hitting one. Following are the top three which I would personally target if I were in Frank Wren’s shoes.

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When the Texas Rangers ponied up and offered free agent Adrian Beltre a six-year, $96 million contract, incumbent third baseman Michael Young, the Rangers all-time leader in hits and several other offensive categories, indicated that he was okay with moving to the role of full-time designated hitter.

Then, the Rangers acquired Mike Napoli from the Toronto Blue Jays, and shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose.

Two weeks prior to the start of spring training, the Texas Rangers went public in saying that Michael Young had demanded to be traded, with general manager Jon Daniels saying that Young had a “change of heart” regarding his role as designated hitter and utility infielder.

One day later, Young ripped the Rangers, telling Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

“The suggestion that I had a change of heart and asked for a trade is a manipulation of the truth. I asked for a trade because I’ve been misled and manipulated and I’m sick of it. Other than that, I’m not going to reveal any details about how this process unfolded. It’s not my nature to start blasting people publicly when I don’t think it’s necessary… But at the end of the day, I know the truth. And so does JD.”

While the Rangers said that they would honor Young’s request for a trade, there have been no significant discussions with any teams, and now, with the calf injury to Beltre early in spring training, the Rangers will certainly be in no hurry to accommodate Young’s request.

While Michael Young has been a consummate professional throughout his career with the Rangers, the current situation is still a distraction, regardless of what Young or anyone else on the Rangers says publicly.

The Rangers can still salvage the situation and try to trade Young, but there are only eight teams on Young’s contract that he has agreed to be traded to: the Yankees, Twins, Astros, Cardinals, Padres, Dodgers, Rockies and Angels. Young has also indicated that he would we willing to waive his no-trade clause to other teams “on a case by case basis.”

So, with that in mind, here are ten ideas that the Texas Rangers can use in order to save face and get value for Michael Young in return.

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This season’s trade deadline held no surprises for the Dodgers and General Manager Ned Colletti.

As per usual, the tenacious GM pulled off some big moves in the 11th hour, acquiring best-of-the-remaining starters Ted Lilly, a reliable infielder and everyday starter in Ryan Theriot, a seasoned veteran fireballer in Octavio Dotel, and stability and speed in the outfield with Scott Podsednik.

However, there are still several players on the Dodgers’ roster that should have been shipped out in the process.

It is certainly considered a victory when a team can pick up established stars for little more than prospects and cash, but Los Angeles has expendable players to move to make room for the regular starters to have a place on the active 25-man roster.

Here are five players squatting on the Dodgers’ roster that should have found new homes.

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The MLB trade deadline is just two weeks away and talks are beginning to heat up around the league.

This year’s deadline is sure to be filled with sellers as a lot of teams are looking to free up cap room in an ever-struggling economy. Despite a meager bank account and not many prospects for improvement, the Dodgers view themselves as buyers.

The lack of a solid starting rotation has prompted the Dodgers to reach out to several teams regarding pitching, but the Dodgers seem unwilling to part with core talent. However, with pressure mounting and GM Ned Colletti sweating, those “No’s” might just be “Not yet’s.”

Here are a few possibilities for Dodger trades, although any talks of the Dodgers making moves may be like panning for gold in a tar pit.

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I was looking at the box score of the Giants-Dodgers game today, and aside from the fact that the Dodgers are thumping the Giants, I noticed that Jamey Carroll was having a big day (2-for-2 with a couple of walks and three runs scored), and it got me thinking about how much Carroll has changed since he first came up in 2002.

Carroll didn’t establish himself as a legitimate major league player until he was 29-years-old.  He started his career with the Expos, during their death spiral, and, to the extent that I paid attention to, what the Expos and Carroll were doing, I didn’t think he’d stick around for more than a couple of seasons as a backup infielder.

Very quietly, however, he’s had a terrific career for a player who reached the major leagues so late.  Carroll isn’t a true star, but he is an extremely valuable platoon and bench player.  He plays second base (well, according to fangraphs), third base (average defense),  short stop (slightly below average defense), and on occasion the corner outfield positions.  Meanwhile, he has a career .354 on-base percentage, which is just tremendous for a middle infielder who can give you the flexibility Carroll can.

Carroll has no power (his career slugging percentage is lower than his OBP), but he runs pretty well, so he makes a great table setter.  In fact, he has well more than twice as many runs scored in his career as runs batted in.

Carroll has mostly played for bad, low-profile teams like the Expos, Nationals, and Indians, although he played two seasons in Denver and had his best season there in 2006.  He looked like his career might be over after poor seasons at age 31 and 33, but he’s now had three strong seasons in a row as a guy who gets about 350 to 400 plate appearances a season and  plugging holes as more respected players get injured or don’t perform.

Carroll is making a shade over $1.5 million with the Dodgers this year, and with a .397 OBP so far, he’s been a bargain.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are approaching a pivotal stretch in the 2010 season. The next 11 out of 17 games the team will play will be against division opponents. Fewer and fewer anaylists and experts are calling the season “young” as Major League Baseball is nearly 30 games in, with several surprises including the Boys in Blue.

The San Diego Padres are currently half a game back of the San Francisco Giants for the division lead while most had predicted the Colorado Rockies and the Dodgers to get off to the best start.

Look no further than re-tooled pitching for the Giants marking early successes while the Dodgers have been constantly hindered by injuries to key starters and pitching.

However, the next two weeks will undoubtedly mark change for L.A. Key players will be coming off the disabled list and will need to have an immediate impact in their returns. The corresponding roster moves will bring fresh faces to the mix while some exit to await another call.

If the defending National League West Champions want to prove they can defend their crown, the next couple weeks would be a glaring opportunity.

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As of this writing, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in last place in the National League West, with an 11-16 record. The Milwaukee Brewers have scored 11 runs on them the past two nights.

Most Dodger fans did not expect this, with the team coming off two straight NLCS appearances with a good core of young players.

However, when the season started, I was afraid that this swooning futility might happen, sorry to say.

Here, in my humble opinion, is why the Dodgers are where they are at this point:

Injuries

Manny Ramirez and Jeff Weaver are currently on rehab assignments in the minors, they are scheduled to rejoin the team this weekend.

Shortstop Rafael Furcal is on the disable list with a bad hamstring, and opening day starter Vicente Padilla is out with an arm injury for roughly two months.

Particularly with Ramirez and Furcal, those are key players that the Dodgers have been missing.

It is safe to say that these injuries have hurt L.A. badly, if not outright decimated them. Unlike Juan Pierre last year, outfielder Reed Johnson and infielder Jamey Carroll haven’t stepped up in Manny’s and Rafael’s absence; they went 0-for-8 last night in the Dodgers’ 11-3 loss to the Brewers.

Pitching 

In my view, this is the biggest reason why Los Angeles has only won 11 out of their first 27 games.

The starting pitching was a concern for me going into 2010. I felt that Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw had to step up big time, and have dominating seasons in order for the Dodgers to win their third straight division title.

Even though Billingsley has been pretty good of late, he gave up four runs in the first inning last night; he and Kershaw have not pitched as well as expected.

Kershaw gave up seven runs in two innings in his last start, and he continues to throw too many pitches and walk too many batters.

As for the bullpen, except for Jonathan Broxton, who has been lights out, it has flat-out sucked.

Charlie Brown would fit right in with L.A’s middle relievers and their ineptness, and may be the best one if he was a Dodger.

Guys like Ronald Bellasario, Ramon Troncoso, and especially George Sherill have thrown gasoline on the fires whenever they’ve taken the mound. It has gotten to the point where high school players could probably hit off them, their pitching has stunk so bad. 

If the Dodgers are going to climb out of the cellar and be the contending club that they are more than capable of being, the pitching absolutely must perform better.

Otherwise it could be a long, frustrating year in Chavez Ravine.

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