As I still wonder whether Vanessa Bryant will join a Dodger ownership group …
- The Dodgers have announced their invitees to their annual January developmental minicamp, reports Ken Gurnick of MLB.com: pitchers Steven Ames, Michael Antonini, Rubby De La Rosa, Stephen Fife, Shawn Tolleson, Josh Wall, Allen Webster and Chris Withrow, and position players Alex Castellanos, Griff Erickson, Tim Federowicz, Tyler Henson, Alfredo Silverio, Scott Van Slyke and Matt Wallach.
The developmental camp is as much a tutorial about off-field preparation for becoming major-leaguers as anything to do with on-field performance.
- Prince Fielder is just there for the taking, writes Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports.
- Jonah Keri writes at Grantland about the Yankees’ new austerity (relatively speaking).
- Also at Grantland, Rany Jazayerli writes about how teams trading established players for prospects might be getting the short end of the stick more often than you realize.
- How about a Grantland hat trick: Jane Leavy writes about Julia Ruth Stevens, Babe Ruth’s last surviving child.
- Andy LaRoche has signed a minor-league deal with Cleveland.
- Chan Ho Park has signed to pitch in his native South Korea for the first time (news via Brett Bull).
… The Hanwha Eagles said the right-hander had signed a one-year deal worth 24 million won ($20,600).
The Eagles had planned to pay Park 400 million won per season with a club option for another 200 million won. But the money will instead be donated to a fund for amateur baseball at Park’s request.
The 38-year-old said he would also donate his salary for the development of youth baseball.
“I will spend that money on something meaningful for children,” he said. …
