Dodgers Spa–Glendale
Not exactly. But manager Joe Torre said one of the “big parts” of moving into an Arizona training facility for the Dodgers is having a year-round base where injured players can rehabilitate, instead of remaining with the Major League club and diverting the medical staff’s attention away from the active roster. Torre said it worked well for the Yankees with their year-round complex in Tampa, Fla. The Dodgers will have a full-time medical coordinator and therapist on site year-round at Camelback Ranch-Glendale.
Torre said the tentative plan is to have Jason Schmidt pitch in an intrasquad game Jan. 23. Torre said after watching Schmidt throw two bullpen sessions that he “appears 100 percent healthy.” Schmidt never pitched in a Spring game last year.
The club’s exhibition schedule has three days off, but Torre already decided that’s too many and is trying to add a game March 2.
Torre said he wants to limit Russell Martin to 140 games behind the plate this year, which won’t be much of a breather from last year, when he appeared in 149 games as catcher (138 starts). — Ken Gurnick