Veteran pitcher Jeff Weaver threw a bullpen session Tuesday, then went to join wife Jillian for the induced birth of the couple’s first child.

“Life will change,” said the 33-year-old, in camp on a Minor League contract for the second consecutive season with the swingman job his to lose. — Ken Gurnick

A third game has been added to the Dodgers’ goodwill series in Taiwan after tickets for the two games originally scheduled quickly sold out.

A Dodgers split-squad will leave Arizona March 10. Instead of the originally scheduled March 12 workout, a game will be played that day in Taipei against the Chinese Professional Baseball League All-Star team.

A second game will be played March 13 in Taipei with the final game March 14 in Kaohsiung. The amount of days the Dodgers will be on the road won’t change from the original schedule.

Among the Dodgers expected to make the trip are native Taiwanesepitcher Hong-Chih Kuo and infielder Chin-lung Hu, as well as first baseman James Loney and infielder Jamey Carroll. — Ken Gurnick

The Dodgers remain in contact with the agent for unsigned pitcher Braden Looper, but chances of a deal are slim because they can’t offer the Major League roster spot or the kind of salary the right-hander wants.

Looper, Joel Pineiro and Jon Garland were in the group of innings-eating veterans the Dodgers considered for fourth starter before they signed Vicente Padilla to a $5.025 million contract. 

There also was talk about signing Looper a year ago, but the Dodgers went with Randy Wolf and Looper signed for $4.75 million in Milwaukee, where he went 14-7 with a 5.22 ERA and threw 194 2/3 innings.

The Dodgers currently plan to get their fifth starter from a group of Scott Elbert, Charlie Haeger, Josh Lindblom, James McDonald, Carlos Monasterios, Russ Ortiz and Eric Stults,  — Ken Gurnick

Dodgers left-hander Scott Elbert, shut down earlier this month with shoulder tendinitis, had a second bullpen session Monday and reported no problems.

“It went fantastic,” said Elbert, who had shoulder surgery in 2007. “We even sat around in the rain figuring out where we’d throw and I got loose in a hurry. I feel really good about it now.”

The former first-round pick is considered a candidate for the fifth starter job. — Ken Gurnick

Manny Ramirez said Monday that 2010 will be his final season as a Dodger.

 

Ramirez, 37 and in the final year of a two-year contract, hinted at both retirement or a return to the American League as a designated hitter as possibilities but committed to neither.

 

“I know I won’t be here next year, so I’ll just enjoy myself,” Ramirez said. “I’m happy I’m here now, I just know I won’t be here. I’ll wait until September and see where we’re at. The game is still fun, but I’ll wait until the season ends and see where my family’s at and stuff like that and make a choice. I just want to see how my body responds and stuff like that.” — Ken Gurnick

Dodgers reliever Travis Schlichting has regained 10 of 30 pounds he lost while dealing with Gilbert’s syndrome, which results in increased bilirubin levels and, in Schlichting’s case, is believed to have caused fatigue and nausea that led to the weight loss.

Schlichting, who had a two-appearance cameo with the Dodgers last year, believes a low-fat diet triggered the inherited condition, although now that he’s feeling better, he views the weight loss as a benefit because it takes pressure off a bulging disk in his lower back that sidelined him most of Spring Training last year.

Schlichting said the condition was the worst during the Arizona Fall League, when he had to pitch on an empty stomach because he couldn’t hold down any food. He said a return to a more normal diet  has him feeling better than he has since early last year. — Ken Gurnick

The first workout for Dodgers pitchers and catchers is Sunday and, for the second consecutive Spring, reliever Ronald Belisario will miss it, again because of visa problems in his native Venezuela, and manager Joe Torre isn’t happy about it.

“It should have started earlier,” Torre said of the process to get clearance. “It’s not something I like. There’s always some issue with somebody. After the job he did last year, we have a better idea of what he’s like, but I still want him here.”

Belisario had an amazing Spring last year. He reported a week late, pitched one inning of a “
B” game, was among the first cuts March 6, pitched lights-out in Minor League camp, was brought back to Major League camp March 30, pitched five more innings and made the Opening Day roster.

Then he spent the entire year in the Major Leagues with a 70 2/3-inning workload and a stellar 2.04 ERA despite missing one month with a sore elbow. — Ken Gurnick

Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, who came into camp last year weighing 210 pounds, checked in this year at 230 after a winter of weight lifting and said he could get up to 240 during the season. Martin said he also has gone back to eating foods he likes after abandoning a low-fat, low-carb diet.

 

Martin spent part of the winter working out with fellow Canadian Eric Gagne, who just signed a Minor League contract with the Dodgers. And Martin said he knows there will be suggestions or suspicions that his added weight is the result of a performance-enhancing substance, which he said are the unfortunate aftermath of the steroid era.

 

“It does stink, but I don’t care at this point,” he said. “I’ll always keep my integrity. At some point, I guess that will cease. We’re in a transition place where people still have their doubts. If you work out the right way and push yourself and eat the right way, anybody can gain weight. For me, it’s hard not to gain weight.” — Ken Gurnick

The Dodgers and free-agent reliever Eric Gagne have reached a tentative agreement on a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League camp. Gagne, 34, also had an offer from the Colorado Rockies, but preferred to return to Los Angeles, where he enjoyed his greatest success. — Ken Gurnick

The Dodgers have not yet made a Minor League contract offer to free-agent reliever Eric Gagne, according to a baseball source. Gagne is trying to restart his career after several years of shoulder problems. Dodgers scouts have watched Gagne throw and the Rockies watched him throw Tuesday. The Rockies are managed by Jim Tracy, who managed Gagne during his glory years with the Dodgers. — Ken Gurnick