Rule 5 draft pick Jamie Hoffman Monday was returned by the Yankees to the Dodgers.

 

Hoffman, a 25-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder, had a 14-game call-up to the Dodgers last year after starting the season at Double-A. He was the first overall pick in the Rule 5 draft by the Nationals for a fee of $50,000 and was immediately traded to the Yankees. He was offered back by the Yankees to the Dodgers, who paid $25,000 to reacquire him. Hoffman figures to play for Triple-A Albuquerque. — Ken Gurnick 

 

Catcher Russell Martin’s simulated game Monday morning was cut short after he was hit by several pitches from Minor Leaguer Tim Corcoran.

“The third time was the charm,” said manager Joe Torre.

Martin — rehabbing quickly from a goin pull — was hit in the back and also knocked down, but it was the one that hit his wrist that prompted team officials to pull the plug.

“It got a little too simulated,” said Torre. “There was no damage. He was lucky on the one on the wrist. It was a little too uncomfortable to continue.” — Ken Gurnick

The Dodgers released infielder Angel Berroa Monday morning. Manager Joe Torre said the club is satisfied that Chin-lung Hu can fill in for shortstop Rafael Furcal on an extended basis if needed and wanted to give Berroa a chance to hook on with another club before the season started.

Late Sunday the Dodgers also reassigned to Minor League camp non-roster outfielder Alfredo Amezaga, who was signed after he underwent microfracture knee surgery with the understanding that he wouldn’t be game-ready until mid-season. He’ll continue his rehab at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. — Ken Gurnick

Blake DeWitt still hasn’t locked up the starting second baseman job because of, and in spite of, what he did Sunday.

DeWitt homered and raised his average to .371, but he also committed an error on a routine back-hand play that led to an unearned run. Despite his offense, DeWitt has not been “anointed” the stater by manager Joe Torre because he hasn’t fully dispelled doubts about his ability to handle defense at second base. It was DeWitt’s third error of the spring.

He finally was involved in a double-play, but still has not turned a double-play pivot this spring. — Ken Gurnick

The highest batting average for any player in the Dodgers Major League clubhouse belongs to the last one to sign — Garret Anderson — who seems close to locking up a roster spot as a left-handed bat off the bench.

Anderson had three more hits Sunday, raising his average to .438 (7-for-16) with one RBI, even though he didn’t sign until March 4. Doug Mientkiewicz, Anderson’s primary competition, is hitting a respectable .286 (6-for-21) with a homer and three RBIs. — Ken Gurnick

Fifth-starter candidate Eric Stults started Sunday’s game and held Cleveland scoreless the first three innings, but walked a pair and allowed a home run to Austin Kearns in a four-run fourth inning that he did not finish.

Stults said he was out of whack pitching out of the stretch. Three other contenders for the fifth starter spot — Charlie Haeger, Carlos Monasterios and Russ Ortiz — pitch in three different games on Monday. — Ken Gurnick

Minor League instructor and former Dodgers player Lenny Harris is in stable condition at a local hospital after undergoing emergency quadruple heart bypass surgery Saturday, a baseball source confirmed.

 

Harris was stricken with chest and arm pain Friday, but did not suffer a heart attack as there was no heart damage. In a Saturday operation, doctors found blockages in four arteries, with one 95 percent blocked.

 

Harris, 45, is in his second season as the senior hitting coach at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch-Glendale complex, working mostly with Minor League players. Harris returned to the Dodgers after serving the 2008 season as the Major League hitting instructor of the Washington Nationals. — Ken Gurnick

Catcher Russell Martin, healing quickly from a pulled groin muscle, swung without limitations in a three-inning simulated game Sunday morning against Minor League pitchers Tim Sexton and Sean Thompson. And that was just the start of his workout.

Martin also took batting practice at the stadium before Sunday’s game and had a drill blocking pitches in the dirt as it appears he’s in total catch-up mode in hopes of being ready by Opening Day or soon after.

Martin was expected to be out four to six weeks after suffering the injury March 5, but has all along doubted that would be necessary. Management believes he will need a rehab assignment before being activated, although the way he was bouncing around Sunday it seems that games won’t be that far off.

The only thing he hasn’t done yet is full-speed base running, which will be the acid test for a groin injury. — Ken Gurnick

Dodgers manager Joe Torre flew home to Los Angeles after Saturday night’s game and will miss Sunday’s game with a family commitment. Manager-in-training Don Mattingly will run the club Sunday and Torre will return to Arizona in time to manage Monday’s game. — Ken Gurnick

With starting catcher Russell Martin still sidelined by a pulled groin muscle, backup catcher Brad Ausmus missed practice Saturday after receiving an epidural injection in his lower back Friday.

Ausmus, who turns 41 next month, is sharing the catching duties with rookie A.J. Ellis while Martin is out. A club official said Ausmus has had similar back issues in the past that have responded well to the injections. — Ken Gurnick