Dodgers In Contact With Three For Left Field

At this time last season, the Dodgers were ready to start the season with a future Hall of Famer roaming left field. Now they're still trying to find someone for the job after Scott Podsednik declined his half of a mutual option. They had some interest in Bill Hall, but he decided to sign with the Astros. The Dodgers have now turned their attention to three other left field candidates according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, making contact with Marcus Thames and the brothers Hairston: Scott and Jerry Jr.

Thames, 34 in March, hit .288/.350/.491 in 237 plate appearances for the Yankees in 2010, his best offensive season since 2006. He's a disaster defensively, with a -27.4 UZR/150 in left over the last three seasons. Jerry, the older of the two brothers, played primarily shortstop for the Padres last year, hitting .244/.299/.353 in 476 plate appearances. He dealt with a stress fracture in his tibia at the end of the season. His brother hit .210/.295/.346 in 336 plate appearances for San Diego while battling hamstring issues.

Both Thames and Scott excel at punishing left-handers, with .264/.333/.505 and .278/.331/.498 career batting lines against southpaws, respectively. That would be useful in a division that features lefties Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Joe Saunders, and Clayton Richard, among others.