GLENDALE, Ariz. - -- The official return of second basemanChase Utley to the Dodgers brought with it confirmation that John Forsythe is still atop the depth chart at the position.
"We expect Logan to get the lion's share of the at-bats," manager Dave Roberts said on Saturday.
After being unable to reach a deal with Minnesota for James Dozier, the Dodgers acquired Forsythe from Tampa Bay for Jose De Leon last winter, expecting more offense than the .224 average, six home runs and 36 RBIs Forsythe delivered. But Forsythe was stellar in the field and Roberts believes there are reasons to hope for an offensive rebound in 2018.
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"Last year against right-handed pitching [.190 average] was certainly below his career norm," Roberts said. "He did some things in the winter to combat that. Mechanically with his swing -- where it didn't allow him to consistently get to the fastball -- he did some things to clean up that path, and I've seen him already here and he looks a lot more clean."
Roberts said he would argue that time Forsythe missed for a broken toe and strained hamstring had a lingering effect on his play after he returned.
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"When your feet aren't working the right way, everything else is compromised, and I do think it bled into his mechanics and it sort of snowballed on him," Roberts said.
Worth noting
• Alex Wood passed a test on his "tweaked" right ankle Saturday, throwing a 28-pitch bullpen session with no ill effects. Wood said he plans to throw an extended bullpen session Monday, then throw live batting practice on Wednesday, which would put him back on schedule after a two-day interruption.
• Thomas Stripling missed Saturday's workout to attend a wedding. Position players are expected to report on Sunday for Monday's first full-squad workout. The only players not yet in camp as of Saturday were non-roster invitees Yusniel Diaz and Donovan Solano.