Guzman Makes Graceful Shift to Left

JUPITER, Fla. — It was bright and breezy, less than ideal conditions for a converted shortstop to make his debut in left field, but touted Dodger prospect Joel Guzman handled the move with aplomb Tuesday.

It didn’t hurt that Dodger pitching was so dominant in a 3-1 Grapefruit League victory over the St. Louis Cardinals that Guzman handled the ball only four times.

“It was a good first outing for him out there,” said bench coach Dave Jauss, who has been working with the imposing Guzman, a 6-foot-6, 21-year-old Dominican. “Not an easy sky, not an easy wind. A couple plays right to him, got him broken in, and nice, easy throws for him. He looked smooth out there.”

Guzman, considered one of the top three prospects in the Dodger system, had three putouts, the most difficult a slicing fly ball off the bat of Skip Schumaker.

“How about ol’ Guzman out there in left field?” a smiling Manager Grady Little said afterward. “He had a couple tough plays too. That one was slicing away from him and he handled it with ease....

“We wanted to see some chances because we wanted to do some evaluating, but he handled all the plays that he had to make very easily. I thought he was impressive.”

Of course defense won’t be Guzman’s ticket to the majors. Baseball America rated him as the top power-hitting prospect in the Dodger organization.

“His bat,” Jauss said, “will determine if he’s ready.”

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Shortstop Rafael Furcal, taking longer than he or the Dodgers expected to fully recover from arthroscopic knee surgery in January, is still several days from making his spring debut.

And with second baseman Jeff Kent still not fully recovered from wrist surgery, the Dodgers’ new double-play combination has yet to play together.

Little denied concern.

“They’re both proven major leaguers and they’re winners,” he said. “They’ve been winners wherever they’ve been, and their familiarity with each other, that could come in a couple days. That can come quickly with veterans like that.”

Furcal seemed perplexed by his slow recovery time.

“I’m working hard, coming early every day, getting a lot of treatment, then I don’t know what happened,” he said. “Life is like that. You think you can be better, but it takes a little longer. Maybe I try to do too much.”

Kent, who turned 38 on Tuesday, is scheduled to make his spring debut today as a designated hitter against the Baltimore Orioles, Little said, and will start at second base Thursday against the Boston Red Sox.

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Right fielder Andre Ethier, player of the year in the double-A Texas League last season and acquired by the Dodgers in the trade that sent Milton Bradley to the Oakland A’s, suffered a shoulder injury while making a diving catch in the first inning. He later left the game and was expected to be reevaluated when the Dodgers returned to Vero Beach.... Left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo, back in camp after playing for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic, pitched a perfect eighth inning for the Dodgers, striking out two.... Dodger owner Frank McCourt and his wife, club President Jamie McCourt, arrived at Vero Beach and were expected to spend about a week in Dodgertown.... General Manager Ned Colletti left for Phoenix to scout the WBC through Friday.... Eric Gagne was scheduled to make his spring debut today.