The Dodgers have made it a point this offseason to build a pitching staff, and they completed their five-man rotation today with the signing of starting pitcher Jon Garland to a one-year contract. The contract is reportedly worth $5 million guaranteed, plus performance incentives, and has a club option for 2012 that vests with 190 innings. Garland joins Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, and Ted Lilly to form quite a formidable five-man rotation for the Dodgers.
"We’re very pleased to have Jon join this group and give us five very strong starters going into Spring Training," said Colletti. "We saw what Jon was capable of down the stretch in 2009 and again last year within our division. Year after year, he takes the ball 30-plus times and gives his team a chance to win every time out."
Garland was 14-12 with a 3.47 ERA for the San Diego Padres last season. He has made 32 or 33 starts in each of the last nine seasons, and has thrown at least 191 2/3 innings in each of those nine seasons as well. Garland was acquired by the Dodgers on August 31, 2009, from the Diamonbacks for infielder Tony Abreu, and Garland went 3-2 with a 2.76 ERA in six starts down the stretch for the Dodgers, although he didn't pitch in the postseason for the Dodgers that season. Garland went to Kennedy High School in nearby Grenada Hills, California.
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