Dodgers at a Glance

Who’s new

1B Fred McGriff, OF/1B Daryle Ward, C Todd Hundley.

Who’s gone

1B Eric Karros, Dave Hansen and Tyler Houston, 2B Mark Grudzielanek, OF Marquis Grissom, LHP Jesse Orosco and Omar Daal.

Biggest Question of Spring

Will injury-plagued pitchers Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort solidify the rotation? The Dodgers need the right-handers to revert to form because No. 1 and 2 starters Hideo Nomo and Odalis Perez need help. If Brown and Dreifort can’t make it back, things could get ugly.

Job Seekers

The Dodgers decided that $800,000 was too much for Orosco, so anyone who throws left-handed has a shot at the specialist role. Pedro Borbon, who played for the Dodgers in 1999, heads the list of candidates that includes two-time 15-game winner Wilson Alvarez. Alex Cora and rookie Joe Thurston will compete at second base. Chad Hermansen and rookie Wilkin Ruan will battle for the fifth outfield spot. David Ross may make the opening-day roster if the club carries three catchers. Keep Your Eye On Thurston. The Dodgers are excited about their 2000 minor league player of the year, who batted .334 with 196 hits at triple-A Las Vegas, then continued to impress during a September audition. Thurston and Cora are supposedly battling for the everyday job at second, but it appears the spot is Thurston’s to lose. The Dodgers want do to more on offense and Thurston is a hitter.

Reasons to Be Excited

All-Star right fielder Shawn Green, who hit .285 with 42 home runs and 114 runs batted in, officially earned superstar status last season, setting a major league record for total bases in a game with 19 on May 23 at Milwaukee. Green went six for six with four homers, doubled, singled and drove in seven runs in a 16-3 victory at Miller Park. Eric Gagne burst onto the scene with 52 saves in his first season as a closer and Perez established himself as a rising star in his first full season as a starter, going 15-10 with a 3.00 earned-run average. Nomo showed the Dodgers he deserved to stay in the rotation -- and at the front end -- in one of his finest seasons. Reasons to Be Worried

The status of Brown and Dreifort is up in the air and the club may not have a definitive answer by the end of spring training. Smooth-fielding shortstop Cesar Izturis doesn’t have to do much offensively, but a .253 on-base percentage would have been the worst in the National League last season if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. The Dodgers led the league in batting average against left-handers (.299) and were 14th out of 16 clubs against right-handers (.253).

MANAGER

Jim Tracy is in his third season. He had a 92-70 record (.568 winning percentage) last season, finishing third in the National League West.

PROJECTED LINEUP

CF ... Dave Roberts

C ... Paul Lo Duca

RF ... Shawn Green

1B ... Fred McGriff

LF ... Brian Jordan

3B ... Adrian Beltre

2B ... Joe Thurston

SS ... Cesar Izturis/Alex Cora

PROJECTED ROTATION

1. ... Hideo Nomo

2. ... Odalis Perez

3. ... Kevin Brown

4. ... Andy Ashby

5. ... Darren Dreifort

BULLPEN

Left-handed setup ... Pedro Borbon

Right-handed setup ... Paul Quantrill

Closer ...Eric Gagne

-- Jason Reid

Exhibition schedule

All Times Pacific

FEB. 27 -- vs. Detroit at Vero Beach, Fla., 10 a.m. 28 -- vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 10 a.m.

MARCH 1 -- vs. Montreal at Viera, Fla., 10 a.m. 2 -- vs. Houston, 10 a.m. 3 -- vs. Florida, 10 a.m. 4 -- vs. St. Louis at Jupiter, Fla., 10 a.m. 5 -- vs. Cleveland, 10 a.m. 6 -- vs. Baltimore, 10 a.m. 7 -- vs. Baltimore at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 10 a.m. 8 -- vs. Florida at Jupiter, Fla., 10 a.m. 9 -- vs. Montreal, 10 a.m. 10 -- vs. N.Y. Mets (ss) at Port St. Lucie, Fla., 10 a.m.; vs. N.Y. Mets (ss) at Vero Beach, 4 p.m. 11 -- vs. Atlanta at Kissimmee, Fla., 10 a.m. 12 -- vs. N.Y. Mets (ss) at Vero Beach, 10 a.m.; vs. N.Y. Mets (ss) at Port St. Lucie, Fla., 4 p.m. 13 -- vs. St. Louis (ss), 10 a.m. 14 -- vs. Cleveland at Winter Haven, Fla., 10 a.m. 15 -- vs. N.Y. Mets at Mexico City, 10 a.m. 16 -- vs. N.Y. Mets at Mexico City, 10 a.m. 17 -- vs. Montreal, 10 a.m. 19 -- vs. Montreal at Viera, Fla., 10 a.m. 20 -- vs. Florida, 10 a.m. 21 -- vs. St. Louis, 10 a.m. 22 -- vs. Houston at Kissimmee, Fla., 10 a.m. 23 -- vs. Houston, 10 a.m. 24 -- vs. St. Louis at Jupiter, Fla., 10 a.m. 25 -- vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lucie, Fla., 4 p.m. 26 -- vs. Atlanta, 9 a.m. 28 -- Angels at Dodgers, 7 p.m. 29 -- Dodgers at Angels, 7 p.m.

Key dates

Today: First workout for pitchers and catchers.

Monday: Position players report.

Tuesday: First full-squad workout.

Season opener: March 31 at Arizona, 2 p.m.

Home opener: April 7 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.

All times Pacific