A.J.

Ellis

And, thus, his playing career has come to an end. Ellis, who turns 38 in April, batted .239/.340/.352 with 44 home runs across parts of 11 major league seasons with the Dodgers, Phillies, Marlins and Padres.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly expects Guerra to open this season at closer after posting a 2.38 ERA and 38/18 K/BB ratio over 46 2/3 innings. A.J. Ellis will also earn $490,000 in his first full season. The major league minimum salary is $480,000.

We wonder if it’s even crossed Don Mattingly’s mind that he might have the wrong Ellis batting second for his team. A.J. is 3-for-9 with four walks already, while Mark is 3-for-14 with one walk.

It’s not completely out of left field, as Ellis sports a .406 career OBP in the minors, walking 336 times versus 283 strikeouts. He also boasts a career .382 OBP over 323 major league plate appearances. That said, his current .306 batting mark and .449 OBP aren’t going to last, and he’s never showed much power at any level. He figures to be a poor choice as a second catcher in mixed formats before all is said and done.

Jon Heyman of SI.com reported the Dodgers signed Bard to a one-year, $750,000 contract, but Hernandez writes that it isn’t a “slam dunk.” Bard wouldn’t be assured of a roster spot if the deal is completed, so A.J. Ellis and Matt Treanor remain the favorites to be with the big club on Opening Day.

The bomb was already Ellis’ fourth in 35 games. He entered 2012 with just two home runs in 216 career at-bats. Ellis went deep only 19 times in 2,119 minor-league plate appearances. One of the majors’ biggest surprises this season, Ellis has easily been the 30-14 Dodgers’ third most important offensive player, and is now batting a cool .327/.449/.513.

It was a day for walkoffs. The intentional walk tonight was understandable, in that it set up a double play and it gave the Astros a righty-righty matchup. Ellis, though, made them pay, showing surprising pop once again. He has five homers in 120 at-bats this season. Last year, he had four in 269 at-bats between Triple-A and the majors. In 2010, he went homerless in 204 at-bats between Triple-A and the majors.

Ellis didn’t do much of anything during the middle two months of the season, but he’s back hitting in August, with a .301 average, three homers and 12 RBI in 73 at-bats. He drove in six runs between June and July combined.

This is the first time he has batted any higher than fifth this season. Matt Kemp (hamstring) is headed for another extended absence, so the Dodgers will need to find ways to create runs. Ellis is fourth in the majors with a .430 on-base percentage, so moving him up in the order is a pretty good way to do that.

Ellis is still getting on base, but the homer tonight was his first since June 3. He never showed much power in the minors, so there’s a good chance the early season home run barrage was something of a fluke. Still, he’s been a revelation for the Dodgers.