Two days after Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier said “a lot of signs are pointing” toward his leaving Los Angeles after the season, a “surprised” general manager Ned Colletti said Wednesday that the team wants to keep Ethier, whom Colletti considers “a special person.”

“I was a little bit surprised by it,” Colletti said on 710 ESPN’s Mason and Ireland show Wednesday afternoon, responding to Ethier’s comments from Monday night. “But I love the kid. He’s got a chance to be one of the better players in the league. From time to time people say stuff whether they mean it, whether they don’t mean it, whether it’s the moment that captures them that makes them say what they say.”

Colletti said Wednesday that he has no interest in trading Ethier, whom Colletti acquired in a 2005 trade.

“I don’t have any interest in moving him, trading him, anything,” Colletti said on Mason and Ireland. “I like him, and the first deal I made when I came to this club was acquiring him for Milton Bradley, and so it’s always been a special deal for me and a special person we acquired, so everything’s cool on my end.”

Ethier expressed concern Monday night that he could get priced out of the Dodgers’ plans.

“My salary is increasing each year,” Ethier said after Monday night’s exhibition game. “I would say the likeliness of me being here beyond this year, it’s not just my decision. … I have been kind of lucky to be in one spot in baseball for as long as I have been, for six years now. That is a long time to be in one city playing for one team. There is no inclination now other than to go out and play this year and see what we’ve got.

“If I don’t play well, we have seen them non-tender guys here. If you do play well, sometimes they don’t offer those guys arbitration because their salaries are too high.”

Ethier is entering the final season of a two-year, $15.25 million contract that will pay him $9.25 million this year, and if he has even a decent season in 2011, he will receive a significant raise in 2012. But he won’t be eligible for free agency until after 2012 because he won’t have six years of big league service time at the end of this season. However, teams can choose to non-tender their arbitration-eligible players, making them free agents.

The Dodgers went that route with former All-Star catcher Russell Martin over the winter, and Ethier hinted that a similar fate could be in store for him.

Meanwhile, Ethier’s agent issued a written statement Wednesday acknowledging that he did have a brief discussion with Colletti earlier this spring about a possible contract extension for his client. Nez Balelo, Ethier’s Los Angeles-based agent, also said Ethier was aware of those negotiations despite the fact Ethier on Tuesday denied any such knowledge.

“As Ned said Tuesday, we did have some conversations regarding an extension for Andre,” Balelo’s statement reads. “But at no time was an offer ever made. As I do with all my clients, I kept Andre informed on all developments. But since we agreed with the Dodgers not to speak publicly about our talks, Andre kept to his word and denied any knowledge of them. Knowing Andre’s passion for Dodgers fans and the city, I can vouch for Andre’s statement that he is open to staying in Los Angeles for the rest of his career.”

Approached at Dodger Stadium just before the Dodgers’ final Cactus League game on Wednesday night against Seattle, Balelo declined to comment further on the matter, saying he wanted the statement he had issued to stand on its own.

Ethier confirmed what Colletti said during his radio interview, saying he and Colletti hadn’t discussed Ethier’s comments from Tuesday and that he didn’t expect to have such a conversation, adding that he is putting the matter behind him.

“It’s over, and I’m moving on,” Ethier said. “I’m moving forward and focusing on the season starting [Thursday].”

Information from ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Tony Jackson and The Associated Press was used in this report.

By BOB DUTTON

The Kansas City Star

SURPRISE, Ariz. | The Royals trimmed their camp roster before Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers by sending six pitchers to minor-league camp.

There were no surprises.

Left-hander Everett Teaford and right-hander Kevin Pucetas were optioned to Class AAA Omaha, while right-hander Steve Shell and lefties Chris Dwyer, John Lamb and Will Smith were reassigned to minor-league camp.

Players on the 40-man roster must be optioned, while players not on the roster can simply be reassigned.

“It’s better for them to go (the minor-league camp) and get their innings,” manager Ned Yost said. “That way, when we need them over the course of the year, they’re ready and prepared. Instead of having them sitting here and backing up every day, we want them over there pitching.”

The moves reduced the camp roster to 53 players, including 23 pitchers.

Kendall in action

Veteran catcher Jason Kendall planned to test the recovery of his right shoulder Saturday in game conditions for the first time by playing three innings in a minor-league intrasquad game.

Kendall, 36, underwent surgery Sept. 3 to repair complete tears in three of four tendons in his right rotator cuff. The typical recovery period for the procedure is eight to 10 months.

While Kendall was scheduled to play defensively, the Royals don’t plan to have him throw to bases.

“He is at that point (that he could throw to bases),” Yost said, “but I told him I don’t want any throwing today. I want him just getting his legs underneath him the first time out in a controlled setting; just catching, receiving, blocking balls in the dirt and calling the game.”

Pitching plans

Pitching plans are now set through Wednesday and show an emphasis to create competitive opportunities for those on the bubble by assigning some roster locks to minor-league intrasquad games.

Jeff Francis pitched Saturday in a minor-league game, and plans call for Luke Hochevar, Robinson Tejeda and Joakim Soria to do so on Wednesday.

That creates the opportunity for Rule 5 acquisition Nate Adcock to start Tuesday against Oakland, and Mike Montgomery to start Wednesday night against Cincinnati.

“We know what Hoch and Francis can do against major-league hitters,” Yost said. “This gives us a chance to pitch Adcock against major-league hitters and evaluate Montgomery in a start situation.”

Tuesday’s other pitchers: Danny Duffy, Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, Blaine Hardy and Kanekoa Texeira. On Wednesday: Jeremy Jeffress, Greg Holland, Louis Coleman and Jesse Chavez.

To reach Bob Dutton, Royals reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-4352, send email to bdutton@kcstar.com or follow him at twitter.com/royals_report.

Published: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 12:52 PM     Updated: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 1:00 PM

MIDLAND – Former Great Lakes Loons star Dee Gordon is one of the top prospects in baseball as a member of MLB.com’s list of Top 50 Prospects heading into the season.

In 10 questions with MiLB.com, Gordon talks about his late start in baseball, about his work on his fielding and about his favorite stadium … Dow Diamond in Midland.

Gordon, the son of former Major League pitcher Tom Gordon, also talks about the Stephen King book, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, but doesn’t expect a sequel featuring Dee Gordon.

MiLB.com: What part of your game do you think needs the most improvement, and what can you do to grow in that area?

Coming into the season it was my defense, now it’s just my all-around game. I feel like I’ve responded [to the need to improve] my defense this winter [in Arizona]. Now it’s just stealing more bases, getting caught less times, getting on base, everything. I’m not going to have a ton of power, so it’s hitting balls in those alleys, taking the extra bases, scoring runs for my team.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly announced Wednesday that Clayton Kershaw will start on opening day.

Mattingly said he made the decision shortly after he found out he would succeed Joe Torre. Kershaw will pitch March 31 against the World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly announced Wednesday that left-hander Clayton Kershaw will start on opening day against the world champion Giants.

“He has the opportunity to be special,” Mattingly said.

Kershaw told reporters he understands the symbolism behind pitching the first game of the season.

“I don’t take that lightly,” Kershaw said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “It’s something that is a sign of recognition, it’s a sign of acknowledgement from your manager. It’s not something I necessarily worked toward, but it’s something you’re honored to get.”

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said Kershaw had indeed earned the honor. “He’s relentless in his pursuit of greatness,” Colletti added.

Other pitchers in the L.A. rotation figure to be Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly and Jon Garland.

— The Associated Press

Updated Feb 11, 2011 8:09 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (AP)

First baseman James Loney and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a one-year contract worth $4,875,000.

The club announced the deal Friday, avoiding arbitration. Loney had asked for $5.25 million and had been offered $4.7 million when players and teams exchanged proposed arbitration salaries last month.

Loney hit .267 with 10 homers and 88 RBIs last season, when he made $3.1 million. His average and on-base percentage dropped during a slump in the second half, when he hit .211.

He was the last player in arbitration for the Dodgers, who open spring training Wednesday in Glendale, Ariz.