TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays have traded outfielder Juan Rivera to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations.

The 33-year-old appeared in 70 games for the Blue Jays this season, batting .243 with six home runs and 27 RBI before being designated for assignment on July 3, the same day Travis Snider was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Rivera was acquired by Toronto on Jan. 21 along with catcher Mike Napoli from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for outfielder Vernon Wells.

Napoli was then dealt to the Texas Rangers for reliever Frank Francisco.

In 11 major league seasons with the Yankees, Expos, Angels and Blue Jays, Rivera has a .277 average with 118 home runs and 446 RBI.

“Juan will provide us with a right-handed hitting counterpart to Tony Gwynn Jr. and can also fill in for James Loney from time to time at first base,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said in a statement.

Rivera is scheduled to make $5.25 million this season.

Outfielder Juan Rivera batted .243 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 70 games before the Blue Jays released him on July 3. (Charles Krupa/Associated Press)

The Toronto Blue Jays have traded outfielder Juan Rivera to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations.

Los Angeles also reportedly acquired cash in the deal.

The 33-year-old Rivera appeared in 70 games for the Blue Jays this season, batting .243 with six home runs and 27 runs batted in prior to being designated for assignment on July 3, the same day Travis Snider was recalled from AAA Las Vegas.

Rivera was acquired by Toronto on Jan. 21 along with catcher Mike Napoli from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for centre-fielder Vernon Wells.

Rivera hit only .176 with a in his final two weeks with the Jays and posted a disappointing .666 slugging percentage overall.

Rivera, who will make $5.25 million US this season, was acquired by Toronto on Jan. 21 along with catcher Mike Napoli from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for centre-fielder Vernon Wells.

Napoli was then dealt to the Texas Rangers for reliever Frank Francisco.

Weak defensively as a Blue Jay, some would say Rivera could use a change of scenery. The Dodgers probably will use him in a platoon role against left-handed pitchers.

“Juan will provide us with a right-handed hitting counterpart to Tony Gwynn Jr. and can also fill in for James Loney from time to time at first base,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said in a statement.

In 11 big-league seasons with the Yankees, Expos, Angels and Blue Jays, Rivera has a .277 average with 118 home runs and 446 RBIs.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw struck out nine in seven dominant innings and Matt Kemp scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by catcher Buster Posey in the sixth, sending the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants in their season opener Thursday night.

Kershaw (1-0) allowed four hits and walked one in his first opening-day start. The 23-year-old left-hander struck out three of the four batters he faced in the first, giving him 500 strikeouts in his career.

Jonathan Broxton, back in the closer’s role after losing it in the second half of last season, gave up a one-out homer to Pat Burrell in the ninth but hung on for the save after a scoreless eighth by Hong-Chih Kuo.

Former Yankees star Don Mattingly won his managerial debut for the Dodgers, making him the first rookie manager to beat the defending World Series champions on opening day since Lou Piniella debuted with the Yankees on April 8, 1986.

Frank McCourt watched from the owner’s box as his legal tussle with ex-wife Jamie McCourt over ownership of the Dodgers continues into a second season.

Tim Lincecum (0-1) gave up an unearned run and five hits in seven innings for San Francisco. The two-time Cy Young Award winner struck out five and walked three in his third consecutive opening-day start.

The right-hander was in control throughout, but his defense let him down in the sixth.

Kemp walked with one out and James Loney followed with a grounder to shortstop Miguel Tejada, who threw the ball away trying for the force, allowing Kemp to take third. Lincecum hit former teammate Juan Uribe in the hip with his next pitch to load the bases.

Posey, the NL Rookie of the Year last season, blocked a pitch in the dirt and tried to pick off Kemp, who took too big of a lead. The throw got past Pablo Sandoval, allowing Kemp to score.

The Dodgers added a run in the eighth on Loney’s RBI double off Santiago Casilla after Kemp walked and stole second.

The Giants had two other errors, in addition to Posey’s passed ball in the second, and they could have had a fourth. Center fielder Andres Torres would have been charged with an error for overrunning Uribe’s bloop single, but Uribe was thrown out trying to take the extra base in the second.

The game between the bitter rivals began in unseasonable 85-degree heat. Two planes towed banners over Dodger Stadium during batting practice featuring insults directed at each team. As if the Dodgers, who missed the postseason last year, and their fans needed a reminder, another banner read, “SF Giants 2010 Champs Beat LA.”

Four of the Giants’ five hits were singles, including a grounder behind first base by rookie Brandon Belt in his major league debut.

NOTES: Giants LHP Barry Zito wore a neck brace to the park after being involved in a car accident a night earlier. He was sent for more tests on his neck and back. Manager Bruce Bochy said he was optimistic Zito could make his scheduled start Sunday. … At 23 years and 12 days, Kershaw was the youngest opening-day starter for the Dodgers since Fernando Valenzuela, who was 22 when he opened in 1983. … Tenor Placido Domingo sang the national anthem. A moment of silence was observed for victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, and Valenzuela threw out the first pitch. … Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully began his 62nd season with the Dodgers, while organist Nancy Bea Hefley opened her 24th.

PHOENIX – Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda says he cried for many days after hearing of the tragedy in Tucson. 9-year-old Christina Green was shot and killed.

“Here’s a poor little girl going to hear a lady speak, and all of a sudden she’s dead. It’s sad,” he told FOX 10. “For some crazy idiot to be able to do that is unbelievable.”

Christina Green’s father John is a scout for the Dodgers. Her grandfather Dallas Green was a manager for the Phillies, the Yankees and the Mets.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks will play a benefit game for the victims’ families on Friday.

“Tragedy hit us hard. Thank God we’re going to do something for them, playing the game down in Tucson.”

Christina was the only girl on her little league baseball team. She aspired to be a politician when she grew up.

Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium (formerly known as TEP)
Friday, March 25, at 1:05 p.m.
2500 E Ajo Way, Tucson, AZ
Proceeds from the game will benefit the Tucson Together Fund

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kim Ng, who has been the Los Angeles Dodgers’ assistant general manager since 2002 under three different general managers, is leaving the organization to accept a senior vice president’s position with Major League Baseball, the commissioner’s office announced on Tuesday morning.

Ng will report directly to former Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who retired from managing last September and was named executive vice president of operations for MLB last week. She will remain with the Dodgers through their March 31 season opener against the San Francisco Giants.

“We haven’t worked out all the details, but a lot of my focus will be on international operations, such as the Dominican Republic,” Ng said at the Dodgers’ spring-training complex. “I talked to Joe, and he described the job, and it was something of interest to me. It took a while to process and think about. I finally came to the conclusion this job was a fantastic opportunity that I couldn’t afford to let pass me by.”

Ng denied that her decision had anything to do with any instability within the Dodgers organization resulting from owner Frank McCourt’s divorce and the possibility that the team will have to be sold.

“This is really about the opportunity in front of me,” she said. “Like I said, I have a chance to help Joe help the commissioner in changing policy and having an impact on the game in a meaningful way. That [instability] really wasn’t a part of this. Frank has been very good to me, and [general manager] Ned [Colletti] has been very good to me. This was an extremely difficult decision for me. I have been with this organization for almost half my career, and that was a big factor.

“The people I have been around all this time — I just walked in the door with Sandy Koufax — those are some of the things I am going to miss.”

Ng is one of two people, along with Arizona Diamonbacks assistant GM Peter Woodfork, who are being named senior VPs in the baseball operations department.

Ng had seemed at times during her tenure to be on the verge of becoming baseball’s first female GM. She interviewed for the Dodgers GM job in the fall of 2005, but ultimately was passed over in favor of Colletti, then the San Francisco Giants assistant GM. Ng also interviewed for the Seattle Mariners GM vacancy in the fall of 2008 but was passed over in favor of Jack Zduriencik. She interviewed for the San Diego Padres GM vacancy in the fall of 2009, with that job ultimately going to Jed Hoyer.

Ng said she still has the goal of becoming a general manager.

“Obviously, I have a job to do in the commissioner’s office, and I am fully committed to that,” she said. “This is a chance for me to contribute in a meaningful way to the game. In terms of my long-term aspirations, they are still there. I think if anything, this will make me a more well-rounded candidate.”

McCourt issued a statement through the club.

“I’m excited for Kim because this is a huge step in her career, but I’m disappointed that we are losing such a tremendous talent,” McCourt’s statement read. “She has been a dedicated member of our organization for the last decade and has set herself apart with her integrity, her work ethic and her dedication to winning and always doing what is best for the Dodgers. I wish her all the best in her new role and will always consider her part of the Dodger family.”

Colletti said there are no immediate plans to replace Ng in the front office.

“We’ll see in time what we’re going to do,” he said. “It could be internal, it could be external, it could be half and half. This is a great shot for her and a great opportunity. I know her and Joe are close, and he picked a great person, somebody who knows what she is doing. She will be a good asset for him.”

Colletti said it’s possible Ng’s responsibilities will be dispersed to more than one other person and that he doesn’t necessarily feel the need to give someone the title if assistant GM. The Dodgers presently have two other individuals with that title — Logan White, who runs the amateur scouting department, and DeJon Watson, who heads up player development — but they both live in the Phoenix area and aren’t in the Dodger Stadium offices on a regular basis.

“She worked very hard to get that title,” Colletti said. “She put a lot of time and a lot of energy into that position.”

Colletti said Torre called him “a couple of weeks ago, around the start of camp” seeking permission to talk to Ng. Although Torre was officially named to his new position only last week, it is widely believed he accepted the position well in advance of that announcement. Torre told reporters at the quarterly owners meetings in January that he was deep into discussions with commissioner Bud Selig about the position he ultimately accepted.

Ng and Torre have a working relationship dating back to 1998, when Torre was the manager of the New York Yankees and Ng began a four-year stint as the team’s assistant GM. She left the Yankees after the 2001 season to join the staff of then-Dodgers GM Dan Evans.

Evans was fired just before the 2004 season when McCourt purchased the Dodgers from NewsCorp, at which point McCourt hired Paul DePodesta. DePodesta was fired after the 2005 season and replaced by Colletti. Ng survived both of those regime changes and has been an integral part of the Dodgers front office, handling all arbitration cases and most minor league free-agent signings as well as making sure that the club is in compliance with all of baseball’s complex and intricate rules for roster management and player eligibility.

“We’re going to miss her, obviously,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “But I’m sure this is something maybe better for her, and you always want something better for people.”

Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter. Follow him on Twitter.