Dodgers get burned with Andy Ibañez DFA but rebound to reunite with former catcher

The Dodgers made by far the most head-scratching move of their offseason last week, when they DFA'ed Andy Ibáñez — a player they had signed to a $1.2 million major league deal — to make room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Michael Siani, who they picked up off of waivers from the Braves and then DFA'ed to make room for Kyle Tucker.

The front office probably hoped that no one would want to claim Ibáñez and take on the money they'd already promised him. Maybe he'd clear waivers and go straight to Triple-A until further notice (he doesn't have enough service time to refuse an assignment) to act as a nice depth piece in the event of an injury for one of the infielders.

The Athletics called their bluff. They claimed Ibáñez on Friday and will pay out the remainder of his contract.

But we got some good news just minutes later. Former catcher Ben Rortvedt, who was waived and then picked up by the Reds at the beginning of the offseason, was DFA'ed by Cincinnati on Tuesday and picked up by none other than the Dodgers.

Something to watch out for: LA's 40-man roster is full, so a roster crunch is on its way.

Dodgers lose Andy Ibáñez to Athletics on waiver wire, claim Ben Rortvedt from Reds

Frankly, it would be hilarious if the Dodgers were to DFA Siani again to make room for Rortvedt, but he's certainly the position player most at-risk for that to happen. On the pitching side of the things, the Dodgers could clear out righty Paul Gervase, which would have its own kind of irony to it, as Gervase came over from the Rays in the same three-way trade that Rortvedt did at the trade deadline.

Getting Rortvedt back was basically an inevitability for LA (though it's still curious that they silently let go of him in the first place), which has little viable catching depth beyond Dalton Rushing. They seem likely to stay true to their word and make Rushing their Opening Day backup catcher while keeping Rortvedt in reserve (though Rortvedt doesn't have minor league options, and Rushing does).

Meanwhile, everything with Ibáñez is still puzzling. The Dodgers haven't provided an update on Tommy Edman's status, even though the move sort of made it seem like he was progressing faster than fans have thought.

If Siani gets the bump again, rendering that Ibáñez move completely unnecessary, Dodgers fans will just have to laugh.