By: John Mamola

The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed a one year contract with free agent reliever J.P. Howell.  It is reported to be a deal worth $2.85 million plus incentives according to ESPN's Buster Olney.  Howell, 29, went 1-0 with a 3.04 ERA in 55 games for the Rays in 2012, with 42 strikeouts and 22 walks in 50 1/3 innings.

The left handed reliever missed the entire '10 season with a shoulder injury that required surgery to repair a torn labrum.  Howell, who attended Southern Cal and the University of Texas, was a first-round pick of the Royals in 2004 and was traded to the Rays in 2006.