Major League Baseball

Anderson happy to be in Dodgers camp

Published Mar. 6, 2010 9:11 p.m. ET

foxsports

Garret Anderson was about to set a deadline that could have ended his 16-year career when the Dodgers came calling.

Anderson signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers on Wednesday. He reported to camp Saturday, saying he stayed in shape this winter but did not face pitchers.

``I was getting close, getting to a point where I was like, 'OK, if I don't hear something by this point, it would be very hard to start the season with a team,''' Anderson said. ``(The deadline) was right around this time.''

Manager Joe Torre said Anderson will be kept out of games until the veteran deems himself ready to play.

``I'm not ready to play any games yet,'' Anderson said. ``I at least need a week or so. I've been hitting (off a pitching machine), throwing and running, but even these guys took nine or 10 days to get into a game. From that standpoint, I need that grace period that they had.''

An everyday starter for nearly all of his 16-year career, the 37-year-old Anderson will compete with Brian Giles and Doug Mientkiewicz to be the club's left-handed pinch-hit option. All three are in camp on minor league deals.