Ethier believes he should be a starter

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Joe Torre calls it the toughest decision he has faced all spring. And he may not have it resolved until Monday morning, when he makes out his opening-day lineup.

“Then I’m going to have to write somebody’s name down,” he said.

At issue is who will start in the Dodgers’ outfield, specifically left field, alongside center fielder Andruw Jones and right fielder Matt Kemp.

Andre Ethier says he believes he has done all he can to make Torre’s pick a no-brainer, reaching base four times, hitting his National League-leading sixth home run of the spring and raising his batting average to .359 in the Dodgers’ 10-9 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Monday.

“It’s kind of funny,” Ethier said with a smile. “Everyone says ‘Let’s wait and see what happens in spring training.’ But at the same time, some people come back and say ‘Well, it’s only spring training.’

“I was told to come into spring training and show what I’ve got. And I did what I was asked. It’s management’s choice who they’re going to put out there.”

Ethier’s competition for the job, veteran Juan Pierre, is batting .188 with a .253 on-base percentage after reaching base only once in his last 12 at-bats. But Pierre has an established track record, having averaged more than 200 hits, 95 runs and 57 stolen bases over the last five seasons.

But Ethier, 25, has more power, a better arm and will drive in more runs, tools that would make him more valuable off the bench. And that fact, ironically, could wind up costing him the starting job.

“They bring different things to the table,” Torre said. “Obviously, Pierre is that guy who’s going to put the ball in play. He’s going to be a threat on the basepaths.”

Torre asked the players to be patient as he searches for a solution, but it hasn’t been easy. Monday, Pierre slumped, head down, in front of his locker long after the rest of the team had taken the field. Coaches Bob Schaefer and Larry Bowa went into the clubhouse to talk to Pierre while Torre had a 14-minute talk with Pierre in the outfield during batting practice, then kept him on the bench.

“It’s a tough part for the three of us to be in right now,” Ethier said.

In addition to Ethier, Rafael Furcal also homered in support of Hideki Kuroda, who gave up three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

But the bullpen faltered behind him with Joe Beimel, Ramon Troncoso and Mike Myers giving up six runs in the span of two outs.

Roster moves on hold

After meeting with his coaches and front-office personnel for a couple of hours, Torre decided to put off any roster moves until at least Thursday, meaning the Dodgers will break camp today and return to Los Angeles with 40 players.

Including reliever Yhency Brazoban, who remained behind in Florida for extended spring training, the Dodgers are 16 players over the opening-day limit.

“We were banging it back and forth and the best we could come up with is maybe changing one guy or two guys. It wasn’t really worth it for one or two guys,” said Torre, who will reconvene with his staff before Thursday’s exhibition game with the Angels.

Kent tests leg

Jeff Kent’s strained right hamstring is getting better, but the Dodgers appear to be leaning toward putting him and third baseman Nomar Garciaparra on the disabled list.

Kent tested his leg by running for a second consecutive day, doing sprints on the outfield grass at the Dodgers’ complex in Phoenix, then running on the edge of the infield dirt as if he were rounding the bases.

Garciaparra, who has a broken bone in his right hand, continues to participate in fielding drills but has not swung a bat in a week.

If both players are put on the DL, the move could be made retroactive, meaning the players would have to sit out only four games.

“We’re going to sit and talk again on Thursday and then we’ll make decisions on both he and Nomar, whether disabled [list] or it is reasonable to think they’ll be ready,” Torre said.

The Dodgers continue to indicate they will try to fill those holes from within. The Dodgers and Colorado Rockies have had brief conversations regarding former All-Star Marcus Giles but Joe Bick, Giles’ agent, said Monday evening that a deal did not appear likely.

Saito sits out

Closer Takashi Saito, who sat out the first two weeks of the exhibition season because of a strained right calf, was scratched from his scheduled appearance Monday night after complaining of tightness in his left buttocks.

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kevin.baxter@latimes.com