GLENDALE, Ariz.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ clubhouse feels odd to an outsider, with so many famous names and faces better known for starring elsewhere. From Zack Greinke to Brandon League, Hanley Ramirez to Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez to Josh Beckett — the names read like the draft board in a fantasy league.

It might just work, though. The Dodgers, flush with cash as they approach their first opening day under new ownership, have cornerstones from the farm system in Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw, and promising international prospects in Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Their payroll will be about $230 million, the highest in major league history.

The man with the best seat for the show will be the starting catcher, A. J. Ellis, who was drafted in the 18th round a decade ago out of Austin Peay. He was a senior with no leverage, not even the first catcher the Dodgers chose in that draft.

“I signed for two-point-five,” Ellis said. “Hundred.”

Ellis made $490,000 last season, his first as a starter, when he hit .270 with 13 home runs and saw more pitches per plate appearance than anyone else in the National League. He will earn $2 million this season, which makes him a pauper on the Dodgers; they will pay more than that to 22 players in 2013, including Manny Ramirez and Andruw Jones, who are long gone.