By Steve Lyons
FOX Sports West and PRIME TICKET
LYONS ARCHIVE
When Jeff Kent and his 377 home runs retired after the 2008 season, the Dodgers had a hole at second base and in the middle of the lineup.
They tried to fill it with Orlando Hudson to mixed results. They converted highly-regarded prospect Blake DeWitt from a third basemen to a second basemen. They traded for Ronnie Belliard in 2009 and then for Ryan Theriot in 2010, who was set to be their opening-day second basemen next season.
All told nine players (Hudson, DeWitt, Belliard, Jamey Carroll, Nick Castro, Nick Green, Mark Loretta and Tony Abreu) have played at least one game at second base for the Dodgers, combining for 15 home runs in the two seasons since Kent retired.
On Monday, Los Angeles signed one of the Giants' World Series heroes Juan Uribe, who hit 24 home runs last season, to a three-year deal to be their second baseman. To clear room for Uribe, they dealt Theriot to the Cardinals for pitcher Blake Hawksworth on Tuesday.
From 2009-10, Dodgers 2B have a .379 slugging percentage with just 92 extra base hits and 124 RBIs in 1,210 at bats. Uribe, meanwhile, boasts a .464 slugging percentage, 96 extra base hits, 40 home runs and 140 RBI in just 919 at bats over the same time frame.
He will no doubt provide an upgrade in offense at 2b and give the Dodgers another bat in the middle of the lineup that can pull the ball out of the park. He plays solid defense, has won two Championships (SF 2010; CWS -2005) and is a great clubhouse guy, which, quite frankly, the Dodgers' clubhouse needed.
Uribe, however, will turn 32 at the 2011 all-star break and he strikes out a lot, hitting below .250 this past season. He is an all-or-nothing guy with four 20-plus home run seasons and four seasons of 90-plus strikeouts. He is kind of a guess hitter, who like Casey Blake, has made a career off of pitcher's mistakes.
But the Uribe deal made Theriot expendable.
The former Cubs middle infielder did a nice job defensively last season and goes the other way better than anyone else does, but he has no power and strikes out a lot for a guy who should be a contact hitter at the top of the lineup.
He also made $2.6 million last season and was arbitration eligible. Hawksworth, meanwhile, made just $402,000 last season. The 6-3 right-hander was solid in 2009, posting a 2.03 ERA in 30 relief appearances for the Cardinals, allowing 29 hits in 40 innings. But last season, he gave up 113 hits in 90 innings as his ERA rose to 4.98. He is just 27 years old and has just over a year of Major League experience and you can take a chance on a kid that is that young and still has a chance to develop.
With Rick Honeycutt leading the Dodgers staff, he could be a steal.
