The Dodgers signed Uribe for a whopping three years and $21 million in the winter of 2010. His versatility played a part in his signing, as the Dodgers had the injury-prone Casey Blake at third base and Rafael Furcal at shortstop, and although both had options for 2012, it seemed likely that at least one of them, if not both, would not be back in 2012.
Fast forward a year and Juan Uribe is now the Dodgers starting 3rd baseman right on schedule and Uribe / Blake be gone.
Going into 2011 Juan Uribe was going to be the Dodgers starting 2nd baseman. When Casey Blake got hurt he became the starting 3rd baseman. When Juan Uribe got hurt he became the whipping boy for a lost season.
Eric asked this question last year in the profile:
But what if Uribe isn't an upgrade, or a marginal one at best? Remember, Uribe spent his age 25-28 years hitting .241/.284/.409, a 77 OPS+ with the White Sox. He does have a career on-base percentage of .2998, after all. There is the fear that Uribe could revert to his almost-out-of-baseball status at any time.
Looks like Eric asked the right question
Trivia
Juan Uribe joins a select list of terrible LA Dodger 3rd baseman with over 200 plate appearances.
Player OPS+ PA Year BA OBP SLG OPS
John Kennedy 50 294 1966 .201 .241 .281 .522
Juan Uribe 56 295 2011 .204 .264 .293 .557
Dave Hansen 67 379 1992 .214 .286 .299 .585
Tim Wallach 67 522 1993 .222 .271 .342 .612
Dave Anderson 69 262 1985 .199 .310 .281 .591
Dick Tracewski 70 216 1965 .215 .313 .263 .577
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/21/2012.
Contract Status
Uribe is in the second year of a three-year, $21 million contract. He will be paid $8 million in 2012.
Stats
| Year | Age | PA | HR | Runs | RBI | BA | OBP | SLG | wOBA |
| 2008 |
29 | 353 | 7 | 38 | 40 | .247 | .296 | .386 | .296 |
| 2009 |
30 | 432 | 16 | 50 | 55 | .289 | .329 | .495 | .351 |
| 2010 |
31 | 575 | 24 | 64 | 85 | .248 | .310 | .440 | .322 |
| 2011 |
32 | 209 | 4 | 21 | 28 |
.206 | .264 | .293 | .250 |
| 2011 Projections - Age 32 Season | |||||||||
| Year | PA | HR | Runs | RBI | BA | OBP | SLG | ||
| Bill James | 298 | 9 | 30 | 37 | .240 | .298 | .394 | ||
| Marcel | 405 | 12 | 41 | 48 | .243 | .300 | .400 | ||
| Baseball HQ | |||||||||
| ZiPS | 410 | 11 | 41 | 51 | .249 | .300 | .401 | ||
2011 Outlook
Surely he will bounce back, the question is how much? To his White Sox level, or to his Giant level? He could bounce back and still be a detriment. He could bounce back and become an asset. I think he'll simply get hurt again.
What is your guess for Uribe in 2011? Be sure to guess BA/OBP/SLG, PA, and number of starts at each infield position.