The Dodgers have reportedly reached an agreement to bring back third baseman Juan Uribe on a two-year contract, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and confirmed by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
The contract is worth $15 million total, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and Buster Olney of ESPN.
The club has been negotiating with Uribe off and on since the beginning of the offseason, but it appeared the two sides were stuck in a holding pattern of sorts of late. The Dodgers were reportedly offering one year plus an option, while Uribe was reported to have interest of varying degrees from the Marlins, White Sox and Rays, though none appeared to be too serious.
I wrote on Saturday morning, "To me, this appears to be a game of chicken, with Uribe waiting for the Dodgers to offer a second year."
Per Rosenthal, Uribe got that second year.
Uribe is coming off a three-year, $21 million deal that was an absolute disaster until his bounce-back season in his contract year in 2013. Uribe hit .278/.331/.438 with 12 home runs in 133 games, well outpacing his production from the previous two seasons combined.
Year(s) | G | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Total bases | BA/OBP/SLG | OPS+ |
2011-2012 | 143 | 474 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 36 | 45 | 125 | .199/.262/.289 | 54 |
2013 | 133 | 426 | 22 | 2 | 12 | 47 | 50 | 170 | .278/.331/.438 | 117 |
In addition Uribe provided stellar defense at third base, and was a finalist for the National League Gold Glove Award at the position.
The comeback season for Uribe culminated in Game 4 of the NLDS, when he cemented himself in Dodgers playoff lore with a two-run, game-winning home run off David Carpenter of the Braves in the eighth inning to help eliminate Atlanta.
"Regardless what Juan did the past two years, Juan has been, I think consensus, he's probably been the most liked teammate we have," said Clayton Kershaw after the NLDS.
"If you ask everyone in this clubhouse who is their favorite teammate, 95 percent will tell you Juan Uribe," added A.J. Ellis.
With Uribe reportedly in the fold, the Dodgers will have 37 players on the 40-man roster.