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2015 Dodgers review: Juan Uribe, everybody's favorite

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The 4½-year tenure of Juan Uribe saw him go from universally reviled as a colossal bust to a cherished hero. His fifth and final season started off slow and saw him achieve old friend status earlier than anticipated.

What went right

After a 3-for-17 (.176) skid start to the season, Uribe in the second week of the season started a 13-game hitting streak that was the longest hitting streak by a Dodgers player in 2015.

Uribe hit .318/.354/.432 during the streak, and nearly had a very unique streak of 13 games with exactly one hit, but there was a single two-hit game mixed in.

What went wrong

Uribe followed the streak with a 3-for-20 (.150) slump, and by mid-May lost his starting job at third base to Justin Turner, one of the best hitters in baseball the last two seasons. With a backup role, and the impending arrival of Cuban import Hector Olivera threatening to push Uribe further down the depth chart, Uribe let it be known a trade would be in his best interests.

It wasn't a demand by any means, but the front office acquiesced and dealt Uribe to the Braves in a six-player trade on May 27, with switch-hitting infielder Alberto Callaspo and pitcher Ian Thomas highlighting the return.

Outside of missing the daily interaction with the universally-loved Uribe, the trade didn't really hurt the Dodgers until August, when Turner was injured, Olivera traded, and Callaspo left to play more often, with a slumping Alex Guerrero mixed in.

For what it's worth, in the final 117 games of the season Dodgers third basemen hit a collective .272/.345/.419 with 13 home runs, 25 doubles and 52 RBI in 492 plate appearances.

Uribe after he left the Dodgers saw two teams — the Braves and Mets — and hit .254/.329/.448 with 13 home runs, 15 doubles and 37 RBI in 310 plate appearances.

In what was a week of coincidental comeuppance, Uribe drove in the winning run in three different games with two different teams against the Dodgers from July 20-26.

With New York, Uribe suffered an injured chest muscle in late September and missed the first two rounds of the playoffs. Activated for the World Series, Uribe appeared in only one game, hitting an RBI single in Game 3 in his first at-bat in five weeks. The Mets won that game.

2015 particulars

Age: 36

Stats: .247/.289/.309, .264 wOBA, one HR in 29 games, 87 PA with Dodgers, -0.2 rWAR, -0.2 fWAR

Salary: $6.5 million, of which the Dodgers were responsible for just under $2 million.

Game of the year

Uribe was 2-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI in a win over the Giants on April 27.

Roster status

Uribe is now a free agent.