Juan Uribe & the business side of baseball

LOS ANGELES -- Transaction denier Alberto Callaspo is still with the Braves, and back in their lineup on Tuesday night against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. That means Juan Uribe is still with the Dodgers, though as has been the case for most of May, he is not in the lineup.

Seeing a large scrum of reporters waiting at his locker, Uribe smiled and asked why everyone wanted to talk to him, feigning surprise.

"I [only] walked last night," Uribe joked.

Uribe has played for four teams in his 15 big league seasons - the Rockies, White Sox, Giants and Dodgers - but has only been traded once, back in 2003, to Chicago from Colorado straight up for Aaron Miles.

Still, Uribe likened joining a new team as a free agent to being traded.

"It wouldn't be my first time I've switched teams," he said. "It's just a matter of respecting their decision. Thank God there are other teams interested in me."

Uribe understands the business side of baseball and, much like when he was buried on the bench in 2012, hasn't complained one bit, handling news of the near trade like a professional.

"It is a business and these guys know it," manager Don Mattingly said. "In general, stuff happens and guys handle what happens pretty good."

Justin Turner gets the start at third base for the Dodgers on Tuesday night, the 13th time in the last 16 games Uribe has not started.

"I understand I'm not playing with guys like Turner and [Alex] Guerrero playing well," Uribe said. "I respect the decision."

Uribe also said some variation of "respect their decision" several times in a matter of minutes.

"Whatever their decision is, you just have to respect it," Uribe said. "Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. If I play with another team, I play with another team. I can't control what else happens."

Uribe answered in Spanish so these answers are through an interpreter, and often some of the subtleties of the answers can get lost in such a situation. But there was one rather telling answer from Uribe.

When asked if it was his desire to stay with the Dodgers, Uribe just laughed and paused for a moment.

"You have to take things as they come," Uribe said. "That's what it comes down to."

For his part, Callaspo said he is sticking with his decision to choose Atlanta that he made in the offseason when signing a $3 million deal with the Braves. Callaspo told reporters he made the decision to reject the trade on Tuesday morning, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

"I signed my contract here and I just want to finish my season here," Callaspo said, per Kevin McAlpin of 680 The Fan in Atlanta. "I want to play here all season. I like this team. Good group of guys."