The Expendable

The Los Angeles Dodgers made their first trade of the seson last night trading Third Baseman Juan Uribe and Pitcher Chris Withrow across the hallway to the Atlanta Braves Visitor's Locker Room for Utility Infielder Alberto Callaspo, Pitchers Eric Stults, Ian Thomas, and Juan Jaime.

Uribe's playing time had waned over the course of the past couple of weeks with Justin Turner and Alex Guerrero getting the majority of the playing time. Guerrero can play multiple positions and has emerged as a legitimate power threat, hitting his 9th homerun against the Atlanta Braves last night. Uribe was in the last year of his contract, was not off to a good start, and did not have the defensive versatility that Turner and Guerrero have. Alberto Callaspo is also a versatile player and his stats and Uribe's stats about mirrored each other.

Pitcher Eric Stults was drafted by the Dodgers in 2002 and appeared in 35 games with 24 starts from 2006-09, compiling an 8-10 record. He has bounced around the majors since then compiling a 36-48 overall record including 1-5 with the Braves this season. He even spent a season in Japan. He is not really in the Dodgers plans so they immediately designated him for assignment. Internet chatter has the Milwaukee Brewers taking a look at him.

The Dodgers also picked up two relievers, Ian Thomas and Juan Jaime. Both have some major league time under their belt, Thomas appearing in 21 games over the past couple of seasons and Jaime appearing in 18. Thomas was sent to Oklahoma City and Jaime was sent to Camelback Ranch to try to iron out some control issues.

The player I hated to see go was reliever Chris Withrow. He has been a highly ranked Dodgers prospect for years and he appeared in 46 games over 2013-14 but a back injury and Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2015 season. He has always had a power arm but he was not going to be able to help the Dodgers this season.

This was one of those trades that might end up being a blip on the radar. The Dodgers moved an unhappy Uribe, got a more versatile Callaspo, and got some more arms for the bullpen. The Dodgers just shuffled some personnel and sometimes that unhappiness can infect the clubhouse. It was nice to see Uribe get a nice ovation from the Dodgers crowd in his first at bat with the Braves the other night. I remember seeing Juan Uribe play as an Asheville Tourist in the Colorado Rockies organization in the early 1990's and he has turned it into a nice long career.