Dodgers need Chase Utley right now, can figure out the rest later
The Dodgers need Chase Utley to help right now. They can figure out where he plays when Howie Kendrick gets healthy later.
By
Mike Axisa
•
3 min read
What CBS Sports MLB Insider Jon Heyman reported Wednesday afternoon is now official: the Phillies have traded franchise cornerstone Chase Utley to the Dodgers for two prospects, both teams announced. The deal comes after weeks of rumors and waiting.
| DODGERS get: | PHILLIES get: | ||
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2B Chase Utley Cash considerations |
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OF Darnell Sweeney P John Richy |
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Los Angeles makes the trade after getting swept in a two-game series by the last place Athletics, but the deal is not a response to that. This has been in the works for a while. The Dodgers needed to replace second baseman Howie Kendrick, who is out with a hamstring injury.
By no means is Utley having a good season. He is hitting just .217/.284/.333 (71 OPS+) with five home runs in 282 plate appearances overall, however, since coming back from the DL, Utley has gone 15 for 31 (.484) with five doubles and one homer in eight games. He looks like a new player.
Utley missed approximately seven weeks with an ankle injury and it turns out it's pretty hard to hit with one leg. Remember, Utley hit .270/.339/.407 (109 OPS+) with 11 home runs just last year, so you don't have to look back too far to see the last time he was a good player. His ugly start to the season could easily be the result of playing hurt.
The Dodgers not only need to replace Kendrick at second base, they're also temporarily without Yasiel Puig, who is day-to-day with a hamstring problem. Also, Joc Pederson has not hit a whole lot in the second half, so the offense has taken a hit. Acquiring Utley allows the team to play Enrique Hernandez in center field more often.
Utley will step right into the Los Angeles lineup and play everyday because Kendrick is still weeks away, not days. He may not return until rosters expand in September. Kendrick also has a history of hamstring problems, plus injuries like this are known to linger, so Utley is insurance in case Kendrick doesn't come back as quickly as expected.
But what if Kendrick does come back soon? He's having a fine season, certainly a better one than Utley, hitting .296/.341/.418 (111 OPS+) with nine home runs. Kendrick has played a tiny little bit of left field and first base in his career, but it's hard to see that happening at this point. Besides, he's a better defender than Utley these days.
Utley has seen some time a first base and that's pretty much it. Neither he nor Kendrick offer any sort of versatility, meaning there's no real way to get them in the lineup at the same time (unless the Dodgers are in an AL park with the DH, of course). I suppose the Dodgers could stick one of them at third base, slide Justin Turner to short, bench Jimmy Rollins and hope for the best, but that seems very unlikely.
So what happens if Kendrick comes back soon? The Dodgers will tell you they'll figure it out when they get there, and that's the right answer. This is a problem you worry about only when it actually becomes a problem. Right now Kendrick is hurt and will miss some unknown amount of time. Utley takes over as the second base in the meantime. Done and done.
Expanded rosters in September will allow the Dodgers to carry both players and use them as they see fit. Utley could become the team's primary left-handed bench bat for pinch-hitting situations, he could spell Kendrick at second or even Adrian Gonzalez at first, and he can serve as the DH in their two remaining interleague series in AL parks.
According to Sportsline Projection Model, the Dodgers have 69.1 percent chance of winning the NL West and a 77.3 percent chance of making the postseason. The Giants are only two games back though, so those odds can change in a hurry. The Dodgers not only added Utley to their roster, they kept him away from San Francisco, who was looking to replace the injured Joe Panik.
The Dodgers will worry about playing time if there ever comes a point when both Utley and Kendrick are healthy and on the roster at the same time. This move was made for right now, to help the team while Kendrick is on the DL. They'll worry about what happens when Kendrick comes off the DL when he actually comes off the DL.
