Dodgers 'eyeing' Juan Uribe... for some reason

Ken Gurnick of dodgers.com said the Dodgers are interested in Juan Uribe.

Oh boy.

All that damn clutchiness Uribe displayed in the playoffs really piqued Ned Colletti's interest. Earlier in the off-season, a tweet by Enrique Rojas of ESPN said the Dodgers were looking at Edgar Renteria for their second base opening.

I said in my last post I wanted to see the Dodgers involved in rumors for a bat, but I was thinking more along the lines of Adam Dunn, Adrian Beltre or a player via trade -- not some washed-up, free-swinging middle infielders.

I also have to take exception with this comment from the article:

"The addition of Uribe not only would weaken San Francisco but provide the Dodgers with a needed veteran power bat for the middle of the lineup."

OK, the first part of the statement is true. Uribe is a versatile player and would hurt the Giants' depth. However, the second part couldn't be more off-base. Middle of the lineup? Are you kidding me? Uribe would bat sixth at very best with the current Dodgers' lineup.

In his off-season plan post on Mike Scocia's Tragic Illness, Mike said he would sign Uribe for one year, $5 million and a club option for 2012.

"Uribe's not perfect. But for $4-5m, would you rather a low-OBP guy with zero power and decent defense, or a low-OBP guy with good power and plus defense? Now, it's possible I'm short-changing the contract Uribe would get here, but he was horrendous in 2007 and '08, to the point where he had to take a minor-league deal before 2009."

The "low-OBP guy with zero power and decent defense" is Ryan Theriot. These are valid points. At the time this was written (Oct. 11), Uribe had yet to "clutch up" in the playoffs. Now, Uribe's market value has increased and no longer makes sense for the Dodgers -- especially a multiyear deal.

I know the Dodgers aren't going to land a Carl Crawford or Adrian Gonzalez, but they have to be able to do better than Uribe. The money it would take to sign Uribe could be used to acquire Dunn, Beltre or someone else while letting Ivan De Jesus have a shot at second base.

Uribe's versatility is enticing, but his .300 OBP and free-swinging ways are not. The Dodgers need to invest their resources better this off-season. The rotation is shored up and Colletti did a good job there. He still thinks the Dodgers need a reliever, even though the Dodgers' current contingent could do just fine. However, other than these washed-up players, the Dodgers have not been involved in any rumors for a big bat. I know big bats don't grow on trees, but it'd be nice to hear the Dodgers connected to an impact power hitter.

Just say no to Uribe and Retneria.

Recent Dodger updates: Kuroda, Loney, Renteria, Dotel trade

The Dodgers officially re-signed Hiroki Kuroda on Monday to a 1-year, $12 million deal. The deal includes a base salary of $8 million in 2011 and $2 million deferred in both 2012 and 2013.

As previously stated, this is a fantastic move. The Dodgers' No. 1 through No. 4 is good enough to hang with any 1 through 4 in baseball.

Deferring $4 million allows the Dodgers to have some payroll flexibility this off-season.

Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts wrote a nice piece on the Dodgers and deferred payments.

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Some folks are saying James Loney is the player the Dodgers are most likely to part with on the trade market.

I'm a Loney fan. Despite his poor ending to the 2010 season, I think he still has real value on this team. His glove is great and has saved the Dodger infield many errors in his time at first base.

Instead of jettisoning him, the Dodgers should look to upgrade power at another position such as left field, third base or second base.

Dan Uggla is beginning to make a lot more sense. Ken Rosenthal tweeted the Braves were talking to the Marlins about a deal involving Uggla and inexplicably 2010 all-star Omar Infante and left-handed pitcher Mike Dunn.

If that's all it could take to get Uggla, the Dodgers need to be on the phone to Miami STAT. The Dodgers would have no problem topping that package, as I outlined in my trade targets post a 11 days ago.

In retrospect, that might even be too much to give up for the offensive-minded second baseman.

It might not matter, as the Braves appear primed to acquire Uggla, says Braves' beat writer for MLB.com.

It'll be interesting to see what the actually deal is. Short of the Braves trading Freddie Freeman or Julio Teheran, the Dodgers could likely top any deal the Braves propose.

Update: Well, apparently the deal was just finalized and it is Infante and Dunn for Uggla. What an absolute steal for the Braves. Sigh.

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ESPN's Enrique Rojas tweeted saying the Dodgers would be interested in Edgar Renteria for their second base opening.

My initial response: "Jesus no."

Seriously. What good is a washed-up veteran who has played exactly zero games at the position. His postseason clutchiness might be too much for Ned Colletti to pass up, which is sad and maddening for Dodger fans.

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The Dodgers chose 26-year-old Double-A outfielder Anthony Jackson as the player to be named later in the Octavio Dotel trade.

Now, I wasn't expecting much in return for Dotel. But Ned Colletti, by trading Dotel to Colorado in September, must have said to himself, "How can I make this deal even worse?"

Well Ned, you found a way. And a 26-year-old Double-A outfielder isn't going to make up for the loss of James McDonald and Andrew Lambo.

As I said in my post about it in September, I don't mind trading guys like McDonald or Lambo, but the return needs to be at least somewhat good.