Tribe Targets: Juan Uribe

As the Indians continue to search for another right-handed bat to supplement the lineup, a name is brought up that might have fans rolling their eyes.

However, a closer inspection would indicate that the Indians are on the verge of adding an above average player.

It was reported the club is talking to free agent Juan Uribe to try and entice him to sign a one-year contract with the club. At 36 years old, the veteran would bring leadership, experience and depth in the infield; something the Indians lacked for most of last season.

Uribe played with the Dodgers, Braves and Mets last year. He hit .253 (91-for-360) with 14 homers and 43 RBI in 119 games. Uribe, who also played second and shortstop, made $6.5 million last year. It was the final year of a two-year contract that netted him $15 million.

Uribe remains a defensive asset who, despite unbalanced performances with the Dodgers and Mets, somehow finished with above-average offense numbers in 2015.

Over the span of nine seasons he played 3B (2004, 2008-15), Uribe amassed a 56.1 UZR  at the position he would mostly play in Cleveland. During that span, Uribe ranked third in Major League Baseball in UZR, behind only Evan Longoria and Adrian Beltre with nearly 5,000 less innings played.  UZR shows how many runs better or worse that player has been relative to the average player at his position. A +5 UZR at third means the player is five runs better than the average third baseman.

Adding Uribe would further improve the infield defense and thus helping out a pitching staff that ranks in the top 15 since 2013 for inducing the most ground balls as a staff.

Offensively, it looked like Uribe was done a few years ago. He hit .204/.264/.293 (56 wRC+) with the Dodgers in 2011, then followed it up by hitting .191/.258/.284 (52 wRC+) in 2012. Not good numbers for a player on the other side of 30 years old. The Dodgers were on the verge of releasing Uribe early in 2013, though he rebounded that season to hit .278/.331/.438 (116 wRC+), reviving his career.

After spending the 2013-14 seasons with the Dodgers, Uribe split the 2015 season with the three aforementioned teams. The Dodgers sent him to Atlanta in a unorthodox trade and the Braves later shipped him to the Mets at the trade deadline for several prospects. The Mets grabbed Uribe to beef up their bench down the stretch.

Uribe only faced left-handers after landing with the Mets, thus creating a massive platoon split. He didn’t play much against righties, indicating that the Mets believe he is simply a platoon player. Given his age, I’m not sure you could realistically expect Uribe to be a regular against same-side pitchers.

Uribe has some power against southpaws (.209 ISO from 2013-15) and he tends to draw more walks (8.4%) against them as well. He doesn’t provide much value on the bases as Uribe has attempted eight steals over the last three years and he’s taken the extra base (first-to-third on a single, etc.) only 37% of the time, below the 41% league average, so his offensive value comes exclusively from his bat.

Uribe has a reputation for being a “clutch” hitter, though the stats don’t really bear that out. He does have two World Series rings (2005 White Sox, 2010 Giants) but is a career .209/.246/.342 (57 wRC+) hitter in 170 postseason at-bats. Uribe has also hit .282/.348/.392 (105 wRC+) with men in scoring position the last three seasons and .274/.338/.395 (103 wRC+) in high-leverage spots, which is right in line with his overall numbers.

The most important thing is Uribe’s ability to hit left-handed pitchers and do so while playing part-time. Being a bench player is hard. Players aren’t used to sitting around for a few days between at-bats. Uribe did it for the Mets late last season (especially after David Wright returned from the DL) and that’s not nothing. He’s a quality bench hitter against left-handed pitchers.

Uribe was not eligible for the qualifying offer because he was traded (twice) at midseason, though he wasn’t a candidate to receive one anyway. There’s no draft pick to consider. FanGraphs was the only publication to consider Uribe a top 50 free agent and their crowdsourcing results resulted in a two-year contract at $8M per year. That’s affordable starting infielder money if the Indians plan on playing him everyday.

Obviously there’s no reason for the Indians to seriously consider Uribe at that price if he’s going to be a bench or platoon player, even a potentially very good one. The only teams potentially in need of a starter at third base are the Indians, Angels, Braves, Reds, Brewers, and Pirates. The Braves, Reds, and Brewers are rebuilding teams with younger and cheaper options, so they’re long shots.

This is a decision whether the Indians want Urshela or Uribe to play 3rd base everyday.

If the Indians are serious about Uribe, it sounds like a deal will be announced very soon. Whatever the plans are for him will be determined by how much he gets paid.