Juan Uribe Removes Uncertainty at Third Base

The lingering question of whether Giovanny Urshela was ready to begin the 2016 season at third base for the Cleveland Indians has apparently been put to rest for the time being.

As had been long rumored during much of this past off-season, veteran Juan Uribe is now in the fold, pending a physical and overcoming visa problems. He will most likely assume the role of starter at the corner position on Opening Day. This move can allow Urshela an opportunity to develop a little further in AAA Columbus and eliminate some uncertainty with who will play third base at the Major League level.

Uribe, who turns 37 in March, played for the Dodgers, Braves and Mets last year, and batted a solid .253/.320/.417 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI with 397 plate appearances in 119 games. He also can provide the potential for a little power that the Tribe lacks with Urshela and super utility player Jose Ramirez.

Urshela was hitting .274 with a .321 OBP and two home runs for the Indians after his first 75 plate appearance in 23 games in 2015, but then started to nosedive at the plate as the season wore on and teams discovered his weaknesses. He finished the season playing in 81 games and had 288 plate appearances. His final slash was .225/.279./.330.

So the Indians were left wondering which Urshela might show up in 2016 and whether his problems might have been due to some injuries, rookie jitters, or just the fact that he wasn’t quite ready and was rushed as part of the effort to get Lonnie Chisenhall out of the lineup and away from playing third base in June 2015.

The main point of signing Uribe was to ease the pressure on Urshela right now. The slick-fielding third baseman has 524 total plate appearances at AAA, so he shouldn’t need a ton of additional seasoning in the minors and I expect he will play a significant role for the Indians in 2016. If he starts the season hot in Columbus and continues to play well, I wouldn’t expect him to remain in Triple-A for very long.

However, Urshela can relax and focus on improving his game under less stressful circumstances so he won’t have the burden of needing to prove he’s an MLB starter on a team expected to be a playoff contender. Especially when that team most likely will be without Michael Brantley, the team’s key offensive player, for the first month or so in 2016.

Uribe should be able to provide a little more punch with that bat on a team that will desperately need it early in the year. So even though this isn’t a blockbuster transaction, the move should help, at least marginally, in the effort for the Indians to avoid an offensive slump to begin the year.

Indians fans can argue that Urshela is worth playing in the Majors because his glove is so good at third base. This is true, but Uribe isn’t exactly a slouch at the hot corner. He might not have the best range, but he’s not bad there and he’ll be playing next to Francisco Lindor, who is an amazing defensive player at shortstop with tremendous range. In 2015, Uribe saved 2.3 runs per 150 games, so he can certainly hold his own at third base.

Signing Uribe also provides roster depth for the infield. If another infielder such as Ramirez doesn’t start the season well or in case of injuries, it will be good to have some more depth at a position that clearly lacked it. If Urshela was not the best choice prior to Uribe signing and it forced someone like Ramirez to have to play third every day, then the Indians could have been in trouble.

I think Ramirez, 23, as the Indians a super utility player, is really ideally suited for a team that stresses player versatility and that’s what he has along with great speed and the ability to bunt during the rare time a situation desperately calls for it. You might recall that Ramirez led the league in sacrifice hits in 2014 with 13 and can be used as a pinch runner late in games when necessary, especially with an offensive team expected to try to find ways to creatively scratch out runs and generate offense.

If Ramirez had been forced to play third base full-time, his value likely would have dropped considerably. Keep in mind, his slash was .219/.291/.340 in 2015, so he’s the kind of player who should be in the lineup as a starter only when hot or in case of injury or when a match-up calls for it. So the Uribe signing assists in the prevention of forcing Ramirez out of his key team role.

One of the great things about Ramirez is he is still a very young player and people tend to forget that because he was only 20 when he received a September call-up from the Indians in 2013. Keep in mind Ramirez is only 10 months older than Lindor, who doesn’t turn 23 until November.

So the problem with Urshela and Ramirez as the only two players in the mix to be the starting third baseman is that neither has a very reliable track record at the Major League level. That is compounded when the majority of the outfield players other than Brantley and Rajai Davis don’t either.

Signing Uribe for a 1-year deal for an affordable cost reported to be around $5 million won’t break the Indians bank. It’s a relatively low-risk deal that can help provide some certainty for a position of need.

Even if Uribe flames out and has a terrible season, which could happen as an aging player, at least the Tribe ownership took a step towards spending a little more money than they absolutely had to in an effort to improve the team on the field.