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Atlanta Braves Looking to Move… Juan Uribe?

By Alan Carpenter|

Jul 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Atlanta Braves third baseman Juan Uribe hits a single during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The Rockies won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports came up with a trade rumor that sounds a little surprising:

"Juan Uribe is on the block, and he’s been offered for a mid-range prospect so long as the acquiring team pays the $3 million or so remaining (or better prospect if the Braves chip in dough). They’ve talked to the Mets. The Pirates, Nationals or his old Giants team could also make sense, though he’d have to be a role player in San Francisco this time."

Sure, we knew that the Braves have been shopping Chris Johnson to any team short of church softball leagues, but despite speculation, we had seen nothing specific about Uribe… until now.  The question that we all want to see answered, of course, is ‘why Uribe?’

Why Indeed?

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Since joining the Braves, Juan Uribe has hit .287 with 17 RBI In 45 games – generating an .822 OPS in the process.  Johnson, since returning from injury, hit .200 in June, though after last night’s 3-for-4 outburst he’s bolted to .321 in July.

But it’s been Uribe providing steady offense and reasonable defense (despite a couple of gaffes), and Johnson… hasn’t.

So why try and move Uribe at all?  It’s not like there’s a long-term commitment to him (his contract ends after the season), and the idea of a ‘mid-range prospect’ doesn’t strike me as worth the effort – particularly if the major league club isn’t improved.

Here’s the possibilities:

  1. The Money.  About $3 million.  The Braves have over-extended a bit by taking on the deals of Trevor Cahill, Uribe, and Bronson Arroyo.  Additionally, attendance at Turner Field is down:  26,089 per game, which is 22nd in the league (down by 3,527 per date over 2014).  So money isn’t a horrible incentive for a deal to take back $3 million for the last 2 months of the year.
  2. This could be an indicator of just how bleak the outlook is for trading Chris Johnson.  From the Braves’ perspective, if they end up having to release him outright (my guess is after this season), that’s a large, bitter pill to swallow:  he’s still owed $17.5 million.  So getting $3 million back from Uribe’s deal would “kinda” make that feel more like $14.5 million, which would be slightly more palatable.
  3. If Atlanta were to actually pull off trading both third basemen, then there would be an opportunity for them to use the end of this season to try an experiment that has been hinted at:  move Jace Peterson to third and bring Jose Peraza up to get a feel for the majors… and John Hart recently hinted that we could see Peraza later this year.

No, I don’t believe that moving Uribe would have anything to do with giving Johnson more playing time at third base in order to ‘showcase’ him for other clubs.  Everybody knows what he is and does; there are no secrets here.  Besides, the opportunity to play him is always there… and Uribe has had most of the reps.

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    • As an aside: Johnson’s playing time as a stater has mostly been targeting left-handed pitching, but oddly enough, last night’s game might have helped the Braves’ trade efforts.  After the injury departure of Dodgers’ starter Brett Anderson, Johnson saw two more AB’s vs. two different right-handers, and came away with a sharp single and a booming double.  He actually looked good at the plate.

    In that Q&A with the AJC’s Jeff Schultz, John Hart also indicated that “There is a very real possibility we won’t do anything ” since the team is short on depth.  At the same time, the Braves have shown a strong willingness to deal, and they have several role players that can cheaply fill holes – exactly what contenders are after at this time of year.

    So whether it’s Juan Uribe or others, I would suggest that Fredi Gonzalez write out his lineup cards in pencil over the next 9 days.

    Next: More on Chris Johnson Here

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