Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe ‘part of our club’ but isn’t playing a lot.

Juan Uribe has started three of the Dodgers’ last 13 games at third base. Alex Guerrero is starting at third today, so it will soon become three of the last 14 for Uribe.

Uribe had a 13-game hitting streak from April 15 to May 4 that raised his slash line to .279/.318/.361 for the season. Since then Guerrero and Justin Turner have taken the majority of starts while Uribe has just two hits, both singles, in 19 at-bats. He’s gone from starting third baseman to “part of the mix” to, as manager Don Mattingly said Sunday, “eh, part of our club”:

The fact that newly signed second baseman/third baseman Hector Olivera is expected to start playing games for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga soon, then Triple-A Oklahoma, then the major leagues, could spur the Dodgers to shed an infielder from their 25-man roster. The way things stand today, Uribe is the odd man out.

From the pure coincidence department, Uribe’s last employer lost a third baseman Sunday. The San Francisco Giants designated veteran Casey McGehee for assignment. Matt Duffy, a 24-year-old third baseman from Lakewood via Long Beach State, has already been named the successor.

Uribe played for the Giants under Bruce Bochy in 2009 and 2010, which makes him a known quantity in San Francisco despite his lack of recent playing time in Los Angeles.

It’s way too soon to move this out of the pure coincidence department. After all, Uribe has lost his job before, to Luis Cruz in 2012 and 2013, and was able to become a starter again. One injury to Guerrero or Turner could change the Dodgers’ needs.

Right now, the Dodgers don’t seem to need Uribe much at all.

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.