I spent the first six innings of Tuesday night’s game standing in the hallway connecting the Dodgers and Braves clubhouses. That was a waste of time. So far as I can tell, only a bat and a little black book are going to Atlanta — not Juan Uribe, who must have watched the entire game from the Dodgers clubhouse, since he wasn’t in the dugout (or the hallway) after the National Anthem. Maybe he and Hyun-jin Ryu watched the game together. You all can use your imaginations.
Uribe is, of course, about to be traded to the Atlanta Braves. You don’t get choked up about trades that don’t happen. Teammates do not say their goodbyes if you’re going to be their teammate tomorrow.
If Uribe is a Dodger tomorrow, he’ll need a locker.
A #Dodgers clubhouse attendant is cleaning out Juan Uribe's locker.
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) May 27, 2015
Multiple reports have the Dodgers receiving Eric Stults, Alberto Callaspo, Ian Thomas and Juan Jaime in return for Uribe and Chris Withrow. I can’t offer anything more than that, other than the fact that I saw more Dodgers front office officials hovering around the clubhouse today than any single day since the regular season began.
Check that. I can offer two more things:
1. Stults, a 35-year-old left-hander, throws a traditional slow curveball. To a lesser extent, so does the 27-year-old Thomas, who can be optioned to the minors. Some within the Dodgers organization were hoping to add a pitcher with a traditional curve to the bullpen. J.P. Howell throws a knuckle-curve that comes in around 80 mph, about 10 mph faster than Stults’ and a little faster than Thomas’. From that standpoint, the parameters of the trade as reported make sense; it filled a perceived need within the organization. When Stults appeared out of the Braves’ bullpen Tuesday night, it was his first relief appearance since August 2, 2012 with San Diego. The Dodgers converted Juan Nicasio to a reliever and might not be afraid to do the same with Stults.
2. The Dodgers are acquiring three players from the Braves’ 40-man roster (Callaspo, Stults and Thomas) in exchange for one of their own (Uribe). Something else has to give. Maybe there’s a third team getting involved in this, although that hasn’t been reported anywhere to this point. Maybe the Dodgers have no intention of keeping two of the 40-man players they acquired and are content to lose them to another club without getting anything in return. The 32-year-old Callaspo, who is slashing .206/.293/.252 this season, is almost certainly gone once Hector Olivera is ready for major league duty. That might have made his $3 million salary attractive to the Dodgers. It’s easier to swallow Callaspo’s salary than Uribe’s $7.5 million.
Because it’s a lopsided trade in terms of the roster numbers, it’s too soon to evaluate who won, who lost, or take any kind of overview of what the Dodgers are thinking. That really ought to wait until tomorrow.
In the meantime, thanks for reminding me how you all feel.
Wow I'm crying URIBE:-(( https://t.co/Y5M41QtqwI
— Papi (@IceColdPapi_) May 27, 2015
I'm going to cry https://t.co/Ke5jiuZ2ZQ
— BlueCrewLAD (@BlueCrewLAD) May 27, 2015
https://twitter.com/seontator/status/603434544067280896
https://twitter.com/fcknmary_/status/603434252055674880
https://twitter.com/jajacobs2/status/603433690106966016
I'll miss you, jazz hands. https://t.co/lPaeGBLzKl
— Brandon Johansen (@bran_theman13) May 27, 2015
https://twitter.com/ctorres1031/status/603433300858769409
Farewell, Papi. We'll always have the 2013 NLDS. RT @jphoornstra: A #Dodgers clubhouse attendant is cleaning out Juan Uribe's locker.
— Justin Brandt (@justbrandt) May 27, 2015
https://twitter.com/rosie__27/status/603432793733902336
@jphoornstra I has a sad.
— Angie (@43v3rblue) May 27, 2015
stahhhp https://t.co/nOPn2v9oKM
— April (@april7x) May 27, 2015
Omg it's getting worse! “@jphoornstra: A #Dodgers clubhouse attendant is cleaning out Juan Uribe's locker.”
— Keenny Pineda (@KeennyPineda) May 27, 2015
https://twitter.com/garmarvg/status/603431194022158336
@jphoornstra I can't handle this
— Jason Villarreal (@jason_mv) May 27, 2015
@jphoornstra noooooooooo
— Maribel MLB ⚾ (@minniemlb7) May 27, 2015
@jphoornstra this is making me cry :'(
— laura (@lschkuh) May 27, 2015
https://twitter.com/Omargaribay8/status/603430960181321728
https://twitter.com/melgon15/status/603428751028789248
This breaks my heart https://t.co/tvOa5KYV5i
— Emily Brown (@ems_b) May 27, 2015
after piazza i no longer get attached t these guys. great while it lasted. his spirit will b missed https://t.co/CPVxO9ixoY
— dr. yessi321 (@_yess321) May 27, 2015
— Joshua Jauregui (@TheReal_JoshJ) May 27, 2015
— Broc Miller (@BrocNessMonster) May 27, 2015
@jphoornstra @DodgersLowDown we r gonna get mccringleberry???!!!
— Blue Man (@tqt008) May 27, 2015