Fredi Gonzalez hadn’t met Juan Uribe before Wednesday, when the Braves manager bumped into the newly acquired infielder as Uribe entered the clubhouse, wearing a suit and holding a cigar (unlit) in his hand.
He hadn’t met him, but Gonzalez felt as if he already knew the 36-year-old infielder, who came from the Dodgers in a six-player trade finalized late Tuesday and approved Wednesday. Uribe was in the lineup for Wednesday night’s series finale against his former team.
“Greg Walker loves him, so we always talked about him all the time,” Gonzalez said, referring to his former Braves hitting coach, who was the White Sox hitting coach when Uribe played there five seasons through 2008. “You get a good feel about people when other people who know them always talk good about them.”
The Braves and Dodgers swapped veteran infielders Uribe and Alberto Callaspo, and the Braves also got hard-throwing reliever Chris Withrow, who’s recovering from two surgeries and could be ready to pitch by September, while sending pitchers Eric Stults, Ian Thomas and Juan Jaime to the Dodgers, who immediately designated Stults for assignment.
Capping one of the most unusual trades in recent Braves history — it was first blocked Tuesday morning by Callaspo, who changed his mind and approved the deal before Tuesday night’s game — the principles involved reported to the clubhouse on the other side of the infield Wednesday, with Callaspo suiting up for the Dodgers and Uribe getting comfortable quickly with his new team in the visitor’s clubhouse.
The Braves also activated third baseman Chris Johnson (hand fracture) from the 15-day disabled list Wednesday — he flew back from Triple-A Gwinnett in time for batting practice at Dodger Stadium — and brought up left-handed reliever Donnie Veal from Gwinnett.
“I had some great times with the Dodgers,” said the amiable Uribe, who is so popular in Los Angeles that the Dodgers, immediately after announcing the trade was official, made another announcement that Juan Uribe Bobblehead Night was still on for July 11.“I want to thank God for the opportunity and the chance I got with the Dodgers, now the opportunity I’m going to get with the Braves. I’m happy to still be playing baseball. Anytime anybody wants me, it’s a good thing.”
Withrow, 26, is recovering from June 2014 Tommy John elbow surgery and December back surgery and could be ready to pitch in the majors by September. But the Braves emphasized that they will be cautious and not rush him back, since they plan to Withrow in their bullpen long-term.
The former first-round draft pick had a 2.73 ERA in 46 relief appearances for the Dodgers during the past two seasons, with 71 strikeouts and 31 walks in 56 innings. He is under contractual control through 2019.
“We feel like he has a chance to pitch real late in games,” said Braves assistant general manager John Coppolella. “The last (scout) who saw him for us saw him 93-98 (mph fastball) with a 70 slider, which means that’s a plus-plus slider. He’s got a career 2.73 ERA, he struck out I believe 11.5 batters per nine innings pitched. Just a real good power arm. He could fit a anywhere from the seventh, eighth, ninth innings.
“I think has that sort of stuff to where he could, at some point, close. It’s a really, really good arm.”
Uribe smiled when asked about going to the other clubhouse and dugout for Wednesday’s game, after spending nearly 4 1/2 seasons with the Dodgers.
“It was a little odd, but at the end of the day, I’m playing baseball,” he said. “That’s what I’ve always done, that’s what I want to continue to do. … I don’t feel bad about the trade. I would have felt bad if they would have traded me to a soccer team, a basketball team, or a football team. They traded me to another baseball team, so I’m happy.”
Uribe hit .247 with a .287 OBP, one homer and a .596 OPS in only 87 plate appearances for the Dodgers, after batting a career-best .311 with nine homers and a .777 OPS last season in 404 plate appearances. He beat the Braves in the postseason with his two-run homer off David Carpenter in the eighth inning of a division series-clinching Game 4 win in 2013.
“We thought this was a trade that would help us short term as well as long term,” Coppolella said. “As we see our team now, we don’t have a whole lot of right-handed power. Obviously Uribe, we saw that when he was the guy who beat us back in the 2013 playoffs. He’s got real good right-handed power. He can play third, he can play first, he can play other spots as well. He’s a great makeup guy. We felt like he would help us more right now than would Callaspo.”
Uribe is expected to share third-base duties with Johnson, who has thrived against lefties and struggled vs. righties.
The right-handed hitting Uribe had better numbers against right-handed pitchers than lefties in recent seasons including 2014, when he hit .317 with eight homers, a .340 OBP and .450 slugging percentage in 300 at-bats against righties, and .291 (25-for-86) with one homer, a .326 OBP and .407 slugging against lefties.
“(Uribe) is dangerous, as we know from 2013,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a good pickup. And also, the young man (Withrow). That’s a big power arm that we can use here.”
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