To say that the Juan Uribe experiment has failed is being exceptionally kind. Without going into details that everybody is fully aware of, the Uribe signing has been a complete and utter disaster, not to mention a complete and utter waste of money. How or why Ned Colletti ever thought that the 33-year-old overweight former shortstop, second baseman, third baseman would be able to duplicate or even come close to duplicating his 2010 career high numbers while with the World Champion San Francisco Giants (I hate saying that) is perhaps one of life’s greatest mysteries.

Juan Uribe will never be the hitter that Ned Colletti had hoped he would be when he signed the former Giant to a 3-year / $21 million contract prior to the 2011 season. (Photo credit – AP)

With Frank McCourt now nothing more than a dark and distant memory and the Guggenheim Baseball Management group now the owners of the Dodgers, it is time for Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten to fulfill his (and the rest of the group’s) promise and commitment of building a championship team and putting the best possible team on the field every night. This means that it is time to bite the bullet and cut their losses by getting rid of some of the over-the-hill players that Colletti signed under the frugal (ok, cheap) Frank McCourt. The decision is simple – remain a mediocre status quo team or accept the responsibility for making bad signings and unload them, including and especially Juan Uribe.

History has shown time and again that crazy things happen at or near the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. I mean, who really thought that Manny Ramirez would end up in a Dodger uniform in 2008? But aside from the craziness of the trade deadline, there are quite a few pending free agents who will become available at the conclusion of the 2012 season; some of whom would be a huge addition to a Dodger team that is still not expected to make it into the post season by the so-called baseball experts, in spite of the fact that the Dodgers remain in first place in the NL West – even if by only a scant half game.

Those of you who follow the ThinkBlueLA.com blog with any regularity know full well that I have given up on Juan Uribe (I actually gave up on him within two months of his signing) and see him as the biggest detriment to the team. There is no kind way to say it but Uribe just plain sucks. Sure, he has had moments of greatness defensively, but waiting (and waiting… and waiting) for him to come out of his year-and-a-half long hitting slump is simply wishing up a rope – it ain’t gonna happen – period.

Although the fill-ins at third base for the oft injured Uribe (i.e. Jerry Hairston Jr., Justin Sellers, Ilian Herrera, Luis Cruz, Adam Kennedy [ok maybe not so much Adam Kennedy]) have done an exceptional job  during the seemingly endless Uribe experiment, the reality of the situation is that the Dodgers are still in dire need of a permanent, full-time, everyday third baseman… but who? Inspired by the continuing struggles of Uribe I did a little research into this question. Excluding the likely over-the-hill “rental players” that Colletti is undoubtedly chomping at the bit to get a hold of before the trade deadline, here is a list of third basemen who will become free agents at the end of the 2012 season as compiled by MLB Trade Rumors (as of June 29, 2012):

Third basemen
Geoff Blum (39)
Miguel Cairo (39)
Eric Chavez (35)
Mark DeRosa (38)
Brandon Inge (36)
Maicer Izturis (32)
Jose Lopez (29)
Placido Polanco (37) – $5.5MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout
Mark Reynolds (29) – $11MM club option with a $500K buyout
Scott Rolen (38)
Mark Teahen (31)
Miguel Tejada (39)
Ty Wigginton (35) – $4MM club option with a $500K buyout
David Wright (30) – $16MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Kevin Youkilis (34) – $13MM club option with a $1MM buyout

Note that very few of these guys are under 35 years of age and keep in mind that quite a few of them may be offered contract extensions by their current teams.

The name on this list that absolutely jumps out at you is David Wright and his current MLB third-best .353 batting average. Although also a frequent flyer on the disabled list, Wright’s age is perfect and he will unquestionably be the most sought-after third baseman on the free agent market which, of course, means that he will command a long-term contract that will probably approach those of Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and perhaps even Alex Rodriguez. The other huge factor here and one that I suspect will prevent Wright from even being available is that the Mets hold a $16M option for him for the 2013 season. If the Mets are even remotely close to being in contention for a playoff berth this season, I suspect that they will exercise their option on him – even if he wants out of New York. That being said, I remind you that the Guggenheim Baseball Management group has repeatedly said that money is no object in pursuing top-tier free agents and none are toppier (I just made that up) than David Wright.

The Mets David Wright is clearly the best free agent option available to the Dodgers but he will most likely command a Pujols or Fielder-like contract. (Photo credit – athline.com)

What Ned Colletti needs to do (and it will be very difficult for him to do) is to avoid his normal “finger in the dike” approach of trading away top prospects for a two-month rental player, and instead make a long-term commitment at third base, and quite frankly, there is currently no better option than David Wright.