In 1849, exactly 20 years before Major League Baseball was founded, French novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote: “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” Although Karr had no way of knowing at the time, his famous and prophetic quote would prove to be as true today as it was 166 years ago – especially when it comes to the Dodgers front office and third basemen.

Now before you jump on the “But we’ve still got Juan Uribe for one more year ” bandwagon, consider this: Uribe will be 36 years old in March and he has spent considerable time on the disabled list for each of the last two seasons with hamstring issues. Additionally, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has given (and will undoubtedly continue to give) the Palenque, Dominican Republic native frequent days off in an effort to keep his aging third baseman as well rested as possible. On those days off, Mattingly has used (and will likely continue to use) Miguel Rojas and Justin Turner to spell the extremely popular Uribe.

Uribe’s series-clinching home run in Game-4 of the 2013 NLDS will long be remembered as one of the most dramatic in Dodgers history. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Where things get dicey is that, just like their predecessors, the Dodgers new front office (more specifically their new player development personnel) currently have very little to work with down on the farm when it comes to third basemen. As such, Dodgers new President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman basically has a gun to his head to either sign a free agent third baseman or trade for one – this in spite of his plans to create a “robust” minor league system. Unfortunately for Friedman, there aren’t many top-tier free agent third baseman available this off-season. In fact, according to MLB Trade Rumors, there are only seven (as of 11-28-14) – none of whom are under 31 years of age and all of whom will undoubtedly be looking for at least a three or four year deal. They are:

• Alberto Callaspo (32)
• Jack Hannahan (35)
• Chase Headley (31)
• Kelly Johnson (33)
• Ed Lucas (33)
• Donnie Murphy (32)
• Mark Reynolds (32)

No one will argue that a healthy Juan Uribe, even at 35 years old, is still an outstanding defensive third baseman and was, in fact, robbed of a Gold Glove at the position for a second consecutive season. Nor will anyone argue that Uribe’s .294 batting average, 21 home runs and 104 RBIs over the past two seasons were instrumental in helping the Dodgers win two consecutive NL West titles. But here again, Uribe missed 30 games in 2013 and 59 games in 2014 due to injuries.

Realistically speaking, 2015 will most likely be Uribe’s final season in a Dodger uniform, as he becomes a free agent after the 2015 season. And though there have been rumors that the Dodgers could move top shortstop prospect Corey Seager over to third base to eventually replace Uribe as their everyday third baseman, Friedman and Dodgers new general manager Farhan Zaidi have made it perfectly clear that they have no intentions whatsoever of doing so. And while the 20-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina native has yet to appear in even one major league game, he has repeatedly proven that even at 6′-4″ he is a very good shortstop. Like they always say: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The Dodgers would be foolish to move top shortstop prospect Corey Seager over to third base.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

With the annual MLB Winter Meetings less than two weeks away, it is highly unlikely that the Dodgers will make any (or at least many) big moves. That being said, they are expected to move at least one of their four All-Star outfielders – quite possibly to acquire additional starting pitching, bullpen help or a short-term shortstop to fill the vacancy created with the departure of Hanley Ramirez until Seager is MLB-ready. But while they’re at it, they might want to also look into finding a long-term replacement for Juan Uribe at third base – perhaps even trading for a minor league third base prospect. This is where Gabe Kapler, David Finley and Billy Gasparino need to earn their keep.

Needless to say, the Dodgers have a lot of work to do this off-season; and knowing Andrew Friedman, it will probably begin a lot sooner rather than later.

Stay tuned…