It was one of those quotes that raised a few eyebrows. The date was January 8, 2014 and with the Dodgers having already announced that they were not going to pick up the $14 million club option on aging second baseman Mark Ellis for 2014, they were in desperate need of an everyday second baseman.

Although there had been considerable talk about moving wild-throwing Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon over to second base, there was concern that this might not work. So much so that they went out and signed then 27-year-old Cuban phenom shortstop Alex Guerrero to a very lofty four-year/$28 million contract with every intention of converting him to a second baseman – a job that was all but guaranteed to him.

“We still have questions at second base,” former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told reporters at that January 8th press conference. “If you’re going to put who’s leading the pack today, Alexander [Guerrero] is that player. But he hasn’t played a lot this winter. He’s been battling some hamstring issues which is kind of understandable because he hadn’t played for a long time.”

As it turned out, it was Guerrero who had difficulty making the position change, not Gordon. In fact, Gordon would go on to excel at the position earning a spot on the 2014 National League All-Star roster while Guerrero spent the season in the minors splitting time between the Arizona Rookie League, Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Triple-A Albuquerque where he did exceptionally well. In his combined 77 games in the minors, Guerrero played 57 games at second base, seven at shortstop, four at third base and nine in left field.

Although Guerrero spent considerable time on the minor league disabled list in 2014 after having part of his left ear bitten off by banished catcher Miguel Olivo, he played a total of 57 minor league games at third base – including two with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But whenever you see a guy being bounced around between several different positions it send’s up a very clear red flag – the guy isn’t mastering any one of them. And although the Las Tunas, Cuba native was putting up some very good offensive numbers in the minors (.333 batting average / .373 on-base percentage / .621 slugging percentage for a very impressive .994 OPS), he wasn’t the defensive player that Colletti had hope he would be. The problem is, Guerrero’s Scott Boras-crafted contract has a clause in it – a very significant clause, to put it mildly:

(Image courtesy of baseballprospectus.com)

Why Colletti allowed this clause to slip by remains a mystery to all. And while it does support Colletti’s initial belief that Alex Guerrero was the heir-apparent to Mark Ellis as the Dodgers everyday second baseman, it created a huge problem for Colletti’s successor – new Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi. After trading Gordon to the Miami Marlins, Zaidi had to wheel and deal to eventually land 31-year-old veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick during the off-season.

Having inherited Guerrero’s lofty contract and its “may not be optioned to the minors” clause, Zaidi and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly basically have a gun to their heads to find a spot for Guerrero or eat the $14 million (plus the $10 million signing bonus) still owed to him. In other words, he is either on the Dodgers 2015 Opening Day roster or they must cut or trade him.

So why not just sweet-talk Guerrero and encourage him to waive his no-minors clause? Because Guerrero has already said publicly that he absolutely will not do so.

“I don’t want to go down. I’m not going down,” Guerrero told MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez in an interview last week. “I feel like I can get better here at this level and play every day. I think that’s what every player wants. You want to be in the Major Leagues and play as much as you can.”

Not much gray area there.

So why don’t the Dodgers with their extremely deep pockets simply pay Guerrero off and send him on his way? Because he is absolutely tearing it up at spring training with his bat. Granted, the sample size is extremely small after only four spring training games (five if you count Friday’s split-squad game), but Guerrero is 6 for 9 (.667) with a home run and two RBIs.

But in the four games in which he has appeared, Guerrero has played third base a grand total of eight innings and has yet to have a ball hit to him there. He played 5 innings in left field in Saturday’s 5-5 tie with the Cleveland Indians and made two routine putouts, but to be brutally honest, he looks far more comfortable with dirt under his spikes than grass – not to mention the fact that the Dodgers already have a glut of outfielders from which they are trying to pick the best four or maybe five.

Alex Guerrero is congratulated by manager Don Mattingly after scoring in Thursday’s game against the White Sox. After four games Guerrero is 6 for 9 (.667) with a home run and two RBIs.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Guerrero, whose wife and daughter finally arrived from Cuba two months ago, readily acknowledges that his strength is in his offense and not in his defense.

“[I’m] working on defense but my strength is the offense,” Guerrero told Daily News beat writer J.P. Hoornstra before Saturday’s game. “In Cuba you only play one position. I’m working hard to play third base and left field. I feel I’m close to the next level. I want to be here on Opening Day until the last day.”

There is another possibility with Guerrero and it’s a huge one, although it is one that you will never hear Andrew Friedman, Farhan Zaidi or Don Mattingly discuss openly – keep showcasing Guerrero and hope that one of the many scouts watching him may want to trade for him. As painful as this may sound about a guy who is having a spring training to die for, this is perhaps the Dodgers best option with Guerrero. Why? Because Guerrero needs to play every day to stay sharp. Additionally, if the Dodgers elect to keep Guerrero on their roster as a utility infielder/outfielder, they would probably be forced to send former Gold Glove winner Darwin Barney – who still has options – down to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room for Guerrero on their 25-man roster.

Barney, as you may recall, did exceptionally well off the bench in his short time with the Dodgers in 2014. Not only did he make several outstanding defensive plays at second base, he had an incredible knack for getting on base. In his 45 plate appearances with the Dodgers, Barney went 10 for 33 (.303) with an outstanding .467 on-base percentage. In contrast, Guerrero was 1 for 13 (.077) in his 11 games with the Dodgers after his September 1 call-up last season.

Whether Alex Guerrero will be on the Dodgers Opening Day roster or not is anyone’s guess. But for the time being he has been – and will probably continue to be – fun to watch at the plate this spring. As for where he plays defensively, that, too, is anyone’s guess.