Dodgers utility infielder-outfielder Alex Guerrero has yet to hit a single as a pinch-hitter. He does, however, have two home runs and a double coming off the Dodgers bench. His three home runs are second on the team to Adrian Gonzalez’s five and his 11 RBIs are second on the team to AGon’s 14. He leads the team in batting average (.438), slugging percentage (1.125), OPS (1.537) and his .500 on-base percentage is second only to Scott Van Slyke’s .524.

Yet Alex Guerrero sits while Dodgers everyday third baseman Juan Uribe has yet to hit a home runs, has yet to drive in a single run and has a triple-slash of .229/.270/.257 for a paltry .527 OPS.

Guerrero absolutely crushed Madison Bumgarner’s 92-MPH fastball in the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s game when he pinch-hit for Clayton Kershaw.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA – Click on image to view video)

No one, absolutely no one questions the fact that Uribe is the best defensive third baseman on the Dodgers. In fact, the 36-year-old Palenque, Dominican Republic native finished second in the Gold Glove voting for the past two season to Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado. And to his credit, Uribe did win the more analytically-based Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award in 2014. But at what point are the Dodgers going to realize that Guerrero’s offense outweighs Uribe’s defense – especially when two of the Dodgers five losses thus far this season have been by one run and four of them by four runs or less?

While there are those who argue that swapping the roles of Uribe and Guerrero would greatly weaken the Dodgers bench, and it absolutely would, how can Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Farhan Zaidi and field manager Don Mattingly in good conscience continue to limit their best hitter to one at-bat per game while Uribe struggles at the plate almost nightly?

We’ve seen this pattern before. Uribe was absolutely horrible offensively during the first two years of his then three-year / $21 million 2011-2013 contract. But the Dodgers showed tremendous patience with the struggling infielder – far more than the fans did – and were rewarded when Uribe got his career back on track with an outstanding season during his walk year (go figure). They, in turn, rewarded Uribe with a two-year / $15 million contract extension which expires at the end of this season.

It’s no secret that Uribe is the most beloved member in the Dodgers clubhouse. He is often the brunt of jokes and pranks from his teammates and he absolutely embraces that role and is good-natured about it. But at what point do the Dodgers draw a line in the sand and put winning ahead of playful antics? At what point does losing games that they should have won take precedence over a good laugh?

Juan Uribe is always good for a laugh – except when talking about his hitting.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Interestingly, Dodger Talk Radio hosts Kevin Kennedy and David Vassegh have different takes on the concept of having Uribe assume Guerrero’s bench role and making Guerrero the everyday third baseman. Like many Dodger fans – perhaps even most – Vassegh has seen enough to be convinced that it’s time to give Guerrero the everyday job at third base. Kennedy, on the other hand, believes that Uribe’s .311 batting average in 2014 gives him a pass to remain as the Dodgers everyday third baseman for at least 35 to 40 games into the new season. And while this may hold water while the Dodgers are occupying first place in the NL West (by mere percentage points), would the former MLB manager feel the same if the Dodgers were in second or third or fourth or (lord forbid) last place in the division? Probably not.

Again, no one can argue that Uribe saves runs with his glove, but how many runs are the Dodgers missing out on by leaving Guerrero’s smoking hot bat in the bat rack nearly every day?

The heat is on, guys. It’s time to make the move.