It’s simple really. So simple, in fact, that it can be summed up in eight short words.

“I like the guys in this locker room.”

That’s what 38-year-old / 14-year MLB veteran Chase Utley told reporters when asked why he chose to re-signed with the Dodgers for the 2017 season instead of signing with one of the other teams that were courting him this past off-season.

“I had a few different opportunities to go to different places, but the Dodgers kept in constant contact and we were able to work something out,” Utley said. “I want to be a part of an organization that has a legitimate chance to win. I had a few options to go to a few places like that, but being familiar with the Dodgers, and growing up a Dodgers fan, it’s good to have an opportunity to be back.”

Bringing Utley back on a one-year / $2 million contract could prove to be the greatest move of the off-season for the Dodgers. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

As most Dodger fans know, the Pasadena, California native has been credited with mentoring 22-year-old Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager into becoming the eventual 2016 National League Rookie of the Year. And while you would be hard-pressed to find anyone to argue this point, the veteran second baseman said that it was definitely a two-way street.

“We locker next to each other. It’s pretty easy to like a guy like that,” Utley said of Seager. “He’s obviously a great player, but he has a good head on his shoulders and if he wants to pick my brain, I’m all for it. I’m starting to pick his brain too.”

During the 2016 season, his second with the Dodgers, Utley posted a slash line of .252 / .319 / .396 for on OPS of .716. And while these numbers aren’t over the top by any means, it’s the intangible things that he brings to the team that makes him invaluable and for which he draws tremendous praise from the Dodgers brass.

“Having a guy like Chase on the bench, and on days Andre [Ethier] doesn’t start, it’s tough to manage against a team like that,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “We look at the pens in the National League, with a lot of right-handed guys. It’s a good match-up for us.”

“I’ve never been around a guy that anytime you walk by him, he’s doing something to help us try and win a game,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman of Utley. “His intangibles were taken into account when we traded for him originally, taken into account when we re-signed him last off-season, and it’s something we value greatly.

“Again, as far as how everything plays out with the roster [position wise], there are a lot of things up in the air,” Friedman added. “The respect that we have for him on the field and off the field remains unchanged.”

With the Dodgers having signed free agent second baseman Logan Forsythe this past off-season, Utley will take on a new role in 2017, that of a utility bench player. While this is unfamiliar territory for the career everyday player, he embraces it and is willing to accept whatever role the Dodgers have in store for him.

“I still feel like I can contribute in a number of different ways. I still feel like I can contribute on the field, but also in the clubhouse a little bit,” Utley said. “I might not have all the right answers, but I have a little bit of experience on my side, so I’m always looking to try to help guys. It goes to show the things you do don’t go unnoticed.

“The name of the game is to win baseball games, so if we can find an edge in any different situations, it can be important,” he added. “It can lead to one win, it can build confidence, and that creates some momentum.”

Utley will earn $2 million with the Dodgers in 2017, down from the $7 million that he made with the team last season. And while it is quite possible that he might have made more money elsewhere, he made it abundantly clear that he wanted to remain in L.A.

“Ultimately the goal for many of us in this clubhouse is to win a championship and I feel like we have the pieces in place to do that here,” Utley said. “I like the guys in this locker room.”