With the Dodgers having declined to pick up their club option on 36-year-old second baseman Mark Ellis, and with the uncertainty that they will re-sign 34-year-old free agent third baseman Juan Uribe (who will be 35 in March), the Dodgers 2014 infield is in a state of flux right now – but then, isn’t it always?

Although there has been a lot of speculation as to what the Dodgers opening day infield will look like, it is just that, pure speculation – which is rarely 100% accurate. There are, however, several known factors that tend to give some credibility to these speculations.

We should have a good idea what the Dodgers 2014 opening day infield will look like within the next few weeks. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

The first known factor (barring any unforeseen injuries) is that Adrian Gonzalez will be the everyday first baseman on opening day 2014; another is that Hanley Ramirez will also be in the opening day infield lineup somewhere, but the question is where – at shortstop or third base?

The staple of the Dodgers infield in 2014 will again be first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. The three-time Gold Glove winner played in all but five games in 2013.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

With Uribe at the top end of baseball’s so-called ‘prime’ (considered by many to be age 28 to 34), he will undoubtedly be seeking a two or three year contract to set him up financially for the rest of his life. And while there may be a few teams out there that could desperately use Uribe’s (should have been Gold) glove and his renewed offensive production, it is unlikely that the Dodgers would offer him anything but a one-year or a one-year plus an option year (or performance incentives) contract, which he might not be willing to accept.

Call me a fool, but I actually believe that Uribe will except a one plus one offer from the Dodgers, who stuck with him through the absolutely brutal first two years of his three-year contract when many were calling for him to be designated for assignment. Perhaps I am giving too much credit to this intangible, but I think there is some merit to it. As such, I’m penciling in Uribe as the Dodgers everyday third baseman in 2014 – thus making Hanley the everyday shortstop.

The Dodgers would be foolish not to re-sign third baseman Juan Uribe to a one-year contract – perhaps even with an option year. (Photo credit – Gary A. Vasquez)

This brings us to the final infield spot – second base.

Knowing Ned Colletti as I have come to know him, I had to chuckle when I heard him say that recently signed Cuban phenom middle infielder Alexander Guerrero would be “competing” for the second base job during spring training 2014. Really? Competing with who? There really is no competition for the position – not yet, anyway.

It’s hard to imagine that Alexander Guerrero will not be the Dodgers everyday second baseman in 2014. (Photo courtesy of Getty images)

Granted, there is still the possibility that the Dodgers could re-sign Mark Ellis to a one-year contract for less than the $5.75 million they would have paid him if they had picked up his option (which means it would have to be less then $4.75 million to justify the $1 million buyout they just paid him), but even if they do there is no way on earth that Ellis would be able to give the Dodgers more than the 120 games that he gave them in 2013; so pencil Guerrero in as the Dodgers everyday second baseman in 2014 – at least until Ramirez gets hurt (which is a pretty safe bet) and slide Guerrero over to short and fill in second base with Nick Punto, who I also believe the Dodgers will try to re-sign.

Although it cannot be written in ink until Uribe’s 2014 status is confirmed, here’s how I project the Dodgers infield on opening day 2014:

• 1B – Adrian Gonzalez
• 2B – Alexander Guerrero
• SS – Hanley Ramirez
• 3B – Juan Uribe

But what about 2015?

Aah… here’s where it gets fun.

Even though Dodgers’ 2012 first round draft pick Corey Seager will only be 21 years old in April 2015, and even though the Dodgers are considering converting him from his true shortstop position to third base, I think it is more prudent (and practical) to move Hanley over to third base in 2015 and keep Seager as their everyday shortstop, with AGon and Guerrero remaining at first base and second base respectively.

Will Seager be MLB-ready in 2015 at age 21? Judging by the fact that he is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League at 19 years of age, a league made up mostly of top Double-A and Triple-A prospects, and based on what Colletti said during the recent Blogger’s Night event at Dodger Stadium about where he expects Seager to be in 2014, I think yes.

“If it was today he’d probably start out at High-A and move to Double-A at some time during the season,” said Colletti about Seager.

Colletti was quick to add that Seager struggled a bit when he was promoted from Low Single-A Great Lakes (where he tore up the league) to Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, but Colletti views Seager’s struggles as a very important part of his development.

“Corey’s got a chance to be a great player,” said Colletti. “He went to Rancho and he struggled for a while, which everybody said ‘Oh jeez he wasn’t ready’ and I said I’m not sure he’s ready or not, I’m not judging that, but I wasn’t put off that he struggled because up here (in the major leagues) there’s going to be those days, and if you’ve never done it before, if you’ve never had to figure your way out of a slump or you’ve never had to try to figure out what you need to get better at because the game has come easy to you, this is the wrong place to be trying to be figure it out for the first time.”