The Indians have been associated with Juan Uribe at least since early January and while no other teams have been rumored to be interested in Uribe, it took until today to move the relationship past the talking stage. After the long wait, things moved quickly today as Ken Rosenthal tweeted at about noon that the signing would happen and less than an hour later the official statement was made.
Sources: Uribe in agreement with #Indians, pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 19, 2016
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We don’t have an exact value, but Buster Olney later stated that it will be a one year deal for just under $5M for the 36 year old. After playing for Los Angeles from 2011 through 2015, Uribe played for the Dodgers, Braves and Mets last year, batting .253/.320/.417 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI. While he isn’t in the prime that he enjoyed from age 25 through 31, he will provide a veteran presence at the hot corner, one of the two biggest areas of question for the Indians coming into the 2016 season.
While his bat will be a bonus, Uribe has been an incredible third baseman defensively since making the transition from short stop in 2008. In his career, he holds a 16.2 UZR/150 at the position and in 2015 he saved 2.3 runs above average per 150 games. His biggest drawback defensively at this point in his career is his range and that shouldn’t be a problem for any third baseman playing next to Francisco Lindor.
The addition of Uribe immediately changes the expectations for Giovanny Urshela from MLB starter to AAA starter with Jose Ramirez still expected to be the utility man. This could be a great chance for Urshela to finish his development that was interrupted by the poor play of Lonnie Chisenhall last April and May.
Uribe is not going to be in camp immediately as he is currently having some trouble entering the United States due to a visa issue.
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