Dodgers Roundtable: The Start of Spring Training
3.) The Dodgers have officially re-signed Chase Utley to a 2-year deal, how do you think this will affect the team? With his veteran leadership, are they more likely to return to the kind of team they were last season?
Jamaal:
I don’t like the Utley signing. I can appreciate how players look up to his leadership and how his example helps create a professional clubhouse, but his inability to produce at a high level makes him a liability, to the point where he was detrimental in the playoffs. I hope Logan Forsythe learned how to hit righties and gets wrapped in bubble tape because if Utley is filling in as an everyday starter the Dodgers might be in trouble.
Jason:
I mean, I liked getting Utley back, I really did. He brings the kind of veteran insight that can help lead the Dodgers down the 162 game stretch. Although his production could be a liability at times, I believe the impact he has behind closed doors (with no statistical impact) is huge. Obviously, the Dodgers value it a lot.
He obviously wanted to play so a coaching role would not have worked. It just does not make sense to me why they would shy away from guys like A.J. Ellis and Adrian Gonzalez, but jump at Utley.
I was excited to see a potential platoon involving Jake Peter later in the season. However, Utley will now fill that role. Even with the platoon, though, it is hard to get excited for the Dodgers’ second base scenario against right-handed pitchers.
Sarah:
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For a long time, I thought that signing a starter was the most important move for the Dodgers this off-season. I still believe that, but this signing, the re-signing of Chase Utley, was an important move for the Dodgers, at least when it comes to the deeper, more intricate aspects of the team.
Utley’s veteran presence in the clubhouse is vital to this team, at least when it comes to the kind of team they are now. In recent years, the Dodgers lost to the Cubs in the NLCS and then beat them, but lost to the Astros in the World Series.
Utley was there through all of that. I think that, with Utley, they are drastically more likely to return to the team they were last season. He’ll be splitting time at second with Logan Forsythe, but he can still make game-saving plays from the infield and can still hit the ball out of the park.
Next: Yes, Matt Kemp is still a Dodger; Enjoy it
Utley is still a Dodger, and it’s a signing that could mean everything come October.