Alex Guerrero has made only 13 plate appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season and is batting .417 with two home runs and eight RBIs, helping the team to three victories. And yet, he still hasn't earned a spot in the starting lineup.
Injuries to third basemen Juan Uribe and Justin Turner have given Guerrero a bit more playing time, but manager Don Mattingly isn't ready to jump ship on his incumbent starter, Uribe, considering the veteran notched career-highs in batting average (.311) and on-base percentage (.337) as a 35-year-old in 2014.
"This is a guy who had a good year for us last year," Mattingly told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. "You don't just toss him aside and a couple games are not going to change what we're trying to do."
But what about Guerrero? He signed a four-year, $28 million deal prior to last season and has barely been utilized since then. He has already been moved from his primary positions of second base and shortstop so the team could make room for him on the 25-man roster after he declined to start the season in the minor leagues. On the other hand, Uribe is in the final year of his contract (earning $6.5 million this season) and has only four hits in 22 plate appearances.
Guerrero has accounted for 18.6% of the team's run production and delivered in clutch situations in his limited role. Mattingly doesn't seem to be fazed by that, though.
"Nothing's changed for us," he added on Tuesday. "When we started (the season), we thought (Guerrero would get playing time at) third base, left field. We're going to work him today in the outfield. The way he's swinging the bat - that's not really a surprise for us. It's been a nice surprise the way he's looked at third. The way he's looked in the outfield has been a nice surprise. For us, it's just a matter of us using our whole roster."
Guerrero might get a little bit of playing time in the outfield because Yasiel Puig (hamstring) and Carl Crawford (ankle) are dealing with minor injuries that have them on day-to-day, but the team has a few other outfielders, including Andre Ethier, who is owed $56 million over the next three seasons, and Scott Van Slyke, who has done a good job getting on base during his limited time in the lineup. And as we mentioned yesterday, the team is going to need to give Ethier as much playing time as they can to help raise his trade stock.
The defensive issues certainly concern Los Angeles, and that's understandable.
"While a handful of teams have inquired on Guerrero's availability, the Dodgers appear set on extracting what production they can out of a 28-year-old infielder coming off a season in which scouts, on first look, deemed him unplayable at second base and questionable, at the very least, at third," writes Jeff Sanders of U-T San Diego.
If the Dodgers plan on moving forward with Guerrero, he's going to need to get more playing time because that will be the only way he can work on improving his defense.
At least it's clear his bat isn't too much of an issue.
