When you think about it, the Dodgers haven’t had a good third baseman – I mean a real good third baseman – since 2004 when then Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta let then 25-year-old free agent and future Hall of Famer Adrián Beltré get away.

Oh sure, there have been a few decent third basemen since DePodesta’s blunder – which undoubtedly led to his very short tenure as the Dodgers GM – guys like Nomar Garciapara, Casey Blake and even homegrown youngsters Andy LaRoche and Blake DeWitt. But for the most part, third base has been pretty much a black hole since 2004.

Letting future Hall of Famer Adrián Beltré get away was, hands down, former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta’s biggest mistake. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

It’s hard to argue that Juan Uribe hasn’t done a great job as the Dodgers everyday third baseman, after his first two dismal seasons that is. But it is becoming more obvious every day that father time has caught up with the extremely popular 36-year old Palenque, Dominican Republic native. And while Uribe was clearly robbed of two consecutive Gold Gloves for his outstanding defense over the past two seasons, his bat has once again disappeared.

Uribe appeared in 21 games this past spring going a rather dismal 11 for 51 (.216) with no home runs, one double and only three RBIs. And although Dodgers manager Don Mattingly puts almost no credence on spring training numbers, it hard to ignore Uribe’s 3 for 13 (.231) in the five regular season games that he has appeared in thus far. As such, it pretty much came as no surprise when Mattingly gave Uribe a day off on Saturday – at least that was the plan. Unfortunately, Uribe’s replacement – super-sub utility infielder Justin Turner – suffered a lacerated finger in the third inning and had to come out of the game. And for reasons that only he knows, Mattingly elected to replace Turner with Uribe, who had exactly zero time to stretch and get warmed up, leading to a strained left hamstring on the very first play after entering the game. And while both Turner’s and Uribe’s injuries appear to be minor, one has to wonder why Mattingly didn’t insert the much younger Darwin Barney (29) and even young Alex Guerrero (28).

Even though Guerrero has a clause in his Scott Boras-crafted contract that forced the Dodgers to keep Guerrero on their 25-man roster this season, he absolutely positively earned that roster spot with his .308 spring training batting average that included three home runs and eight RBIs. But even more important than his offensive spring training numbers, Guerrero played exceptionally well at every defensive position he played – including 13 games at third base. And although his only error this spring occurred while playing third base, he showed excellent range and showed off his cannon arm.

Although Alex Guerrero may never be the defensive third baseman that Juan Uribe was, the Dodgers need to find a way to get his bat into their line up every day – and third base may be their best option.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

On Sunday Guerrero got his first MLB start at third base when Mattingly wanted to give Uribe a an extra day off for his still barking hamstring (like one or two days will do that) and, to be perfectly honest, Guerrero look great at the position, making all four put outs on balls hit to him. Granted, he didn’t have to make any diving or other difficult plays in the eventual 7-4 Dodgers victory, but he simply looked good at the position – very good, in fact.

But it’s Guerrero’s bat that should give the Dodgers brass cause to consider making Guerrero their everyday third baseman. The Las Tunas, Cuba native went 3 for 5 with a single, double and his first major league home run – an absolute monster two-run shot to left that landed halfway up the bleachers.

It’s certainly unfair to judge Guerrero as a potential everyday third baseman based solely on one game, in fact it’s ludicrous. But with Uribe now clearly on the downhill side of his impressive 15-year MLB career and in the final year of his two-year/$15 million contract, and more importantly with his reoccurring hamstring issues, perhaps a role reversal between he and Guerrero is in order and would make the Dodgers a better overall team.