Cleveland Indians Designate Juan Uribe for Assignment

Cleveland Indians Designate Uribe for Assignment

The Cleveland Indians, in need of some roster spots after their recent trade acquisitions, have announced they’ve designated veteran third baseman Juan Uribe for assignment.

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

While Uribe has struggled of late, especially with the bat, the move is somewhat surprising given how much the club has valued his veteran leadership and presence in the clubhouse. The 37-year-old was in the midsts of one of his worst offensive seasons as a pro, batting just .206 with a .591 OPS this year. His 56 wRC+ was tied for the second worst of his career, ahead of only his second season in the big leagues way back in 2002.

Despite the ugly batting numbers, Uribe was showing off his glove at the hot corner, which has been one of the best in the game the last few years. Fangraphs ranked Uribe’s defense at third base as the seventh best in the baseball in 2016 (minimum 500 innings) and he had a +2 DRS (defensive runs saved), which was tied for fourth best on the Indians. However, even his great defense left him with only a 0.2 fWAR in 73 games.

The emergence of Jose Ramirez as an everyday option had cut into Uribe’s playing time at third base over the last month or so so it seemed likely that Uribe was at least going to be bumped to a utility role with the acquisition of Brandon Guyer; however, the Tribe has decided to stick with rookie Erik Gonzalez in that role, at least for the time being. It makes some sense given Gonzalez’s ability to play the infield and the outfield; however, he likely won’t see much time at his natural shortstop and doesn’t provide a lot of value at any other position.

If Uribe goes unclaimed the Indians will be on the hook for the remainder of his $4 million salary. Uribe could decide to stick around at the Triple-A level but he likely could find work with another big league club in need of a depth infield option. No matter what happens with Uribe, we wish him the best as despite his struggles he was an integral part of the 2016 Indians and their rise to the top of the Central division. He was a great mentor to the young infielders like Ramirez and Francisco Lindor and by all accounts a great all-around teammate.

Next: Indians Acquire Brandon Guyer from Rays

In addition to designating Uribe, the Cleveland Indians have also cut ties with Joey Butler. Butler was acquired from the Rays over the offseason but spent all of 2016 with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. He would have been out of minor league options for the 2017 season and seemed to have been passed over by many on the depth chart. He could stick around but if not, he’ll finish his Tribe career batting just .238 with a .666 OPS at Triple-A.