Thus far into the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have received contributions from a few unlikely candidates. In particular, 37-year-old Chase Utley has been one of the most consistent performers at the top of the order while playing above-average defense at second base.
In the offseason, the consensus was that Los Angeles would choose not to re-sign Utley due to his age and lack of production during his time with the club in 2015. However, the veteran returned on a one-year, $7 million contract under the notion he’d play multiple positions.
That idea was furthered when Howie Kendrick also re-signed, however Utley has firmly entrenched himself at second base. While he’s cooled at the plate recently, Utley continues to start on a regular basis and be placed atop the lineup.
In 56 games, he’s batting .268/.357/.395 with 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 20 RBIs. Utley has been a bright spot for an offense that’s struggled to find any sort of consistency this season.
His play has surprised many, including one scout who didn’t believe the veteran infielder had much left to offer, per Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball:
“I thought he was done,” one scout said, honestly.
Despite accumulating a successful career with numerous accolades, this type of performance out of Utley was hard to see coming after hitting a combined .212 last season with the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies combined.
On top of resurrecting his career productivity wise, Utley continues to play the game with an unrelenting passion and focus that’s drawn praise from multiple teammates, including Clayton Kershaw and Justin Turner.
A prime example of that was Utley’s first time playing at Citi Field since his slide broke Ruben Tejada’s leg in Game 2 of the 2015 National League Division Series. In a game where Noah Syndergaard buzzed a fastball by his back, Utley never broke his demeanor and finished with a grand slam and solo home run.
