The Los Angeles Dodgers did the bulk of their heavy lifting in free agency last December, re-signing Rich Hill, Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner. Since that point the club has focused on rounding out the roster and adding to the organizational depth.
Los Angeles reportedly agreed to terms with Sergio Romo last week, and on Friday were said to have come to terms with outfielder Franklin Gutierrez and second baseman Chase Utley. Both reported signings came as somewhat of a surprise, considering there isn’t an apparent need at either position.
Prior to agreeing to re-sign with the Dodgers, Utley was mulling over contract offers from teams, all of which are viewed as contenders to win the World Series this season.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, Utley rejected a more lucrative deal by agreeing to re-sign with the Dodgers:
Utley is said to have taken less $ to return to dodgers. Geography plus excellent team obvs pluses for long beach native.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 11, 2017
Heyman later added Utley’s contract is expected to be worth a base of $2 million and include incentives:
Utley believed to receive 2M plus incentives on dodgers deal
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 12, 2017
Along with Utley, Jansen and Romo were also said to have turned down more money this offseason to re-sign and sign, respectively, with the Dodgers.
Utley hit .252/.319/.396 with 26 doubles, 14 home runs, 52 RBI and a 95 OPS+ in 138 games last season while serving as the Dodgers’ everyday second baseman and leadoff man. That eventually took its toll on the 14-year veteran as his production down the stretch of the year dropped off.
Beyond what Utley can contribute on the field, multiple members of the Dodgers organization have lauded what he brings off it. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman championed Utley’s intangibles on multiple occasions during the offseason, and manager Dave Roberts referred to him as his ‘favorite player of all time.’
Utley has perhaps been most influential on Corey Seager. As a rookie last season, Seager often raved about the leadership and mentoring Utley provided not only to himself, but others on the roster.
Utley was selected as the Dodgers’ recipient of the 2016 Heart and Hustle Award, which the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association presented to one player on each team who “best embodies the values, spirits and traditions of baseball,” and also performs well on the field.
