Jamey Carroll

On the back-end of a two-year deal, Jamey Carroll put up another solid season as a super-utility man, and all at the baseball old age of 37. Though his numbers dipped across the board from what was the second best season of his career, he still contributed 2.2 WAR while primarily playing second.

In 146 games and 510 plate appearances, Carroll put up a .290/.359/.347 line with a .321 wOBA and 104 wRC+ while walking in 10% of his trips to the plate, as compared with just over 11% of his appearances ending in a strikeout.

Again, his 2010 numbers were better (.291/.379/.339, .329 wOBA, 12.3 BB%, 2.5 WAR) with the notable exception that Jamey cut down on his whiffs this past season and played worse defense (11.4 UZR/150 at second in 2010, down considerably in 2011 at -8.0 in 330 more innings). However, for a guy who played so much due to injury and ineptitude, he was yet again one of the bright spots in an otherwise dismal year.

Carroll was not traded so as to mentor Dee Gordon, and it would make sense to bring the veteran back on a one-year deal to play rover and continue his mentoring duties. Not that I particularly buy that a mentor is necessary for a young player, but if it means less playing time for Juan Uribe, I’m all for it. After all, a good way to improve the team is to stop playing players like Uribe. Carroll’s OBP in 81 games at second was .355; I sincerely doubt Ewribe could pull off that feat.

Aaron Miles

I don’t feel it’s necessary to re-hash too much of my previous spiel on Miles that can be found in my Third Base Season Review post, so I’ll just give his numbers as a second baseman in 2011, a position which he occupied for 72 games.

.288/.302/.362/.664 and a UZR/150 of 0.2 in over 500 innings.

Sigh? Sigh.

Also-Rans

Five other Dodgers saw time at second base, led by Uribe and Justin Sellers. Ivan DeJesus was given just a brief tryout, and with his exclusion from the September call-ups in 2011, his time as a viable option with the Dodgers is probably over. Which is a shame, because the man has shown a great ability to draw a walk during the vast majority of his minor league career, at least prior to his injury.

I could live with Sellers as a one-year fill-in, but the career minor leaguer is nothing more than that: filler. On the bright side, Sellers did display good leather, particularly at short and third, and was a plus at all three positions on the defensive side of things.

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FUN FACT: Eugenio Velez and Juan Castro combined to appear in fifteen games at second, starting eight.

Casey Blake

Casey Blake: Bearded Enigma.

There are generally two opinions of Blake, as many believe he has been a key cog to the Dodgers success over the past handful of years, while others loathe the way he came to be a Dodger in the first place. I am firmly in the camp of the latter, though I simultaneously recognize he’s been one of the better third basemen in the club’s history.

Of course, part of that speaks to the lack of quality third basemen this franchise has put on the field. In his short tenure with the Blue Crew, Blake managed a .338 OBP and a .431 SLG, with an injury-plagued 2011 as the culmination of what was a mediocre stint with the team. His fantastic 2009 of 4.9 WAR was followed by a decent 2010, but 2011 saw Blake injured and unproductive when on the field, posting a triple slash line of .252/.342/.371 to go along with a lackluster .314 wOBA and 1.1 WAR. He played in just 63 games as the aging Iowan’s health failed him.

Always solid with the glove (2011 UZR/150 of 8.5), Blake was counted on for far too much production by management and many loyal fans of his. Why, then, did I start this Season Review with a 38-year-old who barely suited up this season? Well, the Dodgers just declined the option on his contract for 2012, so Casey heads to free agency. Or retirement. Either way, I feel safe in saying that whatever path Blake chooses, his time starting at the hot corner in Los Angeles is over.

If, however, he were to return – and I’d be shocked if Ned Colletti didn’t consider bringing back Casey in some capacity, because, you know, he’s Ned Colletti – Blake’s ability to hit lefties (career .271/.360/.486/.846 versus southpaws) and play solid defense would portend to a role as a super-sub at all four corner spots, but primarily at third. Of course, the calls for that scenario have been ringing for well over a year, and we all saw how well that plan came to fruition in 2011.

Aaron Miles

The fact that Aaron Miles made the squad to start the season was disheartening enough to begin with. That he got so much playing time was even more unsettling.

Though he had a hot month of June, hitting .419/.418/.500/.918 (and yes, that is an OBP lower than his BA), which garnered a whole hell of a lot of attention and simultaneously made him the apple of Steve Lyons‘ eye, Miles was the same old mediocre Aaron Miles that he has always been and will likely continue to be.

While starting 61 games at third, Miles hit .249/.321/.321/.642 while playing beyond shoddy defense (-12.1 UZR/150). He was worth 0.8 WAR on the season with his almost five hundred (!) plate appearances, but could be in line for the Jamey Carroll multi-year deal regardless.

Miles is clearly not worth that, as he will turn 35 in December, is not exceptionally talented at any aspect of the game of baseball, and is simply taking up a roster spot from a younger player who could bring more upside and talent to the table.

Juan Uribe

53 games started at third (59 in total), a remarkably putrid triple slash line of .199/.262/.270/.532 in those games, a cumulative wOBA of .250, 0.4 WAR on the season, and 20.3% of his plate appearances ended in a strikeout. He walked in just 5.8% of his trips to the dish, put up an abysmal .089 ISO, and ate up more of the Dodgers payroll than he did the post-game spread (actually, that’s an arguable point).

Sadly enough, he’s likely the leading candidate to man the hot corner in 2012.

Juan Uribe is a terrible player. He had an atrocious 2011. If I write anything more about Juan Uribe, I’ll be the one on the disabled list with a detached head.

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Fun Fact: Juan Castro started a game at third. Juan Castro.