Dodgers going big-name hunting in pursuit of Chase Utley

Chase Utley was a special player. In his day, and he more accurately had many of them, he was the most elegant and powerful player on the best Philadelphia Phillies teams in decades. He was hardworking and professional, a soft-spoken leader for a franchise that started winning division titles in 2007 and continued for five years.

He’s not exactly that guy anymore. He’s 36, for one, and has played one full season in the last six. The work he’s done remains hard, but too often it has been limited to the physical rehabilitation of his various broken parts. The game wore him down at about the time it does most, and when he last went on the disabled list (in June, this time for a bothersome ankle), the great Chase Utley was every bit a .179 hitter.

So, assuming the trade becomes official, what’s he doing as a Los Angeles Dodger?

Well, partly, it’s because of who Utley is and who the Phillies are. He was to a generation in Philadelphia what Mike Schmidt and Robin Roberts and Steve Carlton and Richie Ashburn were to theirs, but all things – all players – run their course. And his Phillies had their run, as decorated as any in club history. It ended because the men in charge believed too fiercely in what the Phillies could be and not enough in what the Phillies were becoming. So it was time to sell. Utley, by a few weeks, is expected to follow Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon out the clubhouse door, and by several months Jimmy Rollins.

Mostly, though, Utley would not be a Phillie any longer because of who the Dodgers are.

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For $2 million and a couple minor leaguers, they could cover for Howie Kendrick’s bum hamstring with a reasonable plate presence and a sturdy glove. Simple as that. When the payroll’s more than $300 million, presumably you stop counting. That Utley is Utley – respected, tested, occasionally capable – made it easy. Also, that Utley batted .484 with a home run in the eight games since he came off the disabled list. He would, for however long Kendrick is unable, stand with former and longtime teammate Rollins in the middle of the infield, so there will be no wasted time. The Dodgers have enough issues – the bullpen, for one, could be fatal – without worrying about where the second baseman likes his double-play flips.

Utley, who had no-trade protection, reportedly has approved the deal. He went to high school in Long Beach, Calif., and attended UCLA before the Phillies made him their first-round pick in 2000, and so apparently returning to Southern California – and to the first-place Dodgers – appealed to him.

The Dodgers had covered for Kendrick in part with Kike Hernandez, a super-utility player who’d batted .389 with three homers and six RBI since Aug. 8. The absence of Kendrick tied Hernandez to second base, however, and so there’d be no place to hide, for one, Joc Pederson, a terrific center fielder who’s hit .160 for going on two months.

When Kendrick returns, Utley presumably becomes a backup second baseman, an occasional first and third baseman and regular pinch-hitter. He’s batted .333 in 66 career at-bats off the bench.

So that appears to be how it plays out. The Dodgers shopped in the big-boy store for their temporary second baseman. The Phillies carved out a couple more million dollars for their rebuild. And Utley goes home, to a contender, to at least a few more meaningful at-bats. Maybe he’s got a few more days left in him.

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