On Wednesday, the Dodgers and Braves officially announced the six-player swap that most of the media had known for over 48 hours. Juan Uribe and Chris Withrow were sent to Atlanta in exchange for infielder Alberto Callaspo, Ian Thomas, Eric Stults and Juan Jaime.
Withrow is still on the 60-day disabled list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, Ian Thomas was immediately optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, Jamie was sent to extended Spring Training in Glendale, Arizona and Stults was designated for assignment.
That left only Uribe and Callaspo still in Los Angeles, sitting 130 feet apart in opposing dugouts as they talked about their new teams, wearing different uniforms.
"I don't feel bad, I feel good about being here," Uribe said of his new team. "I'm going to miss my teammates. I want to thank the fans for the way they treated me."
Many in the media perceived that Uribe was simply a victim of circumstance, that the Dodgers had too many third basemen, making him expendable. However, President of Baseball Operations for Los Angeles Andrew Friedman said that Uribe and his agent had asked for the trade.
"His agent called us. There was a lot of dialogue back and forth between me, Donnie and Juan." Friedman said. "We were involved in honest communication, and we knew exactly where Juan stood. It was all handled very professionally."
Friedman believes that Callaspo was a better fit for the Dodgers' roster and it took a good night's sleep and potentially a cash incentive to get Callaspo to waive his no-trade clause and make the move to Los Angeles.
"I'm happy to be here and I'll be available for the team anytime, anywhere and any day," Callaspo said. "I've seen this team play against the Braves and I said to myself 'I want to be a part of this.'"
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Callaspo was offered $100,000 from the Braves in order to accept the trade.
Uribe started at third base on Wednesday and received a standing ovation when he was announced in front of the Dodger Stadium crowd. Callaspo will be in uniform for the Boys in Blue, but is expected to be used purely in a pinch-hitting role off the bench.
In the meantime, Juan Uribe bobblehead night, is still on as planned and scheduled for July 11th at Dodger Stadium.
