Atlanta acquires veteran third baseman from NL rival today

The Atlanta Braves made a notable trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on this day, May 27, 2015, acquiring veteran third baseman Juan Uribe in a multi-player deal.

In addition to Uribe, the Braves also acquired right-handed pitcher Chris Withrow in the deal, with Atlanta sending four players to the Dodgers in return. Those names were third baseman Alberto Callaspo, left-handed pitcher Eric Stults, left-handed pitcher Ian Thomas and right-handed pitcher Juan Jaime.

At the time of the trade, Uribe, who was likely the centerpiece of the deal, was in the middle of his fifth season with the Dodgers, which was also his 15th season in Major League Baseball.

He was traded to Atlanta while the Braves were in Los Angeles for a series against the Dodgers. His debut with the Braves came the same day against the team that had just traded him.

However, it was likely a down year compared to some of his previous ones in Los Angeles, slashing just .247/.287/.309 in 29 games with one home run and six RBIs.

Once in Atlanta, Uribe appeared in 46 games for the Braves during the 2015 season, a span in which he slashed .285/.353/.464 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs. Uribe also spent almost all of his time defensively at third base and held a 0.8 WAR in Atlanta over those 46 games.

Although he was acquired on May 27, Uribe would not conclude the 2015 season with Atlanta, as the club traded the veteran later in the year to the New York Mets. This would take place on July 24 as part of another multi-player package that would send Uribe, Kelly Johnson and cash to New York. The Mets sent right-handed pitchers John Gant and Rob Whalen as returns for the Braves.

As for the other part of the original deal from that day in 2015, Withrow would not appear in an MLB game with Atlanta that season, but he did see plenty of action with the club in 2016. During In his lone year with the Braves, Withrow went 3-0 with a 3.58 ERA and a 28/17 K:BB ratio over 37.2 innings of relief.

It was surprising to see the Braves trade for Juan Uribe just to turn around and trade him two months later. However, in retrospect it makes sense since this was a Braves organization early in a rebuild.