2:21pm: Callaspo’s primary motivation was that he liked playing in Atlanta and did not want to play on the west coast, Heyman tweets.
12:13pm: The deal is indeed dead at present, and there is “no indication it’ll be revived,” O’Brien tweets.
11:44am: Callaspo has rejected the deal, as is his right, per Rosenthal (Twitter link).
For those unsure of why Callaspo may have declined the move, it’s not clear that he would ever have had a chance to suit up for the Dodgers: Los Angeles may well have intended simply to take on Callaspo’s salary and then release him as part of the broader arrangement. Were that the team’s intention, which seems at least plausibly implied in Callaspo’s veto, he likely would have ended up a free agent (while remaining entitled to his full salary).
Should Atlanta choose to designate him, that would still be the probable result, meaning that Callaspo may ultimately have been unwilling to be run through procedural hoops (all while sitting at home without a chance to play) simply to facilitate a deal between two clubs that aren’t terribly interested in his services at this point.
Alternatively, Callaspo might have preferred to avoid relegation to a 25th-man role in L.A. It’s impossible to know precisely what conversations and considerations were had, but as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes on Twitter, Callaspo may well have had valid reasons to act as he did.
11:28am: The Dodgers would actually receive MLB-level pitching in the deal, Rosenthal tweets, though he cautions not to expect any “major names” to be involved.
11:15am: The deal appears to have “lost traction,” tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. A move is not presently imminent, per the report.
10:15am: The Dodgers would stand to add three minor league players from the Braves, with a farmhand also heading eastbound to Atlanta, Rosenthal reports (Twitter links). Some of the players going to Los Angeles would serve to bolster the club’s upper-level pitching reserves, per the report, suggesting an addition motivation.
The Dodgers would also stand to avoid some piece of their obligation to Uribe, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
9:48am: The Dodgers are in discussions with the Braves about a deal that would send third baseman Juan Uribe to Atlanta and deliver Alberto Callaspo to Los Angeles, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). Other, “lesser names” would also be included in a deal, per the report.
Agreement was close last night, says Rosenthal, who adds that it is not yet known whether progress continues this morning. The holdup could be related to the fact that Callaspo has the right to veto any deal, Rosenthal tweets. As a free agent who signed last offseason, he can decline to be dealt prior to June 15. With more than five years of service time, Callaspo would at least be entitled to refuse a minor league assignment and keep all of his guaranteed money if he ended up being outrighted after the deal.
Both teams have been creative in structuring deals of late: the Braves recently swapped bad contracts as a major part of the Craig Kimbrel trade, and the Dodgers effectively purchased a draft pick by acquiring and designating Ryan Webb. This prospective transaction, too, seems likely to be motivated by a variety of considerations.
Callaspo is playing on a $3MM contract this year, and could conceivably be going to offset some of the balance of the $6.5MM salary owed to Uribe. It seems somewhat unlikely, after all, that the Dodgers would have serious interest in the scuffling Callaspo. The club is loaded with options at second and third quite apart from Uribe, who has all but been displaced at the hot corner already.
Then again, the switch-hitting Callaspo does have a clear track record of sterling plate discipline, and has been better when facing right-handed pitching. (For all their options at second and third, L.A. doesn’t have any left-handed bats in the 4-5-6 mix.) As for Uribe, he’s off to a slow start but has consistently rated as an outstanding defender and produced at the plate when receiving regular playing time over 2013-14.
Needless to say, there are a number of interesting elements to this prospective transaction. Atlanta would certainly like to pick up a solid option at third, where Callaspo and Chris Johnson have struggled, while the Dodgers are probably glad to free up Uribe’s roster spot.
