The Dodgers have agreed to a 1-year deal with infielder Chase Utley, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com and Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. The deal is likely to be worth about $7 million, as reported by CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman.
The Dodgers have been interested in retaining Utley all winter, and likely were able to increase their offer in the wake of Zack Greinke's decision to sign with the Diamondbacks. Los Angeles had considered Greinke as its top priority until this weekend and is expected to be active in signing other free-agents with the money that would have gone to its former ace.
Utley, who was traded to the Dodgers in August, has expressed a desire to play in southern California next season and has also drawn strong interest from the Padres and Angels. He will likely split time at second base with Kike Hernandez for the Dodgers, who also have Justin Turner and Jose Peraza in the mix at the position.
Utley, 36, hit .202/.291/.363 with three homers in 34 games with the Dodgers to end last season and was the subject of much debate after his controversial slide broke Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada's leg during the National League Division Series. He is a lifetime .281/.365/.479 hitter with 355 home runs in 13 major-league seasons with the Phillies (2003-15) and Dodgers (2015).