Dodgers, Chase Utley in ‘serious talks’ about reunion

UPDATE: Los Angeles has reached a deal to bring back Utley, according to Heyman. Click here for full details.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ORIGINAL: The Dodgers are in “serious talks” with Chase Utley about bringing back the veteran second baseman to Los Angeles, sources told Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

Though there are no specific terms about contract length or figures, Heyman says the Dodgers ”love his abject professionalism.” Last year, the 39-year-old Utley signed a one-year deal worth $2 million to return to the club, despite the team acquiring Logan Forsythe.

In 2017, Utley managed to slash .236/.324/.405 while making 353 plate appearances in 127 regular-season games. However, he hardly provided bench help for the Dodgers during their run to the World Series, as he scored one run and had no hits while making 19 plate appearances.

He is a career .276/.359/.469 hitter in 15 major-league seasons with the Phillies (2003-15) and Dodgers (2015-17), and is a six-time All-Star — all of those appearances coming as a member of the Phillies. The Dodgers acquired Utley — a Pasadena, California native who helped Philadelphia make the postseason in five straight seasons from 2007-11 and win the World Series in 2008 — in a trade during the waiver deadline in 2015.

It seems likely that Dodgers will bring back Utley for about the same salary as they did last year or even less. After all, they are determined to stay under the $197-million luxury-tax threshold.