It’s time for the Dodgers to play Alex Guerrero more regularly

Maybe you’re as excited about that Juan Uribe trade as I am, which is to say not at all, but there is a reason the Dodgers can get away with dealing him.

They have Justin Turner and Alex Guerrero playing at a high level, and still have Cuban Hector Olivera on the way. They’re flush at third, and that’s still the possible designation for minor league phenom Corey Seager.

Turner and Guerrero drove in the Dodgers’ only runs in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Braves, Turner on a single off the glove of second baseman Jace Peterson and Guerrero on yet another home run.

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Guerrero is third on the team in home runs (nine) and RBI (21) even those he has about half as many at-bats as leaders Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson.

He’s making it more and more difficult not to play him. They’d better teach him to play a position with some comfort level, because right now he needs to be on the field.

He’s homered once every 9.7 at-bats. If he had enough at-bats to qualify, that would make him second in the majors to Washington’s Bryce Harper (8.72) for best home-run ratio.

Maybe later teams will figure out a way to pitch to the rookie, but until they do, how do you not play him more regularly?

He was a shortstop in Cuba, but it was quickly determined he did not have the range to play there at the major-league level. So last season they tried to convert him to a second baseman, in what was deemed a failed experiment.

Currently he splits time between third and left. He definitely does not excel at either position defensively, though he might be slightly better at third. it might be a stretch to call him adequate at either position.

But they need to keep working hard on developing his glove somewhere. When Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford return, the Dodgers could be facing the same glut of outfielders they have been at third.

But when you’re continually crushing the ball, as Guerrero pretty much has done for the last two months, you need to play.