LOS ANGELES -- In the end, new Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley said he wanted to do the Philadelphia Phillies a favor. So after submitting a list of teams he was willing to be traded to he allowed the Phillies to pick the one that gave them the best offer. It just also happened to be a team in Southern California where Utley grew up.

“There were a number of teams that had some interest a few weeks back,” Utley said Saturday afternoon, though he wouldn’t confirm the Cubs were one of them. “Ultimately they found the best deal here in L.A.”

Sources indicate the Cubs were in on Utley way back in July while he was still rehabbing an ankle injury, but they weren’t alone. Meanwhile, Utley wanted assurances of playing time and he said he got them.

“This year hasn’t gone as well as I would have liked,” he said. “I wanted a chance to get out there and play and all the teams that had interest in me and I had interest back, there was an opportunity there.”

So according to the player, he was going to get his at-bats even if he ended up in Chicago. Of course a lot of those discussions came just as the offense and the man he ultimately would be replacing, Chris Coghlan, started heating up and before Jorge Soler injured an oblique. Maybe the Cubs would have offered the Phillies more if the injury came before Utley was traded. The former Phillie ended up going to the Dodgers for two mid-level prospects. The non-trade to the Cubs came back to haunt them on Friday as he drove in the first run of the game and scored the next one in the Dodgers' 4-1 victory. According to Utley, playing time was the bigger issue than the geography of his new team -- though Los Angeles did appeal to him.

“It’s fair to say but I don’t think it was the ultimate factor,” he stated. “Every team I thought would be a good fit and had a good opportunity to make the playoffs. Ultimately the Dodgers are where I landed.”

Did the Cubs miss out? It might feel that way as they try to fill Soler’s spot in the lineup. There are some days the Cubs are playing a handful of platoon-type players. Ultimately, Coghlan’s bat may be as valuable as Utley’s but that doesn’t help them if Jonathan Herrera and/or a slumping Chris Denorfia are playing instead of Utley.

“I don’t want to dissolve any rumors or matter of fact any rumors,” Utley said of coming to Chicago. “I think the Cubs have a great organization.”

Maybe it’s a moot point and it’s certainly one the Cubs can’t regret too much. At the time they were healthy and their lineup was near the top of the league in offense in the second half. Even Starlin Castro was providing some production. Of course, a healthy Utley can be a dynamic player. He has a 1.001 OPS in August.

“I looked at a number of different things to put my list together that I thought would have been beneficial for me and the organization,” Utley said. “I felt like if I were to move it would be best for them to get something that they would want. They liked the package the Dodgers offered.”