The curious case of Corey Dickerson

[Mex17]

27 HRs.

.282 AVG.

.815 OPS.

2.7 WAR.

Reasonable $5.95 million salary for 2018.

Under team control through 2019.

DFAed by Tampa Bay.

I have to think that he lands somewhere, but imagine if he does not? If all the teams that are supposedly "tanking" (such as Miami for instance) don't even want to pick up a guy who is producing that much for that kind of salary, then the MLBPA really has a case for a either salary floor or some other such thing. The fact that the Rays did this in the first place is reason enough for the union to speak up, not to mention the Rays fan base.

[nymr83]

Dickerson had a good first half fueled by an insanely high BABIP and was garbage in the 2nd half. He is also a liability in the outfield.

[Mex17]

Nymr83 wrote: Dickerson had a good first half fueled by an insanely high BABIP and was garbage in the 2nd half. He is also a liability in the outfield.

He also swung at 45.6% of the pitches that were thrown to him that were out of the strike zone.

But even with all that said, running him out of the game completely at this point and in this manner would be pretty seismic, and that is where the trajectory for him currently is. A DFA is basically being cut from the team, and if no deal is made (and the Rays just purposely reduced their leverage with every other team) and if no one picks him up as a free agent in a market that is already not good for free agents, I can assure you that the MLBPA will notice.

[nymr83]

notice what? that a bad team is cutting a bad player to save money? every time a team makes a business decision they are "running a guy out of the game" now?

[Mex17]

Nymr83 wrote: notice what? that a bad team is cutting a bad player to save money? every time a team makes a business decision they are "running a guy out of the game" now?

You're making my point for me. It's one thing if the Astros, Dodgers, or Yankees have no use for the guy, but the Rays? The Rays cannot use someone who, despite the flaws revealed in the advanced analytics, had an .815 OPS and a 2.7 WAR last season? Who are the Rays going to throw out there who is going to outperform that?

Plus, the flaws are acknowledged in the fact that he is making less than $6 million as opposed to something far higher. How much is Tampa Bay really saving? Even if they have some hotshot prospect that they would want to play over Dickerson, that prospect would be making the minimum which would allow the Rays to carry a $6 million veteran with power on the bench to pinch hit in key spots.

[Edgy MD]

Nymr83 wrote: Dickerson had a good first half fueled by an insanely high BABIP and was garbage in the 2nd half.

Hey, now, only ceetar can declare a player to be garbage.

[nymr83]

Nobody wants to carry a Dickerson on the bench, not with today's seemingly 10 man bullpens

[Guest cooby]

Swollen bullpens are going to ruin this game

[nymr83]

cooby wrote: Swollen bullpens are going to ruin this game

nah, they'll create an opportunity for the smart team that veers away from them.

[Edgy MD]

Not if MLB gives in to expanding the roster.

It's distressing how teams don't veer away from each other as much anymore. Some teams not wanting to take an alternative approach to counter the cultural norm is boring.

[Guest cooby]

Nymr83 wrote: cooby wrote: Swollen bullpens are going to ruin this game nah, they'll create an opportunity for the smart team that veers away from them.

I wish that team would be the Mets.

[Guest cooby]

What's gonna happen is there is going to be a bunch of sub pro relievers in the game and maybe then teams will come to their senses.

[Mex17]

cooby wrote: What's gonna happen is there is going to be a bunch of sub pro relievers in the game and maybe then teams will come to their senses.

Who knows, maybe with less kids playing football due to CTE concerns there will be more talent going into baseball. Some of that talent might go into bullpens.

[nymr83]

or prices for relievers shoot up and cause a sudden influx of useful guys from Japan who previously wouldn't have come over to make lower non-closer relief dollars.

there are many turns it can take.

but i think the best thing for the health of the game is dont change the rules/roster size etc to "fix" a perceived flaw in roster construction. let the smart teams figure it out.

[Edgy MD]

If they raise the roster limit, it'll likely be far less likely about concessions to latter-day bullpen usage and far more about concessions to the MLBPA in exchange for some reciprocal offer granted back to management.

[nymr83]

Which is fine, creating 30 or 60 high paying jobs that the industry can clearly support is not a bad thing. I just dont want current roster strategies being followed by unimaginative follow-the-leader teams to be the reason.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

cooby wrote: cooby wrote: Swollen bullpens are going to ruin this game nah, they'll create an opportunity for the smart team that veers away from them. I wish that team would be the Mets.

Buddy, not with THIS ownership group.

Honestly? THAT'S my big gripe with the Wilpons. It's not "not spending," because there are reasons for that (which I may lament, but I understand... and besides, they HAVE spent). It's that they have no vision, and are completely courage -free in the way they've approached virtually every major decision -- from FA signings to stadium to marketing to black unis-- since taking control of the franchise. It's all stupid, focus-grouped, early-late-majority-instead-of-trendsetter BS.

And... the Rays probably have better options. THAT'S why they're letting him go. Say what you will about the consistency of the results, but they have made bold choices with what resources they have... and have been innovators in terms of exploiting market inefficiencies.

[Edgy MD]

Mallex Smith?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

?

[Edgy MD]

Mallex Smith. That's who was first on the Rays depth chart for left field at the time I made the post. That fringy, athletic guy from the Braves who hasn't really been able to establish himself as a big leaguer yet, much less a starting corner outfielder.

But that was then. Now Mallex slides over to right, yielding left to whatever's left of Denard Span, as team MVP Steven Souza goes to Arizona in a three way deal. The Rays are being stripped for parts.

Florida baseball!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

They just picked up Carlos Gomez for $4M/1 year. Sheds a little
more salary when compared to Dickerson, I guess.

Mallex Smith looks okay, if not fully developed. I mean, for all the bellyaching from press and locker room about ranking and such... the team isn't markedly worse than they were before the weekend sell off. They've got a LOT of arms behind Archer and Snell, and if they get some value from any of those guys, the Rays could be pretty damn competitive.

[Frayed Knot]

Rays trade Dickerson to the Pirates in exchange for reliever Daniel Hudson, a minor leaguer, and $1 million.

[ashie62]

Dickerson has effectively been "replaced by free agent signing Carlos Gomez.

[Mex17]

Frayed Knot wrote: Rays trade Dickerson to the Pirates in exchange for reliever Daniel Hudson, a minor leaguer, and $1 million.

I still don't quite understand how you increase your leverage for trading a guy by DFAing him first. I get that maybe it's necessary if you are really strapped for a 40-man roster spot for a guy coming in, but other than that. . .

[smg58]

It's possible that the trade and the Gomez signing were already more or less in place, and this was more creative accounting than anything else. Still, I'm not sure what the point of this was. They got a pretty good prospect from the Yankees in their other deal, but this just seems strange. Tristan Gray (the minor leaguer in the deal) had a decent year in low A, but he plays the same position (second base) as the prospect they just got from the Yankees.

[nymr83]

smg58 wrote: It's possible that the trade and the Gomez signing were already more or less in place, and this was more creative accounting than anything else. Still, I'm not sure what the point of this was. They got a pretty good prospect from the Yankees in their other deal, but this just seems strange. Tristan Gray (the minor leaguer in the deal) had a decent year in low A, but he plays the same position (second base) as the prospect they just got from the Yankees.

at the Low-A level are you really concerned about the "redundancy"? if both guys pan out you can always trade for pitching later.