Tampa Bay Rays Acquire Corey Dickerson In Four-Player Trade

The Colorado Rockies have confirmed a four-player trade, in which the team will acquire pitchers Jake McGee and German Marquez from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for outfielder Corey Dickerson and third base prospect Kevin Padlo.

OFFICIAL: #Rockies acquire pitchers Jake McGee & German Marquez in exchange for OF Corey Dickerson & 3B Kevin Padlo. pic.twitter.com/KfVz0Z86if

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) January 29, 2016

After the Rockies’ signing of speedy outfielder Gerardo Parra, the assumption was that the team would deal away one of their current outfielders. With Dickerson departed, the team will rely upon Parra, Carlos Gonzalez, and Charlie Blackmon to occupy the outfield in 2016.

The 26-year-old Dickerson has been impressive during his brief three-year career, and the Rays will hope he can continue that success. A native of McComb, Missouri, Dickerson is a.299 hitter with 39 HR and 124 RBI since his debut in 2013. Dickerson enjoyed a breakout season in 2014, batting.312 with 24 HR and 76 RBI in 131 games.

However, foot and rib injuries limited him to just 65 games in 2015, a season in which Dickerson still posted a strong.304 average with 10 HR and 31 RBI. Dickerson has shown a lot of promising tools, but one potential cause for concern are his platoon splits. While Dickerson owns right-handed pitchers (.313 BAA), lefties have been a problem for him (.246 BAA).

Dickerson comes with four years of team control, so if he maintains his strong offense and stays healthy, he could be a fixture in the Rays’ infield for years to come.

The other player headed to Tampa in the deal is third base prospect Kevin Padlo. A fifth-round draft pick by the Rockies in 2014 draft, Padlo was rated as the Rockies’ 14th best prospect by Baseball America after 2014. While he’s described as having some decent power, Padlo’s conditioning and tendency to be flat-footed at third base are red flags. Since debuting in 2014, he’s hit.271 with 19 HR and 97 RBI across several minor league levels.

For the Rockies, they acquire hard-throwing left-hander Jake McGee, who has been one of MLB’s most dominant relievers. Since 2012, McGee has pitched to a 2.58 ERA while showing excellent strikeout (11.4 K/9), walk (2.3 BB/9), and groundball (40.9 percent) rates.

Last season, injuries relegated McGee to just 39 games, but he was spectacular during those outings, pitching to a 2.41 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 37-and-one-third innings. If healthy, it’s possible that McGee becomes the Rockies’ closer moving forward as the San Jose, California, native has saved 25 games over the last two seasons.

McGee, 29, comes with two years of team control himself. Despite that, the Rays elected to shed his $4.8 million salary in favor of a young, slugging outfielder who comes with two additional years of control.

The final piece of this trade is 20-year-old pitcher German Marquez. He was ranked as the Rays’ 25th best prospect in the most recent rankings. A product of Venezuela, Marquez pitched at the High-A level in 2015, going 7-13 with a 3.65 ERA in 26 games (23 starts). Per MLB Trade Rumors, Marquez features some promising tools that could make for a successful pitcher.

“Marquez offers a low- to mid-90s fastball with the makings of an average or better curveball and a changeup that’s still a work in progress. His control has improved with each season in the minors as well.”

Despite the Rays’ surplus of outfielders, this trade improves the team as Dickerson is still young and has shown he can play at an All-Star caliber level. McGee has proven himself as one of MLB’s best left-handed bullpen options and this trade is essentially a swap of two talented players coming off injury-riddled 2015 seasons.

[Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images]