With the Tampa Bay Rays remodeling their whole roster. The Rays decided to trade away franchise captain 3B Evan Longoria, OF Steven Souza Jr, SP Jake Odorizzi, and designating All-Star OF Corey Dickerson for an assignment. At first it was confusing to hear that Corey got DFA'd with no valid reason to why the move after coming off his best season in the show hitting .282 with 27 home runs in 150 games. In a few days after the move was made, the Pittsburgh Pirates came in to acquire the unloved left fielder. Since the Pirates didn't want to wait for Corey to decide whether to be released or accept staying in the minors for knowing that some other teams would jump on trying to pick him up soon. The Pirates had to give up reliever Daniel Hudson, infield prospect Tristan Gray, and $1 million for the 29 year old power hitting left fielder. This was a great lowkey move for the Pirates for not digging out there top prospects, giving up Daniel Hudson who is an overpaid reliever that hasn't even posted an under 4.25 era in the past 2 seasons, and $1 million which will be valued as pocket change once Corey starts playing everyday in Pittsburgh. Corey is on the young side of 29 entering in his prime with a lot of upside. Last summer he lost over 25 pounds and with no back pain allowing him to swing with no stress or extra weight holding him back having a dominant 1st half of the season giving him the call to the summer classic. Corey has natural raw power to all sides of the field now having a more steady and fluid swing that gives him the opportunity to elevate his launch angle and performance. Corey is also an average outfielder that is a determine to get the out when he can. He will putout for the play, jump over the wall, and throw out some batters too if it helps the get the win at the end of the day which is nice to see his passion for the game and the drive to win. The main reason why we think Corey got DFA in the first place is due to his performance in the second half of last season. The second half of the season was not as what Corey hoped for it to be getting tired at the end batting .242 with an OBP of .282 and SLG .408. His defense is also not the best and with playing 57 games at DH doesn't help his adjustments to being back in the NL playing at LF everyday. With his lack of speed could cause more fatigue playing in the outfield everyday which can hurt his hitting, but Corey did only commit 1 error in 93 games at LF with an above average arm, he just needs to be ready to play close to 110-130 games at LF. Clint Hurdle could decide to put Corey at 1st base sometimes when Josh Bell is resting but seems unlikely since the rookie 1st basemen played in 159 games at 1st base last year. To me I believe the 2nd half of Corey's season last year was just a fluke and can see him excel in Pittsburgh. Corey has played in the NL before with the Rockies so he's experienced everyday play in the NL. Also Corey gets to play in front of a real fan base compared to the Rays. Tampa is a dull team with no life from there players or fans while Pittsburgh can be one of the most exciting cities to watch baseball. Even with the Pirates departing ways with former MVP OF Andrew McCutchen and ace pitcher Gerrit Cole, the Pirates still can compete this year with the boost of Dickerson adding power to the middle of the lineup. If the Pirates start to tank we can see them start shipping out the rest of there high leveled players in Josh Harrison, Starling Marte, and Corey Dickerson, but depends on how 2018 will go. We know Corey can't live up to what McCutchen brought to the Iron City, but he is a solid replacement to recover to makeup for. If Corey is healthy with the improved lineup that he's now penciled in everyday in the heart of the lineup. We can see Corey playing in 120-145 games batting 265-285 with 20-32 home runs and 75-95 rbi's. Corey is a solid player that got dealt a band hand. Corey's now in the house and ready for vengeance with helping the Pirates get out of there funk this upcoming season.
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