Cardinals Sign OF Corey Dickerson
ESPN’s Mark Feinsand reports that the St. Louis Cardinals have signed outfielder Corey Dickerson to a 1-year deal worth $5M with additional performance bonuses.
The 32-year old fits the need of a left-handed bat that Cardinals President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak was searching for. St. Louis currently has Lars Nootbar as a left-handed fourth outfielder, so this would allow both to platoon from the bench or one to occasionally see time at the DH.
Dickerson had previously signed a 2-year $17.5M contract with the Miami Marlins during the 2019-20 offseason. In 2020 he slashed .258/.311/.402 with 7 HR & 17 RBI in the covid-shortened year. He played 63 games for the fish in 2021 before landing on the IL and was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays where he finished the season. Between Miami & Toronto, Corey had a slashline of .271/.326/.408 with 6 HR and 29 RBI.
Dickerson put up decent numbers for the Colorado Rockies during his first 3 seasons with a .299 avg. over that span, and hitting 24 HR for the Rox in 2014. The next 2 seasons for the Tampa Bay Rays, he slashed a combine .265/.310/.480 hitting 24 HR & a career high 27 HR respectively. He was named an AL All-Star in 2017.
Cardinal fans got familiar with Dickerson during his 2018-2019 seasons where he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and slashed .303/.339/.490 during that campaign before finishing 2019 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
This is a move (that as mentioned), provides both outfield depth and a left-handed bat for St. Louis. Dickerson’s .277/.330/.419 slashline (104 wRC+) in 132 plate appearances versus right-handed pitching makes him a viable option and a solid addition to the Cardinals roster.