Trade Analysis: Alex Dickerson

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres recently announced that they designated four players for assignment. Brad Brach, Jose De Paula, Miles Mikolas, and Jaff Decker were taken off the 40-man roster in order to add Josh Johnson and multiple prospects who needed to be protected from being taken in the Rule 5 draft. When players are designated for assignment, teams are given ten days before they have to waive, release, or trade the player. The Padres designated four very promising players for assignment, something that was inevitable considering the immense amount of depth on the roster. None of the four players were expected to make it through waivers, so the Padres dangled the players as trade bait. They were able to trade reliever Brad Brach for a future reliever in Devin Jones; the Padres were actually disappointed in what they were offered for the once promising late inning specialist.  Pitcher Jose De Paula was eventually waived and claimed by San Francisco. In a deal that the Padres (and myself) liked much more, Jaff Decker and Miles Mikolas were traded to the Pirates in exchange for former third round pick and Poway High School graduate Alex Dickerson.

Here is the basic scouting report on Dickerson. He is a very big guy (6’3, 235) and has power from the left side of the plate. He has averaged 40 doubles for every 600 at bats as a minor leaguer and has quite a bit of raw power. He is a career .295 hitter in the minors, and has 33 home runs to his name. The one thing he struggles with is that he may be a slightly over-aggressive approach as a hitter, lacking the proper patience to be in a major league lineup on a day to day basis. He was originally drafted to be a first baseman, but he currently profiles as more of an outfielder. There are major questions about his defensive make-up. He certainly will not end up in center field. He could very well end up being a decent outfielder, but don’t expect him to be a gold glover! I kid… I kid… He could win a gold glove if he hits well enough, because gold gloves always tend to be about hitting instead defense (see Jeter, Derek). Anyway, Dickerson has a power bat and could find his way on the Padres roster if he turns enough heads in spring training. I’d expect to see him start out in El Paso or San Antonio depending on his performance.

I actually was pleasantly surprised about how good Dickerson is. I didn’t expect for San Diego to get so much in return for Mikolas and Decker, but I expected more from Brach. I see Dickerson as a future major leaguer some day, whether it be as a bench bat or a starting outfielder remains to be seen!