Should the Pittsburgh Pirates look to reach a contract extension with
one of their top position players?
Entering the offseason the Pittsburgh Pirates, like every
team in baseball, had a list of needs. The team was, and still is, looking for
a new shortstop. They needed a right fielder until Gregory Polanco gets healthy and a
left-handed bat bench and the team filled both of these needs by signing Lonnie Chisenhall to a one-year
contract. Neal Huntington and company also remain in the market for left-handed
bullpen help, even after signing Tyler Lyons to a minor league
contract.
Another question entering the offseason was rather or not
the Pittsburgh Pirates should explore a contract extension with Corey Dickerson. On Friday, the Pirates and
Dickerson agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration. However, he remains
on track to hit free agency following the 2019 season.
After the team traded Austin Meadows to the Tampa Bay Rays
as part of last July’s Chris Archer trade, signing a contract
extension with Dickerson appeared to become important. It was even reported
that there was mutual interest between the two sides in an extension. That
extension, however, has yet to happen.
The 29-year-old Dickerson is coming off arguably the best
season of his career and is in the prime of his career. While Dickerson failed
to reach 20 home runs for the first time since 2015 last season, he still
slashed .300/.330/.472 with a .341 wOBA and a 115 wRC+. Dickerson’s 15.0%
strikeout rate was a new career low, and his .175 ISO was still above league
average.
One of the reason’s 2018 was arguably the best of
Dickerson’s career was his defense. After being known as a defensive liability
for much of his career, Dickerson won the National League Gold Glove for left
fielders. His strong defense contributed to his 2.7 fWAR. Outside of a 2.8 fWAR
in 2014, Dickerson had more value as a player in 2018 than in any other season
of his MLB career.
Another factor in a potential Dickerson extension is what
the Pirates have waiting in the pipeline. The team’s top outfield prospect is
last year’s first round draft pick – Travis Swaggerty.
Swaggerty will likely start 2019 at Low-A, but, due to being
an advanced college hitter, he has an opportunity to climb through the minors
quickly. Reaching the Majors by 2021 is a real possibility for Swaggerty.
Between the MLB level and Swaggerty there are Jason Martin and Bryan Reynolds. There are questions about
Martin’s ability to hit left-handed pitching enough to play every day, and
Reynolds projects as more of a fourth outfielder.
Due to all of these factors, trying to reach an extension
with Dickerson remains a smart idea for the Pirates. Signing Dickerson to a
three-year contract, replacing his arbitration contract for 2019, worth
somewhere in the ballpark of $36-40 million would be a more than fair contract
for Dickerson while also representing the value he brings.
A combination of strong offense and defense led to Corey
Dickerson quickly becoming a fan favorite during his first year in Pittsburgh.
This combination also made him one of the team’s best players. Now, the team
needs to make sure this marriage lasts longer than two seasons and sign
Dickerson to a contract extension.
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