The Braves announced on Wednesday that they have signed a free outside player Alex Dickerson To an unsecured major league deal that comes with a base salary of $1 million. Dickerson, a client of Moye Sports Associates, will be put on a list of 40 players for now and report to Major League Spring Training.
Having played 95 games for the Padres through 2015 and 2016, some injuries cost him two full seasons, with a bulging disc and a torn UCL preventing him from playing at all in 2017 or 2018. In 2019, he splits his time between Padres and the Giants. He made 68 fights, made 190 hits, hit .276/.332/.489, wRC+ out of 112.
2020 was a massive breakthrough for the player, making 10 home runs in the pandemic shortened season, ending the campaign with a .298/.371/.576 streak, wRC+ of 151. Unfortunately, injuries hit again in 2021, limiting him to 111. Game and streak of .233/.304/.420, WRC+ of 97. The Giants appointed him for the mission in November to make room on the roster for Anthony Disclavani.
For Atlanta, this is a low-risk gamble on a player who showed flashes of intelligence when he was otherwise healthy. That $1 million is barely above the league’s minimum salary, which is now $700,000 in the new CBA. It’s also not guaranteed, meaning the club won’t be in trouble if Dickerson’s previous injury problems persist this year. Since it’s a no-guaranteed deal, Dickerson may earn a lower rate if he’s at the Palace rather than on the big league team. He could in theory turn down an optional assignment given he has more than five years of MLB service time, but it seems likely that he signed such a deal knowing that spending time in Triple-A might be a possibility.
For the Braves, their incredible run to the World Championships last year included acquiring a number of outside players who were due to hit free agency at the end of the year: Jorge SolerAnd the Jock Pederson And the Eddie Rosario. They have since re-signed with Rosario who will be joining Adam DuvalAnd the Marcel OzunaAnd the Guillermo HerediaAnd the Orlando ArchiaAnd the Travis Demerit And the Drew Waters in the external mixture. Ronald Akuna Jr. He is still recovering from a torn ACL and hopes to be back by May. This somewhat crowded image can be helped by the specific hitter app for this year’s National League teams. Dickerson never got positive reviews for his defence, which made him fit for some time in the DH slot, especially given his injury history.