Royals: Making the correct free agent gambles can make all the difference

Corey Dickerson is a very good outfielder. And, frankly, we need what he does.

Corey Dickerson should be Dayton Moore’s number one target this offseason. By all accounts, he checks all the boxes as a team-first kind of guy who provides positive leadership. He plays good defense, he does not like to take a walk, and he has never been overpaid in his entire career. It would be difficult to create a player in a lab better suited to play for Dayton Moore.

Corey Dickerson could work in left field if we allow Alex Gordon to ride off into the sunset, or over in right field. He has played both. He is a very good defender. He even won a Gold Glove in 2018.

Most importantly, he can hit. His worst season, as a hitter, came in his rookie campaign back in 2013. Even that year his OPS+ was 98, or just below league average. For those of you keeping the score at home, that is a couple of points higher than our best hitting outfielder in 2019.

Dickerson missed some games last year due to injury, but he is remarkably consistent throughout most of his career. He can be counted on to play over 110 games, hit more than 50 extra-base hits, carry a batting average just below .300, and hit for an OPS over .800.

He is also older than Marcell Ozuna and Nicholas Castellanos, the two free-agent outfielders that are looking for bigger contracts this offseason. 2020 will be Dickerson’s age 31 season. Last season he signed a one year deal for $8.5 million. If we can get him anywhere close to that, we would be getting a bargain. A bargain our corner outfield needs.