Dickerson acquisition can only help, but he can’t pitch
PHILADELPHIA >> Matt Klentak worked overtime on Trade Deadline Wednesday, not only adding a versatile outfielder who if healthy should become a Phillies lineup fixture but also picking up a minor-league reliever.
The significant move was acquiring outfielder Corey Dickerson from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a chunk of international signing bonus money and a player to be named later.
Dickerson, 30, who has been battling chronic groin and knee problems, only played 43 games for the Pirates this season. But he’s hitting .317 with four home runs and 25 RBIs and has posted a .931 OPS. He could be available for Thursday’s series closer against the Giants.
He was an All-Star with Tampa Bay in 2017 and won a National League Gold Glove in 2018 with the Pirates.
Once that announcement was made, the GM said he’d made another deal, picking up righthanded reliever Dan Straily from the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations.
Straily was assigned to Class AAA Lehigh Valley and will offer organizational bullpen depth. The Phillies need that after offseason acquisition David Robertson said Wednesday that his season was over due elbow issues. Robertson will require surgery that could shelve him into next season or beyond.
The latest plot twist out of the frantic front office is much more positive. And Klentak likes to be positive.
“Obviously, we got what we got,” the general manager enthused. “Today was the culmination of two months of roster building.”
He pointed to a string of changes and additions through the course of the season, and not only those changes spurred by the failure of a few members of the starting rotation and banged-up bullpen.
For offensive purposes, Klentak acquired Jay Bruce earlier on to hit home runs and man an outfield spot. He recently brought in Brad Miller to hit gappers and play a little back-up infield. Both moves have worked out, even though both players have been injured.
There was the quiet recent addition of Logan Morrison, who two years ago hit 38 homers for Tampa Bay and has joined the IronPigs. And now comes Dickerson, who is the most viable replacement for the done-for-the-year Andrew McCutchen that Klentak was able to come up with at the deadline.
As for the pitching, Klentak is pumping up the prospect of Drew Smyly continuing to find himself after missing two complete seasons due to elbow problems and Tommy John surgery. And the GM is hoping that Monday acquisition Jason Vargas can get people out while not calling out any sports writers.
Straily, 30, was 2-4 with a 9.82 ERA for the Orioles. In eight major-league seasons, he is 44-40 with a 4.56 ERA.
“It’s not about one day,” Klentak said. “It’s not about today’s transactions or yesterday’s. It’s really about what we’ve done the past few weeks or even months.”
And yet, realistically, Klentak did not land the second starter so desperately needed. The Phillies, who have Jake Arrieta going at about 60 percent efficiency or so due to bone spurs, simply don’t have a proven and reliable second ace to understudy for Aaron Nola.
No. 5 starter Vince Valesquez went from starter to reliever and back to starter. The Nos. 3 and 4, Nick Pivetta and Zach Eflin, are auditioning in the bullpen.
But hope has been found in Smyly, picked up out of the minors a couple of weeks ago and rock solid in two starts. He’ll be joined in the rotation Friday night by the aging ex-Met Vargas, who at the very least should eat up innings with his 85 mph slowballs. Not ideal. Just what they got. “I say this and it really is true — we’re looking for opportunities to make the team better,” Klentak said. He compared this year’s Dickerson pickup to last year’s Wilson Ramos deadline acquisition and added, “We go in with eyes wide open to evaluate the market and see what is out there and that’s partially what led to Corey Dickerson today.
“This was a really good player that was available to us without needing to give up anybody from the top of our system,” Klentak added. “He’s a really good player that will help us. We were focused on starters today and in the last few days. We were focused on the bullpen as well. We were focused on some bats. And, you know, we acquired a little bit of each of those things the last week.”
“I’ve got great teammates here, had fun with these guys,” Dickerson said of his Pirates mates, a day after they were involved in a bases-clearing free-for-all against the Reds. “It kind of stinks to leave them, but also it’s an opportunity to play somewhere and they’re contending and just be a piece to try to help.
“Just get there when I can and go over everything that’s been going on and start talking about opportunity and what the plan is.”
When and if Dickerson is ready to go, Gabe Kapler has no shortage of game plans.
“He’s a guy that can play regularly for us,” the manager said. “He can certainly play multiple positions for us and hit in various spots in the lineup; against righthanded pitching he’s especially effective in his career. He’s made some really notable adjustments along the way, he has a strikeout rate that is really an impressive feat in this league.
“Yeah, I think we’re really excited to have Corey.”