Pirates get Dickerson in trade

Rays deal slugger for pitcher and minor leaguer

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.—Tampa Bay traded AllStar designated hitter Corey Dickerson to Pittsburgh on Thursday in exchange for relief pitcher Daniel Hudson, minor league infielder Tristan Gray and cash.

The 28-year-old Dickerson was designated for assignment last Saturday. He was the AL’s starting DH in last summer’s All-Star game, but struggled at the plate the second half of the season. The trade lets the Rays shed Dickerson’s $5.95 million salary.

Hudson is a 30-year-old right-hander who went 2-7 with a 4.38 ERA in a careerhigh 71 appearances in 2017. He’s 37-30 with a 3.98 career ERA over eight seasons with the Pirates, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Hudson has 59 career starts, but primarily as a reliever since returning from a second Tommy John surgery in 2015.

Dickerson batted .282 with 27 home runs and 62 RBIs last season. He was obtained from the Colorado Rockies in January 2016 and hit .265 with 51 homers and 132 RBIs over the past two years.

Gray was a 13th-round pick of the Pirates in 2017. He spent his first pro season with Short-A West Virginia in the New York-Penn League, batting .269 with seven homers and 37 RBIs in 53 games.

Pirates owner Bob Nutting said Thursday that the team won’t stray from its roster strategy even if some of its moves are unpopular with fans. Pittsburgh traded away two of its top players, outfielder Andrew McCutchen and pitcher Gerrit Cole, in exchange for six younger players, including pitcher Joe Musgrove and third baseman Colin Moran, who will be on the opening day roster.

The turnover comes after the Pirates missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons.

“We’ve made a clear directional shift this offseason,” Nutting said. “No question, this team is going to be stronger in 2019 and ‘20 than it would have been without those trades.”