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Kansas City Royals should target Corey Dickerson in free agency

By Leigh Oleszczak

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - JUNE 10: Corey Dickerson (10) of the Rays hits a fly ball to the outfield during the MLB regular season game between the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays on June 10, 2017, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - JUNE 10: Corey Dickerson (10) of the Rays hits a fly ball to the outfield during the MLB regular season game between the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays on June 10, 2017, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Royals are in rebuild mode, but there are some free agents that could make sense to have in Kansas City. Corey Dickerson is one of them.

EDITOR’S NOTE – Corey Dickerson is not technically a free agent, but the Royals could still either put a waiver in on him or could attempt to trade for him.

The Tampa Bay Rays shocked the baseball world when they designated Corey Dickerson for assignment on Saturday night. Dickerson is just 28 years old and made it to the All-Star Game last season as the designated hitter. The Kansas City Royals should make an attempt to bring Dickerson in.

The move by the Rays is certainly surprising (unless they have something up their sleeves), as Dickerson slashed .282/.325/.490 with 27 home runs and 62 RBI in 588 at bats last season. He split time between the outfield and as the designated hitter, which is something he could replicate in Kansas City.

We all know that the Royals have a plethora of outfielders, but none really instill a lot of confidence for the fan base. Obviously Alex Gordon is a five-time Gold Glove winner and acquiring Dickerson could permanently put Gordon in center, as Dickerson has predominantly played in left field during his career.

People are shocked by this move, as they should be. Dickerson had a phenomenal 2017 season and would be a great addition to a Royals team that could use some pop.

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With Eric Hosmer signing with the Padres, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Royals say “Eh” and just move on with their offseason plans. This would mean not going after any free agents and just completely tearing everything down.

Yes, the Royals have a lot of outfielders, which is what makes this signing unlikely. Dickerson hasn’t played in center field since the 2015 season, so if he were brought in, Gordon would be shifted to center (which is a strong possibility as it is due to his range), but this would still be a smart move for the Royals.

Again, will the Kansas City Royals go after Corey Dickerson? Probably not. They’ve been dumping salary right and left this winter, trading Scott Alexander, Ryan Buchter, Brandon Moss, and Joakim Soria in their quest to retain Eric Hosmer and start the process of rebuilding all over again. That probably doesn’t make them contenders to try and bring Dickerson in, but we can dream, right?

For what it’s worth, the Royals have Jorge Bonifacio and Jorge Soler as the main candidates to DH (throw Salvador Perez in there from time to time), but Bonifacio would be my vote to have man right field on a daily basis. Dickerson could be another DH candidate and could also play the outfield.

Days when he were to designate hit could be when Alex Gordon plays left and Paulo Orlando could maybe spent some time in center. The Royals have tons of center field options, but Gordon has good range and Dickerson has tons of experience in the outfield.

What do you think Royals fans? Would you be okay with the team bringing in Corey Dickerson?

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