Corey Dickerson has ‘a lot to offer’ the Miami Marlins. How he fits into their plans.
Corey Dickerson remembered back to August, when the Philadelphia Phillies came to Marlins Park to face the Miami Marlins.
Once the three-game series came to an end — Philadelphia lost two of three games but Dickerson went 5 for 14 with three doubles and seven RBI — he remembered turning to his wife Beth Anne and saying something that ultimately became his Manifest Destiny.
“I could see myself playing here,” Dickerson said.
Four-and-a-half months later, Marlins Park is now Dickerson’s new home ballpark. He signed a two-year deal with the Marlins that became official Tuesday, making him the latest impact bat Miami has added to its lineup this offseason joining Jonathan Villar and Jesus Aguilar.
A one-time All-Star, one-time Gold Glove winner, and career .286 hitter with 115 home runs and 370 RBI will now patrol left field for the Marlins.
“He made a lot of sense,” Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said.
On multiple levels.
First, there’s the aforementioned offensive production, which the Marlins have targeted throughout the offseason. Dickerson, 30, has been a steady hitter for the entirety of his major-league career. Of his seven MLB seasons, the only time he finished below a .263 average was in 2016 when he hit .245 in his first of two seasons for the Tampa Bay Rays. He has driven in at least 50 runs in all five seasons that he has played at least 70 games and has hit at least 24 home runs in a season on three different occasions.
Being a left-handed hitter helps, too, considering the only Marlins regulars to who hit lefty are Isan Diaz and switch-hitter Villar. Platooning could very well be an option — the Marlins are loaded with outfield options for next season. Should he be the everyday guy in left field, though, Dickerson has proven he can handle right- and left-handed pitching.
Dickerson, 30, is a career .290 hitter against right-handed pitchers and has hit .272 against lefties.
“We’re going to give him every opportunity to get regular at-bats in left field,” Hill said.
Then, there’s his veteran presence. The Marlins tried this last season with the likes of Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker and Sergio Romo. Bring in players who have been where the Marlins want to be. Mentor the young guys on the roster. Help set the stage for the future.
Dickerson will be able to provide that while still being a viable player.
He also said he’s fully invested in the rebuild, which is heading into its third season and needs to show improvement after a 57-105 finish that was the worst in the National League.
“No matter who I play with,” Dickerson said, “I enjoy trying to get the best out of them and them getting the best out of me. I look forward to my new teammates and coaching staff and seeing what we can bring out of one another.”
Dickerson sees the up-and-coming talent the Marlins have on the big-league roster and waiting in the wings on the farm.
With the way Dickerson’s career has unfolded — preparing to join his fifth MLB team in eight seasons despite steady production — he is ready for the task of moving the Marlins in the right direction.
“A lot of people look at it as why would you choose to go somewhere in the phases of what they call a rebuild?” Dickerson said. “I actually love the process of getting ready and preparing for a game as much as I do playing a game. I feel like I have a lot to offer, especially the young guys. I’ve been through a lot in my career.”
For a synopsis of that career:
▪ Two-and-a-half seasons with the Colorado Rockies from his debut on June 22, 2013, to the end of the 2015 season. His offensive production was good — a .299 average, 39 home runs, 124 RBI in 265 games — but Dickerson now recognizes that he was, to use his own words, “almost unathletic” defensively, a side effect of his workout regimen. Plantar fasciitis and a rib injury sidelined him for a chunk of 2015.
“They didn’t know if I was going to be healthy,” Dickerson said.
▪ The Rockies traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays the ensuing offseason. He spent two years there, earning his first and to this point only All-Star Game nomination in 2017. Dickerson hit .282 that season, drove in 62 runs and set career bests with 27 home runs and 84 runs scored. But the Rays questioned his ability to hit high fastballs. They designated him for assignment.
▪ Next stop: The Pittsburgh Pirates, where he prioritized a new batting stance that helped increase his production. He hit .300 in 2018 with 35 doubles, 13 home runs, 55 RBI and 65 runs scored over 135 games and earned his first Gold Glove at season’s end. A shoulder injury sidelined him for the early part of the 2019 season. He was traded to the Phillies at the July 31 deadline after playing just 44 games. Dickerson played 34 games for Philadelphia before a fractured left foot ended his season. His stat line in that abbreviated 78-game season: .304 batting average, 28 doubles, 12 home runs, 59 RBI and 33 runs scored.
“Unfortunate injuries, but I grew a lot too,” said Dickerson, who added that he is out of his boot and his usual offseason regimen has not been impacted. “I learned every time from an injury. The big thing is mentally I was still competing and still had one of the best offensive years of my career. A couple things clicked with me this year for the first time. I was on pace for where I wanted to be.”
He plans to continue that trajectory with the Marlins.
“Each of those stages,” Dickerson said, “I learned something, critiqued myself and fixed my weaknesses. I think I’m becoming a better overall player every single year.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 3:46 PM.
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