Rockies, Rays trade Corey Dickerson, Jake McGee, Prospects

The Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays completed a four player trade on Thursday, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported. 

Two Major Leaguers are involved in the trade. Outfielder Corey Dickerson is headed to the Rays in the deal, and relief pitcher Jake McGee heads to the Rockies.

​Two minor league prospects, one from each team, are involved in the deal as well. High-A right-hander German Marquez is Rockies-bound. The Rays are receiving Single-A third baseman Kevin Padlo. 

This swap had already been mentioned as a possibility earlier this week. 

Rosenthal and Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported a that the Rockies might be more inclined to deal Dickerson as compared to other outfielders Carlos Gonzalez or Charlie Blackmon. Topkin even mentioned McGee as a possible target for Colorado. 

This is a curious trade from the Rockies perspective. I wrote a column two days ago about what Colorado's course of action is. A back-end relief pitcher is a luxury for a non-contending team, but yet the Rockies went out and got one in McGee.

The Rockies have revamped their bullpen this offseason, signing free agent righties Chad Qualls and Jason Motte and now going out and getting McGee. Last year, the team had the highest bullpen ERA in the Majors, so they established that as a need this offseason and went out and got three new relievers. 

McGee, 29, has little closing experience in Tampa Bay, but is one of the most dominant relief pitchers in the game. 

He went 1-2 last year and sported a 2.41 ERA and a 48 to 8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 37 1/3 innings, adding six saves in 10 opportunities. McGee missed the beginning of the 2015 season due to minor elbow surgery. 

In giving up a good relief pitcher, the Rays got four seasons of control of outfielder Corey Dickerson. He slides right into the heart of their order and will likely play right field. 

The 26-year-old Dickerson, who does not become a free agent until after the 2019 season, broke out in 2014. Like McGee, Dickerson missed time this season, his injuries coming in the form of plantar fasciitis and two fractured ribs.

Last year, Dickerson hit .304/.333/.536 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs in 234 plate appearances. He was worth 0.5 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs.   

The Rays are basically turning two years of control of McGee into four years of control of Dickerson. 

--Devan Fink

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