On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals found their left-handed bench bat, signing outfielder Corey Dickerson to a one-year, $5 million contract.
Dickerson figures to be one of the Cards’ DH options for the 2022 season, with players such as Lars Nootbaar and Juan Yepez getting some chances as well. He’ll likely be the top candidate to fill that role and a fail-safe should Yepez and Nootbaar not pan out.
Overall, this is a pretty good signing for the Cardinals. After Brad Miller departed last offseason, the Cards were without a go-to bench option for much of the season. As a result, bench production was severely lacking, as Matt Carpenter’s downward spiral continued.
Dickerson provides some much-needed pop in the Cardinals lineup. In 109 games with the Marlins and the Blue Jays, Dickerson hit .271 with six homers and 29 RBIs in 2021. He struggled early on in Miami before his production picked up significantly in Toronto.
Of course, Dickerson is not a 30-plus home run hitter, though he has had 20-plus home run seasons in the past. He’s a solid average hitter and can give you about 10-15 home runs per season.
Some Cardinals fans who may have wanted somebody like Kyle Schwarber may be disappointed, but the reality is, the Cards were never going to sign Schwarber. This is probably the best move they could have made without signing Schwarber.
Plus, you don’t want to take at-bats away from Nootbaar and Yepez, both of whom have tremendous upside, and Dickerson is a cost-efficient pickup. Granted, St. Louis had some extra money to spend this offseason after Carpenter, Andrew Miller, Carlos Martinez, and Kwang-Hyun Kim’s contracts were taken off the books. But it was unrealistic to ever assume they were going to be in on Schwarber, Carlos Correa, or Trevor Story.
All the Cards needed to do here was plug a hole with somebody who was serviceable and can put up solid numbers. Dickerson can do just that, while also potentially spelling one of the main outfielders for a day off if need be.
Dickerson is exactly the man the Cardinals need and is a good signing that should help boost their offense in 2022.
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