The Atlanta Braves continue to round out the roster as they sign veteran left-handed hitter Alex Dickerson on a one-year deal on Tuesday.
When Alex Anthopoulos said he had to move from Freddie Freeman negotiations to start putting together this Atlanta Braves roster, he wasn’t joking.
Since the Matt Olson trade was announced on Monday he has since extended Olson, signed Collin McHugh, brought back Eddie Rosario, and now added to the depth of the team by signing Alex Dickerson.
The Atlanta #Braves today signed OF Alex Dickerson to a non-guaranteed, major-league contract worth $1 million.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 16, 2022
Welcome to Braves Country, Alex!#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/ZqntAVdugC
The Braves were in desperate need of finding some left-handed bats for a lineup that until Wednesday only feature one true left-handed bat in the form of Matt Olson.
Alex Anthopoulos has now added two left-handed bats with Rosario and Dickerson.
Braves Sign Alex Dickerson to 1-year deal
Dickerson is a 31-year-old (soon to be 32) outfielder who hits from the left side.
In 5 big leagues seasons, he’s slashing .260/.330/.420 with 39 home runs in 326 games.
He spent the 2021 season with the San Francisco Giants slashing .233/.304/.420 with 13 home runs in 283 at-bats.
In his career, he’s hit righties much better with a .810 OPS in 754 at-bats against right-handed pitching compared to .725 against righties.
According to the defensive metrics at FanGraphs, he’s a below-average left fielder where he’s spent most of his carrer. He’s certainly not an option for center field.
With the budget AA has left to work with, this is a great signing to add more depth to the outfield that will likely be short-handed to start the season.
And you get a left-handed bat off the bench who has some pop.
On top of that, there is little-to-no risk as it’s a non-guaranteed major league contract. Even if he does make the roster, it’s only $1 million.
This seems like another fantastic move by AA as he looks to put a bow on this offseason.