Mets Should Put a Package Together for the Rockies Corey Dickerson

The Mets should try to work a deal for Rockies  OF Corey Dickerson. They have a surplus of OF talent and when Car-Go returns to LF in about a month Dickerson will return to the bench. The Mets have what the Rockies need-pitching and a 2B. Right now the Rockies have a team ERA of 4.82. It is a horror show-even by Coors standards.Their rotation features Jorge De La Rosa (4.75), the recently demoted Juan Nicasio (5.92), Jhoulys Chacin (4.53) and rookie Tyler Matzek (5.19). 

How bad is it? It’s been so bad on the hill for Colorado that they re-converted reliever Franklin Morales back into a starter with dreadful results (5.70).Luck hasn’t been on their side either. After two decent starts minor league call-up Christian Bergman gets lit up for 7 runs vs. the Brewers oh, and yesterday was put on the DL with a broken hand.  Welcome to the house of horrors that is the Rockie rotation Christian Friedrick. 

It’s true Colorado possess two stud hurlers Eddie Butler and Jon Gray. Neither appear quite ready to join the major league rotation. Gray is still at AAA Colorado Springs while Butler had a lackluster big league debut vs. the Dogders- 6 runs in 5 IP-before winding up on the DL with an inflamed shoulder. Since a 26-20 start their season has made a downward spiral to 8 games below .500-35-43 after losing to the Cards 9-6 on Sunday.  The bullpen has some strong arms in Rex Brothers and Adam Ottavino but with its pitching staff getting torched on a regular basis more arms are always needed. At the keystone they’ve survived with the likes of DJ LeMahieu and the disappointing Josh Rutledge. Fortunately for the Rockies the Mets possess some assets it sorely needs and the Rockies possess a corner OF hitting machine with power in Dickerson. 

I realize the Mets are currently “loaded” in the OF with a six-pack that includes such name players as Chris Young, Bobby Abreu and Curtis Granderson. Of the trio, Young’s recent power onslaught aside, he and Abreu are more 2008 than 2014-hell Abreu is more 1998! I’m not saying that Bobby A. hasn’t hit well but his value is as a part-time player at this point. I’m not going to even mention Eric Young Jr. because why bother. As long as Terry is in NY he isn’t going anywhere because y’know, “when Eric Young is in the lineup and he gets on base, we win,” just another example of more TC pretzel logic.   

Enough about the Capt. Queeg of Queens let’s get back to the idea of the trade. Who would the Mets offer for Dickerson? Well, I’d center it around Jake deGrom and Wilmer Flores with possibly one of Gonzalez German, Jeurys Familia or Vic Black to fill out the deal. They might instead covet Jenrry Mejia because of his ability to start and relieve so he’d be on the table as the third piece as well. 

Wait a minute you say-a 3 for 1 swap for a 25 year-old with only 338 ML at-bats? It may seem like lot to give up but Dickerson has been raking since being drafted in the 8^th round in the 2010 draft. This season he’s slashing .354/.410/.667 overall and .288/.354/.929 on the road so he’s not just a product of thin Colorado air. 

I mention deGrom because his sinking fastball would play well at Coors where keeping the ball down is an obvious pre-requisite to success there. Gee is also the type of pitcher who could fare well in the Rocky Mountain air-in three career starts there he is 2-1 with a 4.03 ERA. They might be hesitant on Gee because of his recent injury so deGrom could be more desirable to Colorado. If the Rockies asked for either Matz or Syndegaard it would be a deal breaker. Dickerson is good but that’s too much to sacrifice. 

The position player I’d offer would be Flores. Why? Well, first it’s obvious the Mets don’t value him enough to even play him ahead of Tejada at SS. Also, because the Rockies could use some offense at the keystone. Much like his success at the hitters paradise in Vegas I’d have to think Flores would flourish in the thin air at Coors. His ability to play 2B-SS-3B also would be a plus in case the oft-injured Tulo needs time off. 

Offensively he’s also a huge upgrade over the LeMahieu/Rutledge duo. The Mets don’t really have a place for him to play everyday and he fits a definite Rockie need. Also, this move would allow the Mets to lock up Murphy long-term because instead of spending FA $$$ on an OF this offseason the team would have the inexpensive who isn’t arbitration eligible until 2017 and can’t be a FA until 2020. It would also decrease the Mets need to rush Conforto or bid on a expensive lottery ticket on Cuban OF prospect Yasmani Tomas. 

Back for a minute to Dickerson-away from home, he currently has a road BABIP of .340 which puts him the neighborhood of Dexter Fowler (.340), Angel Pagan (.338) and Michael Bourn (.343). Think about this-even if Dickerson gives you .260-.270 12-15 HR and an OPS south of .750 it’s a vast improvement over what they’ve had so far. I also believe he would far exceed those numbers. 

 

What do you think? Should the Mets make a run at the talented OF? If so, who would you offer in deal?