PORT CHARLOTTE (620 WDAE) — The Tampa Bay Rays appeared to have found their first baseman for 2018.
The Rays announced Saturday that they have acquired first baseman C.J. Cron from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for a player to be named later.
However, to make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Corey Dickerson has been designated for assignment.
The release from the team is below:
The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired first baseman C.J. Cron from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for a player to be named. To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder/designated hitter Corey Dickerson was designated for assignment.
Cron, 28, appeared in 100 games with 92 starts, all at first base, for the Angels in 2017, batting .248/.305/.437 (84-for-339) with 14 doubles, 16 home runs and 56 RBI. Despite a stint on the 10-day disabled list with a left foot contusion and two stints in the minor leagues, his 16 home runs tied a career high (also 2016, 2015) and his 56 RBI were the second-most of his career (69 in 2016). In 63 games (60 starts) after the All-Star break, he hit .267/.326/.512 (58-for-217) with nine doubles, 14 home runs and 42 RBI, which tied for second on the Angels behind Albert Pujols (47).
Cron has split each of the last four seasons between the Angels and Triple-A Salt Lake. He has hit .262/.307/.449 (358-for-1,366) with 59 home runs and 213 RBI over 408 games in the majors. He has recorded at least 10 home runs each year, becoming the third Angel with double-digit homers in each of his first four seasons, joining Wally Joyner (1986-89) and Mike Napoli (2006-09). As a rookie in 2014, he made the Angels postseason roster and started all three games against the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series as the designated hitter.
Dickerson, 28, was elected by the fans as the starting designated hitter for the AL at the 2017 All-Star Game in Miami, his first career appearance. He became the fourth Ray to start an All-Star Game, with the previous three coming in 2010: third baseman Evan Longoria (won fan vote), left fielder Carl Crawford (won fan vote) and left-handed pitcher David Price (named starter by manager). In 2017, Dickerson established career highs with 150 games, 84 runs, 166 hits, 64 extra-base hits, 27 home runs, 288 total bases and 51 multi-hit games. He was the AL’s outright leader in batting avg. through June 26 (.330), the latest into a season by date that a Ray led the AL batting race.
Dickerson was acquired by the Rays from the Colorado Rockies in January 2016. In two seasons with the club, he hit .265/.310/.480 (291-for-1,098) with 51 home runs and 132 RBI in 298 games. Over parts of five seasons in the majors with the Rockies (2013-15) and Rays, he has hit .280/.325/.504 (546-for-1,952) with 90 home runs and 256 RBI