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The Colorado Rockies made a puzzling move on Thursday, trading outfielder Corey Dickerson and a minor league pitcher to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for left-handed reliever Jake McGee and a minor leaguer. The prospects, German Marquez (Rockies) and Kevin Padlo (Rays) aren't of much consequence.
On the surface, trading a reliever for a starting outfielder doesn't make a lot of sense. Looking deeper, it's even worse. Dickerson has four years of club control remaining before he hits free agency, while the fastball-happy McGee only has two. Both players spent some time on the disabled list last season, but Dickerson is a year removed from a 2.5 WAR season in part-time duty. McGee, while very good, is still a reliever. Early winner: Rays, even as Purple Row tries to spin some positivity from it.
It gets worse, though. The Rockies had a surplus of outfielders after signing Gerardo Parra earlier this offseason, but were prepared to offset that by introducing the injury-prone Carlos Gonzalez to first base. Dickerson himself also could have moved to first -- it's not that hard, Scott -- or the Rockies could have done what any other sensible team would have: wait until a better offer comes along.
This move would have been defensible if the Rockies were close to contention, but they aren't. Instead, Twitter is laughing at them yet again. It's the latest in a series of questionable moves, most notably the lackluster return from trading Troy Tulowitzki last July.
So, the next time you see Victor Martinez hobble down the first base line, remember that things could be worse.
All of the Fister puns
On the other end of the questionable moves spectrum, we have the Houston Astros, who agreed with Doug Fister on a one-year, $7 million contract on Thursday. Fister had a rough go in 2015, losing nearly two miles per hour on his fastball as he dealt with elbow issues. Fangraphs' Jeff Sullivan points out that this is a bad sign, as that velocity usually doesn't come back.
It's a worthwhile gamble for the Astros -- Fister's deal could potentially reach $12 million, but there's no option for 2017 -- but you have to wonder why they didn't go bigger at any point this offseason.
The Tigers' portion of this post since we're a Tigers website
Arbitration cases were handled swiftly and silently under former general manager Dave Dombrowski, so J.D. Martinez's lingering case has everyone a bit worried. There is still time for the two sides to agree on a final number, and my gut feeling says they're discussing more than just 2016. The two sides are $2 million apart, and I have a hard time seeing them putting the squeeze on Martinez after giving Justin Upton $132 million. Long-term talks may be in play.
The spring training hats are still awful.