Padres trade Alex Dickerson to San Francisco, acquire Franklin Van Gurp
Credit: AP Photo
Less than a week after being designated for assignment, Alex Dickerson is on the move.
The Poway native has been sent to the San Francisco Giants in a trade for minor league reliever Franklin Van Gurp.
After being acquired way back in 2013 from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jaff Decker and Miles Mikolas, Dickerson made his Major League debut in 2015 but didn’t really get playing time until the 2016 season, when he hit .257/.333/.455 with 10 homers, 16 doubles, a pair of triples and five stolen bases.
It was the last season where he would be able to hit the field as injuries to his back took out his 2017 season while the 2018 campaign was derailed thanks to Tommy John surgery.
He finally got back to baseball activities in 2019 and scorched PCL pitching once he got to Triple-A El Paso, collecting a batting line of .372/.469/.606 with five home runs and five doubles. His production was enough to earn himself a promotion to the big league club after three years of injuries.
However, he struggled in his return, collecting only three singles in 19 at-bats while failing to record a walk. Eventually, he was designated for assignment when Miguel Diaz came off the injured list.
Padres announce they have acquired RHP Franklin Van Gurp from the Giants in exchange for OF Alex Dickerson, who they DFA’d last week.
Van Gurp is a 23-year-old reliever who has been pitching in Single-A.— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) June 10, 2019
The sheer amount of outfielders in the Padres’ system made Dickerson the odd man out. Franmil Reyes and Hunter Renfroe have firm holds on the corner outfield spots, while Wil Myers and Manny Margot split time in centerfield when Myers isn’t slotted in one of the outfield corners. With Franchy Cordero and Travis Jankowski slated to return from injuries and Josh Naylor impressing in his major league debut, Dickerson was ultimately squeezed out.
He will now get an opportunity to play in San Francisco. The return for Dickerson is intriguing, as Van Gurp was a 25th round pick out of Florida International University in the 2017 MLB Draft and has been used exclusively as a reliever. He has spent a majority of his time in 2019 with the Class-A Augusta GreenJackets, pitching to a 2-0 record with four saves and a 3.77 ERA, 3.64 FIP, and a 2.78 xFIP. In 28.2 innings pitched, Van Gurp sports an impressive 12.56 K/9 and a 2.83 BB/9. He is an interesting name to keep an eye on and, should he develop, could develop into a good reliever for the Padres.
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Good trade. Tough luck for Dickerson, he never really got his chance with all the injuries. The club should look to trade another OF soon.