Yahoo Lifestyle Phillies acquire Corey Dickerson, who could play for two different teams in one day
The Philadelphia Phillies need to shore up their bench and their entire pitching staff if they want to make a play for the National League wild-card, and they crossed one of those off their list before the trade deadline on Wednesday.
#Phillies have acquired outfielder Corey Dickerson from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for international signing bonus money and a player to be named later. pic.twitter.com/hou2qbvBLa
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 31, 2019
The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded left fielder Corey Dickerson to the Phillies for, well, almost nothing. The Phillies are giving up international bonus allotments and Dylan Cozens to acquire him, reports MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
That seems a little bonkers, because Dickerson is currently hitting .317/.376/.556 this season, though only over 43 games. Dickerson missed a big chunk of the season with a shoulder strain, and has been minimally available over the past month due to recurrent groin issues. But the Pirates are famously cheap, and not only are they getting international bonus money from the Phillies, they don’t have to pay the last two months of Dickerson’s $8.5 million salary.
The Phillies, who are still flush with cash (despite the Bryce Harper contract), have no problem spending a little to make their team better. Dickerson adds some much-needed depth to their bench, which has been thin since Jay Bruce went on the IL with a strained oblique.
Dickerson, 30, could have the chance to do something rare and special on Wednesday. He pinch hit in the Pirates’ game against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday afternoon before he was traded, and the Phillies don’t play until 7 p.m. ET. That means it’s possible he could play for two different teams in the same day.
How rare would that be? You only need one hand to count the number of players who have done it.
If he gets in tonight's #Phillies game, Corey Dickerson would be the first player since 1982 to play for two teams on the same day pic.twitter.com/JN2fFDFcYG
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) July 31, 2019
The Pirates-Reds game ended just before 3:30pm, which gives Dickerson 3 1/2 hours to make it to the Phillies game and do something very few players get the chance to do. Will Dickerson be able to catch a flight to Philly and make it to the ballpark? Will the Phillies even have a uniform ready for him if he does? If this is the biggest move the Phillies make at the trade deadline, this is the kind of drama their fans will be faced with.
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