Corey Dickerson Traded to Pirates; Rays Receive Daniel Hudson, Tristan Gray

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Thursday they acquired outfielder Corey Dickerson via trade from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Dickerson appeared in 150 games for Tampa Bay in 2017, slashing .282/.325/.490 with 27 home runs and 62 RBI as a solid source of power. Pittsburgh gave up pitcher Daniel Hudson, minor league infielder Tristan Gray and cash considerations to land him.

Dickerson played the first three seasons of his career with the Colorado Rockies and impressed with a .312/.364/.567 slash line, 24 home runs and a career-best 76 RBI in 2014. He was responsible for 2.5 wins above replacement that season and 2.6 in 2017 when he made his first All-Star Game, per FanGraphs.

He is just 28 years old and figures to help the Pirates replicate some of Andrew McCutchen's production in the outfield after they traded away the five-time All-Star and 2013 National League MVP to the San Francisco Giants this offseason.

Dickerson is not a noteworthy addition defensively considering he tallied minus-one defensive run saved in 2017, per FanGraphs, but Pittsburgh was an abysmal 29th in the league in home runs (151) last season and likely needs more power to compete with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers in 2018.

"Corey Dickerson adds a quality power threat to our lineup, as evidenced by his 60-plus extra base hits and 20-plus home runs each of the last two seasons," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement, per ESPN.com. "Corey is a driven player who will also add a quality presence to our clubhouse."

As for the players Tampa Bay received in the trade, Hudson appeared in 71 games for Pittsburgh last season and posted a 4.38 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 66 strikeouts in 61.2 innings. Gray played 53 games in Single-A in 2017 and slashed .269/.329/.486 with seven home runs.