The Reds have reached an agreement on a minor league contract with free-agent infielder Derek Dietrich, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll be in Major League camp and compete for a roster spot. The contract, according to Rosenthal, has a base salary north of $2MM if Dietrich makes the big league roster. He’s represented by SportsMeter.
It registers as a somewhat of a surprise that Dietrich, who’ll play most of the upcoming season at age 29, had to settle for a non-guaranteed pact on the heels of yet another solid season at the plate. The Marlins cut him loose rather than pay a salary projected to be worth more than $4MM, but Dietrich still seemed like a candidate to land a big league deal after hitting a combined .262/.344/.428 (114 OPS+) over the past four seasons. This past season, he logged career-highs in plate appearances (551), home runs (16) and doubles (26).
While Dietrich has proven himself to be a solid bat, he’s also proven to be a defensive liability. Second base, left field and third base have been his most frequent positions at the MLB level, and he’s drawn negative ratings at each spot from both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. However, the outfield corners are the only spots where Dietrich’s glove has graded out at a particularly alarming level (-23 DRS, -16 in 1120 innings). His defense at second base and third base has been sub-par but not abysmal, and he’s been worth 4.7 wins above replacement overall through the past three seasons, per Fangraphs.
Looking around the Cincinnati roster, it doesn’t appear as though there’ll be everyday at-bats for Dietrich, barring an injury in camp. Joey Votto is entrenched at first base, while Scooter Gennett and Eugenio Suarez have second base and third base, respectively, locked down. The outfield corners don’t present an avenue for regular playing time, either, as the Reds currently have Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Jesse Winker and Scott Schebler all in that mix already. Top prospect Nick Senzel is looming in Triple-A as well, and he seems likely to get a look in center field this season (though he’s a natural infielder).
Dietrich, however, can give the Reds a quality left-handed bat off the bench — one who can handle multiple spots around the diamond. Backup catcher Curt Casali and whichever of Schebler, Kemp, Puig and Winker aren’t starting on a given day will fill additional bench spots. Once Senzel arrives on the scene, that mix will only be deepened.
If Dietrich makes the Reds’ roster and proves to be an asset they’d like to retain beyond the 2019 season, they’ll have the opportunity to do so via arbitration. Dietrich has four years, 151 days of Major League service, meaning he’ll fall shy of six years of service next winter and once again be arbitration-eligible. A lot will need to break right for Dietrich between now and then, but it’s certainly plausible to think that he could parlay today’s agreement into a multi-year run with the Reds.
Nice addition
Agreed. Too bad he can’t backup SS?
Good depth for an already deep infield unit.
Good pick up I like it
I bet he’ll make the Opening Day Roster
I like Dietrich, but I find it hard to see a path to him making the roster. As it stands, I think there’s really two spots up for grabs. Connor Joe or Kyle Farmer will likely make the team as a third catcher/backup INF (as insurance early in the season given that Curt Casali is coming off of surgery), and then Casali and the 4th outfielder have bench spots as well. That leaves two more spots. One of those two spots will likely either go to Senzel on Opening Day, or very shortly after once they gain the extra control. If (and this is a big if) they believe either Senzel or Suárez are legitimate options to backup Peraza if needed, then I can see Dietrich getting the final spot. If not, his best chance is holding down a spot for Senzel for two weeks, and hoping he shows enough in that amount of time not to be cut.
You don’t think Senzel could be the fill in SS? Or even Suarez if they needed a game or two there. If Peraza went down for an extended period of time I’d imagine they would address that but if it’s only a spot start here and there I’m not sure they wouldn’t be open to doing that.
Bell has already said he’s going with a 13 man pitching staff to begin the year. That leaves 4 bench spots to fill. 1 of the 4 outfielders, my guess is Schebler, and Casali are locks. I think we all agree Senzel will have one, that would leave us with 1 remaining spot. I see them using Senzel in a more of a utility role, with very regular playing time. If that is correct Connor Joe or Farmer would have less value as they’d be a weaker version of Senzel. That opens the door for Blake Trahan, a defensive oriented SS, with good wheels.
Dietrich had some pretty interesting home/away splits last year; .290avg/.859 OPS away compared to a .239avg/ .643OPS at home. Much friendlier hitting home ball park along with a more potent lineup should bode well if/when Dietrich gets an opportunity to play.
Terrible defender + not enough offense to be a DH = AAAA.
What is AAAA? Is this a play off of your name?
It’s supposed to be a player whose slightly better than a AAA player, slightly worse than a MLBer. It really doesn’t describe Dietrich; an OPS of 114+ and a .772 slash, in a terrible park (with a terrible team) makes him better than that.
But the defense is a case where it’s worse than the metrics. It’s really bad, just about anywhere.
OTOH, he’s always played hard, has some versatility, runs the bases OK…..not a bad guy off the bench at all. 2M/year for that package is cheap.
It’s hard to believe he’s that bad at every defensive position. The guy looks to be in great shape. It’s a mystery there isn’t somewhere on the baseball field he can be close to average at with some work. Maybe he’s been moved around too much in Miami? I don’t know but I’d think there was somewhere the guy could play
0.2 bWAR 0.8 fWAR last year = AAAA
“plays hard” ok fine but he doesn’t play well…
Just because your fantasy league doesn’t use defense does not mean he is a viable MLBer. He belongs at AAA as depth.
Do you think baseball skills = being in shape? Come. On.
He has a plus arm and isn’t exactly pushing 250. He clearly has a lack of range and probably some clunky footwork but you’d think with some work that could improve somewhere. Sometimes playing guys all over the field is a disservice to them because they never master one position. Not saying that’s Dietrich’s issue necessarily but not everyone can be a competent defender while playing 4 different positions.
No, above replacement (in part-time duty) is above replacement. It is not AAAA. There are many major leaguers who would love to produce 0.8 wins.
The guy criticizes me as a “fantasy” player, and defends it by citing “bWAR” and “fWAR”, 2 stats which mean next to nothing and are only vaguely relevant to reality. Now THAT’S rich.
jb: Exactly. I can’t see him not starting in Baltimore, for instance; he’s better than Joey Rikard.
And you’re 100%; within certain parameters, defense can be taught. With his natural athleticism, you would have thought somebody would have hit him 500 balls to LF, and tried to at least turn him into average.
I would’ve liked to see him an orioles uniform honestly. At this price there’s no risk and he could conceivably start at 2B, 3B or RF/LF for us. Mancini, Villar,Trumbo and Mullins are the only guys who should have guaranteed starting jobs. Everything else should be wide open. (though we all know Davis will start) We’ve played worse defensive players than Dietrich and I’d have to imagine there’s a better chance of him becoming a better defensive player than Trumbo or trey mancini.
Any team that dealt with Tim Beckham can easily live with Derick Dietrich…..and at least DD seems to like being an MLBer, which Beckham never seemed to be fond of.
And agree 100%: Boom Boom should be nowhere but 1B/DH, Villar’s a quality player, Trumbo can be motivated in a contract year. and Mullins has enticing talent .Everybody else is a warm body occupying a place.
I’ve said before they should probably spend this year’s payroll expenditure pre-paying those AWFUL Davis/Cobb deferrals, and hope that Cobb and Cashner and Trumbo can improve value by July 31 Cobb had a good second half, and I expect a rebound; there are worst 3rd starters out there than Alex Cobb, and 10M a year (if they pay off those deferals) isn’t a bad price for him.
Davis? Well, really not much you can do……he DOES seem to be trying, anyway.
That means he’s stuck between AAA and the big leagues as far as talent goes … meaning he’s a good AAA player but not good enough to land a solid big league job.
A 4A player is used to describe a player like Jabari Blash. He tears up AAA but can’t do a thing in the majors. That’s not Dietrich.
It is though, he only had a job the last couple years because he was on the Marlins, he won’t crack Cincy unless there’s injuries. Are you really going to play him over Votto? No. He is terrible in the OF.
Of course you aren’t playing him over Votto. I’m pretty sure he’s fighting for a bench spot with the likes of Kyle Farmer, Phillip Ervin and Alex blandino. You think Dietrich isn’t better than that level of player? Just because you don’t start everyday doesn’t mean you’re a 4A guy.
Did he not sign a minor league deal?
You can’t slap that term on every Derek Dietrich. You start labeling him a 4A player than anybody not good enough to start can get slapped with the term. If Dietrich is so is Cameron Maybin, Daniel Descalso, etc. The spirit of the term is used to describe a guy like Blash who tears up AAA but isn’t quite good enough to hit in the majors. Dietrich has been a significantly above average major league hitter who hasn’t shuttled between the majors and minors.
You simply should not be using the “AAAA” tags for a guy who has spent the last 4 full seasons in the majors. True AAAA players are supposed to be the ones who hit really well at the AAA, but then get multiple chances in the majors and don’t hit well enough to stick very long or often. Jerry Sands comes to mind as an example from this decade.
ask Ruff Kuntry to explain the ceiling effect to you. he can speak from experience.
He’s a cheap utility bat. Not that much worse than Marwin
Marwin won’t hurt you on defense like he does though.
Meh. Play him at second (obviously, the Reds won’t do that unless Scooter gets hurt) and shift a lot. Not a lot of damage he can do.
Dude has a wRC+ over 100 he’s clearly a major leaguer
So did Bryan LaHair but he was still below replacement level
Strike four, You hate on every player. He’s a solid ball player who can start on a handful of teams and would add value to any club that had him.
Not sure where he’s gonna get playing time but he’s a good player
This pisces me off as a Giants fan cause we could have had him instead of Gentry or Maybin. Not an exciting player, but had potential as a hitter to exploit that right center field gap.
Let it go Scorpio.
Well played bucketbrew35
I like Dietrich too, and I’m a diehard giants fan, but he honestly he wouldn’t fit into our mold. He definitely wouldn’t play the OF, and if he played the INF his only open spots would be 2B, which we currently have Solarte/Hanson/Panik/Sandoval/Slater in the depth chart, and 1B which we’d have Belt/Posey/Sandoval/Solarte/Shaw/Slater. I like the idea of him but honestly it’d be tough for him to consistently hit well at home. I’d imagine he’d get most of his starts on the road.
This guy in GABP could be exciting, just have to find somewhere to hide him defensively.
Honestly, he seems like the 2019 version of the Scooter Gennett waiver claim. Could pay off big, but there’s also very little to lose.
Except Scooter was a lot worse on offense than Dietrich.
Scooter’s worst BA was like .265
Did you mean to say “except Dietrich is a lot worse on defense”?
No, I said what I meant and I meant what I said. fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=10339&posi… 108 wrc+ for Scooter with a .334 babip vs fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=10542&posi… 109 wrc+ and a lower .308 babip. The stats aren’t lying on this.
Solid signing. Valuable bench player
Surprised Giants didn’t reach out to him. But after signing Solarte, they already have their infield depth.
Alot of valuable guys getting minors deals, market has dried up. Seems like hes better than alot of other utility guys, great pickup for next to nothing
Agreed. I don’t get how some of these players aren’t able to get a ML deal
Dietrich is also good at getting hit by the pitch; 21 times last season for second place (behind Brandon Nimmo with 22 HBPs). Only four in all of baseball were in the 20s.
Nimmo actually can hit though, Dietrich is a lean into-er/stat-padder
Did Derek Dietrich bone your girlfriend? You seem to have something against the guy.
You’re on to something here
You, sir, have just made my entire afternoon!
So how was Nimmo hit more often than Dietrich if he doesn’t lean in?
Anything that helps fits his narrative…..
Really amazed he had to settle for a minors deal from a team that really doesn’t have a need for him. Despite his defense he would have been an upgrade to CLE’s OF for sure especially at $2M.
I would of given him a guaranteed $2M for the Tribe. Surprising how many platoon/solid backups are having to settles for minor league deals
The Golden age of utilitymen was brief. Ben Zobrist has to be counting his lucky stars. Marwin Gonzalez is also getting a healthy dose of reality this winter.
What a surprise signing doesn’t make any sense to me why he would agree to a minor deal with a team where he’s blocked at the major league level
Pirates should have grabbed him.
Not sure what Dietrich could do for the Bucs that they don’t have already. He’s Adam Frazier with more pop but less speed at 2B, Moran and Kang have 3B tied up, and Chisenhall and Cabrera arguably hit better and definitely play the OF better. I like Dietrich as a bench piece but I don’t think the Pirates would have been his best fit.
Who knows what Kang will do this season. He didn’t show well in the minors last year, granted he was hurt but that is also worrisome. He could of been a nice bench piece to provide insurance at 3B, 2B, 1B and OF.
No way he’s still a Red by opening day.
The only way he’s on the OD roster is if one or two of their starters opens on the DL. Otherwise he’ll be a hot commodity once CIN DFAs him.
Wow. The guy doesn’t get this much attention from his mother.
He’s a decent bench piece, and 2M is cheap for what he gives you. Votto’s not getting any younger; I know it’s been a good winter for Cinnci fans, but none of the OFers is exactly Mookie Betts. There’s room there for 300 or so at bats, for a guy who at least is willing to move around (even if he’s not especially adept at doing so).
This is who why wanted the Cardinals to get for a LH bench bat. It’s his best role on a team and it’s what they needed. Missed out on bringing Descalso back and now have Drew Robinson penned in for that role? Dietrich would’ve been a better fit.
Jesus 52 comments for this signing? Man you guys are bored!
Funny!
He needs a better agent.
Would have made a lot of sense in Cleveland…. but alas the Indians are a ship without a captain.
Not sure where the captain went, but he definitely didn’t leave the check book with anyone in the front office.
this might be the most surprising minors signing yet. Dietrich is still fairly young, has experience at a few positions, and has a decent bat. Nothing on either side impresses, but you cant tell me there isn’t a rebuilding team that could use a reliable utility option?
A utility player with a below average glove in all the spots. NL player who can double switch is about all he’s really worth. Good move for the marina to let home go at old rate. Good move for Reds at discount rate.
I think the sentence about the Reds IF should be “Joey Votto is entrenched at first base, while Scooter Gennett and Eugenio Suarez have second base and third base locked down, respectively.”
Not totally sure though.
depth wins pennants, not making any assumptions obviously but as a Reds fan I like this signing
It’s stories like this one that make the C word prevalent.
Surprised there wasn’t more of a market for him.Solid utility player.