Derek Dietrich is opting out of his current contract with the Yankees and electing to head back to free agency, per Robert Murray of FanSided (via Twitter).
The 31-year-old infielder has not been called up to the Majors, so he will look for an opportunity to do so elsewhere. With the Triple-A RailRiders this season, Dietrich slashed a typically Dietrichian .215/.413/.393 with four doubles and five home runs in 143 plate appearances. Dietrich split his time between first, second, and third. He has also appeared in the outfield corners, but not since 2019 with the Reds.
Dietrich had an unusual 2019 season with the Reds, bull-rushing pitching in the early going as he hit 17 home runs and slashed .260/.366/.707 through the end of May. From June 1st until the end of the season, however, Dietrich hit .117/.294/.227 with two home runs over 161 plate appearances. Those disparate showings came together for a .187/.328/.461 line. He put up a similar season with the Rangers in 2020, slashing .197/.347/.459 over 75 plate appearances.
For all the flaws in his game, Dietrich has been better than average with the bat by measure of wRC+ in every season of his career save for his rookie campaign in 2013. Even these past two seasons, as his batting average has dipped below the Mendoza line, Dietrich posted 102 wRC+ in 2019 and 124 wRC+ in 2020. The hallmarks of his game of late have been big-time power (.275 ISO in 2019 and 262 ISO in 2020) alongside some real batted ball difficulty (.176 BABIP in 2019, .200 BABIP in 2020).
Dietrich’s isn’t exactly known as an easy personality in the clubhouse, but those teams desperate for offense could very well look to the former second round pick. The Yankees, of course, chose to trade for Rougned Odor rather than call up Dietrich — which perhaps played a part in Dietrich’s decision to opt out and seek greener pastures.
That’ll save us!
If he was really “better than average with the bat” he wouldn’t be searching for a new team for the 4th time in less than a year. Especially a guy who can play several positions.
Don’t blame him
Disappointed he didn’t get flipped for cash considerations
Nobody had $5 on them.
Its a1 dollar minimum. Other GMs went to soda machine instead.
Disappointed Dietrich didn’t even get a chance. A nice lefthanded bat when we hardly have any. Smh
At 215 in the minors, he wasn’t exactly tearing it up at triple a. Pretty sure he didn’t get the chance because they didn’t see it likely he’d provide anything notable over what they had other than a left handed presence.
.215 BA, .413 OBP… I dunno what to make of that
Stop not flattering
Lots of walks. That’s how he has a good OBP.
Hello, lolmuttz… how are you?
AAA pitchers struggle with command, DD struggles to make contact. Probably.
Good for him. He easily should have been given a shot on the team over Jay Bruce and Rougned Odor earlier this season. No way he would have been much worse, especially since he’s the epitome of a TTO player which the Yankees love nowadays.
Hello Nationals or D’Backs
Pirates. They don’t have a 1B currently and he knows he will play. And at least a small chance to get flipped at a deadline.
Flipped for what? A hamburger? Pancake? He’s not even producing anything at the triple a level. It’s hard to say he actually sees time at the mlb level this year
He’ll be in Washington by this time next weekend, I’m sure.
2021 hitting .215 at AAA (143 PA)
2020 hit .197
2019 hit .187 (hit 19hrs in the year of the homer, struck out 74 times)
Turn out the lights, the party’s over
A KBO resume for sure!
I can’t believe 3 people liked this comment. It’s 2021. Who the heck judges a baseball player solely on batting average?
It would seem major league teams still do in light of the fact he is once again looking for a job. He wouldn’t have bounced this much if he’d been hitting .250 over that span.
Dude that’s a lame take. I am a Cardinals fan. Anyone who tells me he couldn’t make the Cardinals team in 2021 hasn’t been watching the games. He has an OPS of almost 800 in AAA. He’s a big leaguer in the right situation.
On a team where he’s not lower on the depth chart than others like Bruce, Odor or Gittens then yes he is a major leaguer.
You could easily make a case he is better today right now than Odor or Bruce. Just because those guys got an opportunity doesn’t mean it was the correct decision. Sometimes teams are wrong. Again my Cardinals have no outfield depth while guys like Arozarena and Garcia are stepping up after being let go. Was that smart? Heck no.
No one but you implies that its “solely” on batting ave. The real question is, who, in 2021, doesn’t include batting ave when looking at the talents of a baseball player? Is it the most important? No. Is it more important than walks? Certainly.
I look at OPS when judging an offensive ability of a position player. If I want to know how good the player is that’s what WAR is for. That’s what I use to determine who is talented and who is not. WAR will tell you that more consistently than anything out there. So again quoting batting average stats and saying a guy stinks is lame. We can do better.
Sleeves policy gets another.
Farhad will pick him up Giants need a lefty bat off the bench. Especially if Belt regresses in his recovery.
KBO bound I bet
KBO and NPB are good targets along with worse MLB teams.
White Sox?
Chiba Lotte Marines, here he comes
Braves need OF help ……………………
Please stop prioritizing random articles at the end of the day for the sake of clicks.
Why??? You act as if them getting clicks isn’t the goal. But it is…..and it’s not dishonest. So who cares fella???? Let them work.
Can you blame him? Who would want to play for this version of the Yankees?
Well…I would.
So there’s that.
Come to Papa, Derek. The Nats could use you.
One of the all time greats along w Brandon Guyer of getting plunked. I guess there is a skill involved because most people would try and get out of the way.
This team boring and unwatchable. Wade and Andujar both have options left why not give Dietrich a chance. Mix things up a little but Yankees are stubborn and refuse to believe the team SUCKS!!!!!
Dietrich made a good decision. Get away from that juju. Yankees are snake bit and on their backs.
Yay, all the whiny whining Yankees fans can celebrate the fact they have their very own article dedicated to some pertinent Yankees information!
Thanks for stopping by! Here’s your complimentary Yankee coffee mug.
Too bad he didn’t get his shot with the Yanks. Sounds like lightning-in-a-bottle.
Orioles
This dude is awful lol
So,a sub .200 hitter with an attitude opts out because he does not get called up to the Bigs? Sure, okay.
The idea of scoring runs is to get on base and eventually cross home plate. The other way is to hit a home run. DD has the ability to do both. Can play second and might be headed to Chicago if they decide to go the cheap route. TLR knows how to play chess. White Sox are getting good play from other discards that are filling in for badly injured players. Manager has to get credit for knowing his players strengths and weaknesses and properly applying the player to get results. Rather see Asdrubal or Escobar from the d-backs in Chicago though.
I can see the Cubs stashing him in Iowa as insurance should they become sellers later this month, and the way they’re going lately, that looks fairly probable
Nah, they already have too many guys who can’t hit a double to the opposite gap. Plus they will eventually have Wisdom/Duffy/Bote to play the two corner positions, with Happ able to play 1B and Sogard or Alcantara able to play 3B defensively (but not hit).
Has he tried pitching? Mets will sign him.
Like those sky blue Rangers unis
Could be interesting for Baltimore
Does he cause problems in the clubhouse?
Guy comes with confidence and attitude, something Yankees need…and a lefty.
Does getting a HBP increase a players +RC? If so, that would explain why he was above average. Detrich was known to stand on top of the plate and lean into anything remotely close in an effort to get hit (while wearing every protective pad known to man). A rather pathetic practice if you ask me, particularly when he’d cry and whine about being HBP. I guess it’s one way to keep getting on base and prolong a career that should have ended years before it did. Maybe now he can start jumping in front of moving cars and sue for damages to keep his family fed. Just make sure to put on that flak jacket, shoulder pads, a football helmet, and catchers gear before doing so). Surely won’t miss this guy one bit.
It does & it drives me nutty.
The argument is that an HBP is more valuable than a BB due to “sequencing”. Meaning they are believed to generally occur at a more opportune time.
I think it’s stupid.
Drawing a walk is a skill. Getting hit by a pitch is typically (bad) luck. This is just one reason why I look at OPS & compare it to what the league average is as opposed to to “park adjusted” metrics.
Happy, 4th.
Surprising to hear the Yankees wouldn’t give him a shot. Especially with all of their injuries and failed attempts to find a 1st baseman who could even hit at league average when Voit went down. I didn’t know he was so versatile. He could probably fill in at LF possibly RF as well. Oh well Cashman probably has his reasons. Someone will give him a shot. Super utility types that can actually hit are not all that common.
Wish the Rockies would give him a shot! Love his swing and approach could get as hot as a pistol but maybe a head case? TBD.