Six years after quietly acquiring Derek Dietrich from the Tampa Bay Rays, the Marlins designated him for assignment on Tuesday night. He leaves behind a legacy of giving maximum effort...and taking a lot of hit by pitches.
According to a source familiar with the situation, Dietrich had been told earlier this offseason that the Marlins would not tender him a contract for 2019. On Tuesday night, the club made that decision official. Time for goodbye hugs... https://t.co/2S0IEhzIzn pic.twitter.com/7sqvoa0qdg
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) November 21, 2018
Dietrich will land with another team, almost certainly on a major league deal. He demonstrated above-average power—particularly against right-handed pitching—and a willingness to adapt to any defensive position. His actual performance with the glove leaves a lot to be desired, though (minus-15 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-13 Outs Above Average as a left fielder last season).
The Marlins purged many of their veterans before/during the 2018 campaign, leaving Dietrich as the longest-tenured member of the organization. He responded by setting new career highs in numerous categories including home runs and times on base while seeing action at five different positions.
Fish Stripes has produced two separate videos to pay homage to Dietz (click the links if embedded videos don’t load).
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