Yankees recall Chris Dickerson, place Rafael Soriano on the DL

May 17, 2011 by Mike Axisa 34 Comments

The Yankees have recalled outfielder Chris Dickerson from Triple-A Scranton, placing Rafael Soriano and his balky elbow on the disabled list in the corresponding move. Another MRI apparently showed nothing but inflammation. The moves get them back to a normal four-man bench and seven-man bullpen.

Dickerson is a lefty batter, something the Yankees have lacked on the bench since Eric Chavez‘s injury. He was hitting .248/.370/.354 with eight steals in eleven attempts in Triple-A, and that’s pretty much his game: some power (career .178 ISO at the Triple-A level), gets on base (.380 OBP), runs a little bit (65 SB in 81 attempts, 80.2% success rate), and plays sound defense at all three outfield spots. Dickerson’s useful but not a savior, though the Yankees needed to get rid of that ridiculous eight-man bullpen.

http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

So this should be just 15 days for Sori, right? He’s coming back?
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Deader arm?
- MikeD
  
  I’ll be back.
  
  /arnie’slovechild
Daniel

prob less because it can be retroactive from his last appearance.
Pinstripes in Cali

Do the Yanks have any contract options with Soriano, other than to straight-up release him and eat the (exhorbant) cost of the contract? Or is there any sort of opt-out or other clause that might free them from liability for the full 3 yr/$35m madness?
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  No team opt-out, no. Soriano’s in total control.
  
  The contract is probably insured, though. Soriano wasn’t Rich Harden, he’s not ininsurable. Won’t help with luxury tax obligations, but if the whole thing is a wash, the SteinBrothers probably aren’t paying that whole 35M out of pocket.
http://twitter.com/bryanl26 Bryan L

Having only 3 guys on the bench annoyed the fuck out of me. Glad that’s done with.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Having only 3 guys on the bench annoyed the fuck out of me.
  
  Shit, I count 2 guys. Yes, I’m intentionally not counting Jorge.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNQ_G5uKd18 (NSFW-profanity)
  
  Patel?!?! FUCK YOU, JOHN.
  - The Big City of Dreams
    
    lol as I saw I count 2 guys I immediately thought of Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross. Classic movie I’ve been quoting lines from it all day.
    - The Big City of Dreams
      
      as soon as*
http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder

Dickerson is a lefty batter, something the Yankees have lacked off the bench since Eric Chavez‘s injury.

Platoon splits (so far in Scranton):

v LHP: 23 AB, .217/.357/.261
v RHP: 90 AB, .256/.374/.378

Big league career:

v LHP: 79 PA, .227/.321/.303 (.306 BABIP)
v RHP: 448 PA, .273/.363/.420 (.370 BABIP)

Keep him away from lefties, and he sounds good to me. Jones + Dickerson = quality OF/DH options
A-ROD fan

Oh god
steve s

Dickerson is also starting tonight in place of Swisher.
- 101010
  
  If he can field a ball cleanly, I’m ok with this.
- Tom Swift
  
  Why is Dickerson batting ninth? I would have Posada batting ninth for the next month just to make a point.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    You’re not paid to make points, you’re paid to get your ballplayers to play as well as they can so you can win ballgames.
    
    Jorge messed up, and he’s been publicly shamed and apologized. He’s not hitting 6th again. 8th is still a demotion.
    
    Remain firm, but move on.
Cy Pettitte

Gardy/Grandy/Dickey? I’ll take it. Give Swish a few “sick” days

Soriano being gone is just a nice bonus.
Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat

Should of called up Jesus…
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  If he could play OF, 3B, or SS we probably would have.
  - Cy Pettitte
    
    plus he’s not on the 40 man, Dickerson is.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      That too. Probably why it was him and not Parraz, who is hitting a little better.
    - Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat
      
      Just put Hughes on the 60 day DL
      - Cy Pettitte
        
        Dickerson is a lefty bat, that probably played a role too in the decision. But yea, bottom line, they need to call up Jesus already.
  - http://oldranger7.blogspot.com Ken(O.R.)
    
    TSJC…
    Raise your fist for the truth. You haven’t changed at all. Sharp and to the point, very well done, as always!
    Haven’t seen many of the older posters lately, still like to stop by and read RAB.
    Hat tip to Mike A, Ben K and Joseph P for doing such a good job with this site for so long…oh yes, you also, for your knowledge…even though, I don’t agree with everything. LOL
    27/09
Naved

This is so stupid. Instead of switching the worst of the two of Posada/Swisher they went with the person who did better and switch him for Dickerson instead of Montero. GOD DAMNIT get Montero up already.
IRF

Cashman is so good at taking useless pieces and turning them into 5th outfielders.
- Ryan
  
  If only he were better than he already is at preventing ownership from being morons.
  - http://oldranger7.blogspot.com Ken(O.R.)
    
    Very good head on your shoulders Ryan, keep it up. I liked the Morons part the best! lol
A Gritty Dude’s Gritty Dude

Free teh Jesus!111!!!
Monteroisdinero

I like Dickerson. He’s very athletic, runs well and has a good head on his shoulders. I saw him play in a doubleheader at Scranton a few weeks ago against Syracuse. He didn’t do much but he was able to deal with his adversity at the plate in a mature fashion :-(

He has some pop and can steal a base. I assume his range is greater than Swisher’s since he played cf and his arm has to be better than the lollipop-throwing, skoal-dipping Swish.
- king of fruitless hypotheticals
  
  He’s athletic? So he’s black?
  
  just kidding. unless he is, then shame on you. he has enough SB’s to be gritty if he’s white.
  
  I was surprised he had so many SB’s–any chance he becomes the 2011 Brett Gardner? I’ve pretty much given up on Brett Gardner becoming the 2011 Brett Gardner.
- Rookie
  
  I agree with you about Dickerson, Monteroisdinero. Based solely on his stats, he looks like he could be a real sleeper.
  
  And as I recall, FanGraphs shows him as being a monster defensively — consistently so in centerfield and less so/intermittently so in left and right field.
  
  I was delighted/impressed when I saw that the Yankees had picked him up. And I believe that, given enough playing time (since I think that he’s still a work in progress) he could eventually prove to be a very pleasant surprise.
Rookie

And I think it was a very smart move to put Soriano on the DL and let him begin to heal (as I suggested they should do before).

Unfortunately, I think they’re going to need to do the same thing with ARod whether Chavez is healed enough to replace him or not. If ARod’s only able to produce at anywhere near the .492 OPS that he’s managed in May (and the .550ish or less OPS that he’s managed for the past month) his production can be more or less replaced by putting Nunez into the lineup until he’s fully healed.

It’s hard for me to see how the Yankees make the post season with a cleanup hitter producing at a .500-something clip and a lead off hitter who’s unable to get the ball out of the infield even if Posada magically regains the form of his youth or is replaced by a more formidable hitter in the Yankee lineup.
Rookie

Just what the Yankees so desperately needed… ARod awakens!

Let’s hope he’s his old self for awhile now.

If ARod hits like ARod — even managing an OPS with an 8 in the first digit — and the Yankees can get similar production from Posada or anyone else in the DH spot, even if Jeter is unable to get the ball out of the infield, I think the Yankees have a decent shot at getting into the post season. (I think it would help if they try to pitch Garcia with extra rest. But one thing at a time…)

Anyway, based on their pitching, it’s hard to see how they have much of a chance once they get into the post season, but it’s a start. And of course, anything can happen in a five or seven game series. So who knows?