Rays trade Corey Dickerson to Pirates

The Rays traded outfielder Corey Dickerson to the Pirates for reliever Daniel Hudson, minor-league infielder Tristan Gray and cash (reportedly $1 million), according to a club announcement.

Tampa Bay designated Dickerson for assignment on Saturday in the first of a series of moves that saw the club acquire C.J. Cron, sign Carlos Gomez and trade both Jake Odorizzi and Steven Souza. While the DFA was surprising at the time, the consensus was that the club was working on trades and would be able to get a reasonable return.

Dickerson, 28, hit .282/.325/.490 with 27 homers and 62 RBI in an All-Star campaign for the Rays last year, being worth 2.7-WAR in his second season with the club. He’s now the clear favorite for to become Pittsburgh’s starting left fielder, serving as an upgrade over recent additions Bryce Brentz, Daniel Nava and Michael Saunders.

Dickerson is owed $5.95 million this season and will become a free agent after 2019. He’ll try to fill the void left by Pittsburgh’s trade of franchise icon Andrew McCutchen to the Giants.

Hudson, who turns 31 next month, posted a 4.38 ERA and 4.34 FIP in 61.2 innings with Pittsburgh last year after signing a 2-year, $11 million deal over the winter. He’ll slot into a Tampa Bay bullpen that includes Matt Andriese, Dan Jennings, Andrew Kittredge and Sergio Romo as prime options in front of Alex Colome.

Hudson is owed $5.5 million this year, though $1 million of that is being picked up by the Pirates. The Rays will be Hudson’s fourth major-league team, joining the White Sox, Diamondbacks and Pirates.

Gray, who turns 22 in March, was the Bucs’ 13th-round pick last year out of Rice. He hit .269/.329/.486 seven homers in 53 games in his first taste of pro action.