Jarrod Dyson
Position: Center Field
Bats: Left- Throws: Right
Born: August 15, 1984 (Age: 33)
2017 Stats: 111 G, .251/.324/.350, 56 R, 13 2B, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 28 SB, 2.1 WAR
Jarrod Dyson was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 50th round of the 2006 amateur draft. In his first season with the Arizona League Royals in 2006, he hit .273/.358/.373 with 19 stolen bases in 51 games. In 2007, he appeared in only 10 games with the Burlington Bees and hit .270/.308/.297.
Dyson was promoted to the Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2008, and he hit .260/.337/.288 with 39 stolen bases in 93 games. He split the 2009 season between the Bees and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, and hit a combined .276/.345/.337 with 46 stolen bases.
In 2010, Dyson began the season in the minors before making his big league debut. In 71 minor league games, Dyson hit .299/.347/.395 with 24 stolen bases. The center fielder then made his way to Kansas City as a September call-up. He received some playing time in center field, appearing in 18 games and hitting .211/.286/.404 with nine stolen bases.
Dyson made the 2011 roster out of spring training. However, with Melky Cabrera having a breakout year in center field, Dyson mainly appeared as a late-inning pinch runner. Dyson spent most of the season in the minors, where he stole 38 bases in 83 games.
In 2012, Dyson saw a significant increase in playing time due to multiple injuries to Lorenzo Cain. In 102 games, Dyson hit .260/.328/.322 with eight doubles, five triples, 30 walks, nine RBI, and 30 stolen bases.
In his seven seasons with the Royals, Dyson hit .260/.325/.353, with 48 doubles, 29 triples, seven home runs, and 176 stolen bases in 550 games and 1,365 at-bats. Dyson was traded to the Seattle Mariners during the 2017 offseason.
He was named the Mariners everyday center fielder to open up the season. Dyson appeared in 111 games and hit .251/.324/.350, with 13 doubles, five home runs, 30 RBI, and 28 stolen bases. On July 16, Dyson was shut down for the season after undergoing pelvic surgery.
Dyson has stolen 26 or more bases and has had an 84% stolen base rate in his only six seasons as a full-time MLB player. Since 2012, Dyson has less stolen bases than only Jose Altuve, Dee Gordon, Billy Hamilton, and Rajai Davis. Although he is 33 years of age, Dyson hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.
Defensively, Dyson is steady in center field. At times, he has pushed Cain, a Gold Glove caliber center fielder, to right. Dyson has an Ultimate Zone rating (UZR) that ranks fourth amongst center fielders since 2012.
Contract: MLB Trade Rumors predicts that Dyson will sign a two-year contract at about $6 million per season. Dyson wouldn’t be a huge acquisition, but with his defense and base running expertise, he could help out this team, especially at this price.
Recommendation: Dyson is not going to come in and completely turn this offense around. Offensively, Dyson only has 12 home runs and is a .258/.325/.352 hitter for his career. However, in terms of overall value, Dyson’s WAR has ranged from 1.4 to 3.1 since 2012 which isn’t bad for a player at that price. Dyson would fix two big problems on this team. In Dyson, the Mets would get a very solid defensive center fielder who can steal bases. If the Mets could sign Dyson for the predicted $12 million over two years, he could be a good platoon partner for Juan Lagares.
