Pirates trade Chris Dickerson to Indians

The Pirates have traded outfielder Chris Dickerson to the Cleveland Indians for cash or a PTBNL. Dickerson will join the Indians' big-league club (leaving an Indianapolis team called the "Indians" for a Cleveland team with the same name), so this was surely a case of the Pirates doing Dickerson a favor by trading him to an organization that had a spot for him. Judging from that and the fact that it's possible the Pirates will receive cash in return, they aren't likely to get anything interesting if they do get a PTBNL.

Dickerson is really good Triple-A outfield depth -- he hit .309/.407/.479 for Indianapolis this year, and has a strong record at the Triple-A level. He's 32, though, and since the Pirates' outfield is pretty set right now, they're best served to send him elsewhere to get a big-league opportunity. That kind of thing will help make them an attractive team for players like Dickerson in the future.