Late last week, the Rays seemingly out of nowhere designated Corey Dickerson for assignment. We mentioned at the time that it was probably a precursor to a trade, and here we are.

The Pirates announced Thursday afternoon that the club had acquired Dickerson from the Rays in exchange for reliever Daniel Hudson and minor-league infielder Tristan Gray, in addition to cash considerations. 

Dickerson, 28, hit .282/.325/.490 (120 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 27 homers, 62 RBI and 84 runs last season. After a monster first half, he started the All-Star Game at DH for the AL. He hit just .241/.282/.408 after the break. 

Still, Dickerson's a quality big-league bat. He's a career .280/.325/.504 hitter, good for a 119 OPS+. He has three seasons with at least 24 homers under his belt. 

Expect Dickerson to man left field for the Pirates this season. Assuming they keep everyone, the top five in the lineup could look something like: 

  1. Josh Harrison
  2. Josh Bell
  3. Starling Marte
  4. Corey Dickerson
  5. Gregory Polanco

Given that they just offloaded franchise icon Andrew McCutchen, that's not a terrible top five. 

As for the Rays' return, Hudson pitched to a 4.98 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 66 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings last year. 

Gray, 21, played 53 games in Class A ball last season, splitting time between second and short. He hit .269/.329/.486 with 12 doubles, six triples, seven homers and five steals. He appears to be organizational depth.