What should the St. Louis Cardinals do with Corey Dickerson?

What should the St. Louis Cardinals do with Corey Dickerson? They have a very interesting decision to make once he returns from the Injured List.

I liked a lot of what the St. Louis Cardinals did this winter. They signed a mid-level rotation arm, added three low-cost bullpen options, and brought back the vast majority of their offense while adding Albert Pujols on a cheap one-year deal.

The one move that I did not agree with was Corey Dickerson, signing the veteran outfielder to a one-year, $5 million contract. Yes, I know: there is no such thing as a bad one-year deal. But the Cardinals had made a concerted effort to that point to get their young options – Dylan Carlson, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman – consistent at-bats off the bench.

Signing Dickerson has impacted that and considering his struggles, puts his roster status in question once he returns (calf strain) from the Injured List. There’s zero chance that the Cardinals option Donovan, who has emerged as a key utility player. Juan Yepez would appear to be a strong candidate to stay in the majors. Lars Nootbaar was optioned to Triple-A on Friday, so it’s possible that Dickerson will take his place once he returns.

But the Cardinals still want to give all their young players at-bats at the major-league level and value their continued development. And as Katie Woo of The Athletic writes, that’s “where things get interesting” when Dickerson returns. Do the Cardinals designate him for assignment? We have seen the Chicago White Sox designate veteran Dallas Keuchel and his large contract for assignment. If they did that, then there is precedent for the Cardinals to do the same with Dickerson and his remaining salary.

It would be an admission of a mistake by Mozeliak. It remains to be seen if he is willing to bite the bullet on such a move, considering that Dickerson has been in St. Louis for less than two months. But he is hitting a mediocre .194/.245/.286 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 38 games.

Perhaps another team trades for Dickerson and bets on him returning to his previous form. But that is no guarantee and once he does return, the Cardinals have a very interesting decision on their hands.