Derek Dietrich opting out of Yankees contract, will become free agent

Derek Dietrich is opting out of his current contract with the Yankees and electing to head back to free agency, per Robert Murray of FanSided.

The 31-year-old infielder has not been called up to the majors, so he will look for an opportunity to do so elsewhere. With the Triple-A RailRiders this season, Dietrich slashed a typically Dietrichian .215/.413/.393 with four doubles and five home runs in 143 plate appearances. Dietrich split his time between first, second and third. He has also appeared in the outfield corners, but not since 2019 with the Reds.

Dietrich had an unusual 2019 season with the Reds, bull-rushing pitching in the early going as he hit 17 home runs and slashed .260/.366/.707 through the end of May. From June 1 until the end of the season, however, Dietrich hit .117/.294/.227 with two home runs over 161 plate appearances. Those disparate showings came together for a .187/.328/.461 line. He put up a similar season with the Rangers in 2020, slashing .197/.347/.459 over 75 plate appearances.

For all the flaws in his game, Dietrich has been better than average with the bat by measure of wRC+ in every season of his career save for his rookie campaign in 2013. Even these past two seasons, as his batting average has dipped below the Mendoza line, Dietrich posted 102 wRC+ in 2019 and 124 wRC+ in 2020. The hallmarks of his game of late have been big-time power (.275 ISO in 2019 and 262 ISO in 2020) alongside some real batted-ball difficulty (.176 BABIP in 2019, .200 BABIP in 2020).

Dietrich’s isn’t exactly known as an easy personality in the clubhouse, but those teams desperate for offense could very well look to the former second-round pick. The Yankees, of course, chose to trade for Rougned Odor rather than call up Dietrich — which perhaps played a part in Dietrich’s decision to opt out and seek greener pastures.