What would David Dejesus bring the Rays?

The Rays have claimed David Dejesus off revocable waivers. This does not mean that he is going to be a Ray. It's now up to Andrew Friedman to work out a deal with the Nationals. Still, he's a tantalizing piece, and one that the Rays have been linked to for seemingly years. What does DeJesus bring?

Above Average Offense

First off, he's a slightly above average bat. Over the course of his career, DeJesus has posted a 106 wRC+. His best offensive year came in 2007 when over 394 plate appearances he hit .318/.344/.383 with five home runs for a 127 wRC+. He's a hitter who walks a decent amount (8.6% career BB%) and doesn't strike out a lot (13.8% career K%), but his strikeout rate has been higher over the past three years. The increase hasn't been too dramatic, and his ISO is as high as it's ever been, so I'm not too worried that DeJesus is just an old player who's hit the wall.

His batted ball profile is not extreme in either direction.

Platoon Split

David DeJesus is one of those players who's platoon split limits his value as a regular, but increases his value as a part time player. A left handed batter, he's hit lefties for a 77 wRC+, but righties for a 117 wRC+ over his career (remember, 100 is average). That makes his role on this team slightly difficult to figure (Matt Joyce, Luke Scott, Kelly Johnson, and Sam Fuld are already left handed bats), but it still makes him a more valuable piece overall. The long side of a platoon is always going to be more valuable than the short side.

Defense

DeJesus's value doesn't stop with his offense. Over the course of his career, he's been an average center fielder and a well above average left fielder. So far this year, he's registered as above average in 580 innings in center field, so I don't think his wheels have left him yet.

So what does this mean? More depth across the board in the outfield. David DeJesus is a good player, and good players are always worth having.

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