On Monday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox reportedly agreed to a deal with free-agent slugger J.D. Martinez. Martinez's old team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, didn't waste much time turning to their fallback option -- and it's a player as far away from Martinez as possible.
That's because the Diamondbacks have reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with Jarrod Dyson:
Whereas Martinez is a bat-only thumper, Dyson is a speed-and-D type who is best suited in a platoon or reserve role. For his career, he has a .551 OPS against lefties (his .704 mark against righties is significantly better, although not impressive within itself). Still, Dyson is an elite defender who is capable of stealing 25-plus bases at a high clip. That's valuable.
The Diamondbacks figure to pair Dyson with Yasmany Tomas in left field. Tomas, in his career, has posted an OPS near .900 against left-handed pitchers.