Who won the McGee/Dickerson trade?

Now is the time where we start looking back on offseason trades to see who won them. In late January, the Rockies shipped OF Corey Dickerson and 3B prospect Kevin Padlo to the Rays for LHP Jake McGee and RHP prospect German Marquez. On paper, this looked like a bad trade. People questioned Dickerson's ability to hit outside of Coors Field, notoriously known as a hitter's park, and questioned Colorado's thinking on taking on McGee for a potential closer role. However, the trade is not as bad as it may have seemed for some.

Dickerson, who spent a majority of 2015 on the DL due to plantar fasciitis and a rib injury, managed to post a decent slash in 2015 at .304/.333/.536 and hit 10 HR and drive in 31 runs in 65 games. However, he thrived at Coors Field (.395 BA, 5 HR, 13 RBI) and struggled to hit consistently away from Coors Field (.257 BA, 5 HR, 18 RBI). He also thrived against right handed pitching, hitting all of his home runs off righties and all but 6 RBI. Kevin Padlo, a minor leaguer now in the as the Rays' #21 prospect per MLB, joined the Rays' Single-A affiliate Bowling Green for the 2016 season. Despite having 4 HR and 22 RBI, his average is hovering around .200 (.198 in 31 games). However, in 2015 in the Northwest League, Padlo boasted a 159 +wRC, making Padlo intriguing once he overcomes his struggles.

Jake McGee, the current closer for Colorado, motored on home to a 2.41 ERA in 37.1 IP, incurring a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities when Brad Boxberger was not available. With 48 K in 2015, McGee boasted a career 11.1 K/9 with the Rays before ultimately being flipped to Colorado with RHP German Marquez, the #12 prospect in a stacked Rockies' farm system. In 2016, Marquez joined the Hartford Yard Goats, Colorado's AA affiliate, undoubtedly one of the best AA teams out there right now at 23-14. Marquez is 3-2 with a 1.82 ERA in 7 starts, including one outing with 8 shutout innings of one-hit ball on May 8.

So, with examining the prospects' 2016 seasons, the Rockies seem to have won on that front of the trade and by quite a margin. Marquez can turn into a nice starting or relieving option for the Rockies once he reaches the major leagues sometime in the near future. Padlo, despite hitting .198, is a nice run producer with nice power, but needs a better eye at the plate and hitting ability to come closer to Marquez in 2016.

On the major league front, the decision is just as easy to make. Although Corey Dickerson is only hitting .176 in 33 games, he still has power, as showed in his 8 HR and is 2nd on the team with 17 RBIs, 2 behind Evan Longoria. Once Dickerson ups his batting average closer to his OBP (.239), he'll have been a nice addition to the Rays lineup that lacks offense. However, the clear winner here is now the closer to the Colorado Rockies, Jake McGee. McGee has gone 12-for-14 in save opportunities, his 12 saves put him T-3, only behind Kenley Jansen and Jeanmar Gomez, while acquiring 9 K in 15.2 IP with a 4.02 ERA. However, that ERA is above 4.00 only due to one bad outing where he allowed 5 runs in 0.2 IP to the Dodgers on April 24.

Despite being chewed up by critics for the trade, the Rockies appeared to be the smart ones in this trade, as both acquisitions in the trade have performed quite well in 2016. The Rays are the odd man out, as both of their acquisitions are struggling out of the gates in 2016. If the Rockies can make more good trades like this in the future, maybe they'll be able to crack the playoffs for the first time since 2009.