The Pittsburgh Pirates have made the signing of center fielder Jarrod Dyson official, per a team press release. To make room for Dyson on the 40-man roster, Jameson Taillon has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
I wrote about the impact Dyson could have for the Pirates, with most of that impact coming from his defense. The Pirates highlighted his speed and defense in their press release, pointing out he had the second best stolen base percentage in the league last year, along with 60 Defensive Runs Saved since 2012, ranking fourth among center fielders.
We didn’t need confirmation that the Pirates feel Dyson brings speed and defense to the team. Those are literally the driving factors behind Dyson’s value. That said, I do think it’s notable that the Pirates had a group of center field options with different skills and sources of value, and the one they signed was focused on speed and defense.