There are certain teams around baseball that always seem to be ahead of the curve. Teams, who, when they sign or trade for a player with potential, you almost expect the deal to work out.
These teams, at least the last few seasons, have been the Rays, Dodgers, Astros and Yankees.
Tampa Bay this week agreed to a two-year, minor-league deal with former Phillie Dylan Cozens, according to The Athletic.
Cozens was designated for assignment by the Phillies on trade deadline day, July 31. It was expected that his tenure with the Phillies was soon coming to an end as the organization kept adding outfielders, Cozens never found another gear at Triple A or the majors that saw the swings-and-misses decrease, and then a foot injury required surgery that would sideline him for most of 2019.
Cozens has immense raw power; that's always been the case. He has immense swing-and-miss in his offensive approach; that's always been the case. He hit 40 homers at Double A in 2016, 27 at Triple A in 2017 and 21 in a half-season at Triple A in 2018. He also struck out a combined 504 times in those three seasons.
Yet still, when you see the Rays take a low-risk chance on a guy like this, you wonder if in a couple of years we could see Cozens have a Carlos Pena-like season, hitting 35-plus homers with a low batting average and a ton of strikeouts.
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If it does improbably happen, it will be a tough pill to swallow for Phillies fans, but remember that Cozens didn't have much of a role here. The Phillies have Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen under contract, Jay Bruce for another year, and Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn under team control. There's also Mickey Moniak at Double A. Nick Williams is still in the picture somewhat, though his run with the Phillies also appears to be nearing its end.
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