San Diego Padres acquire minor league first baseman/outfielder Alex Dickerson from Pirates for Mikolas, Decker

The San Diego Padres today announced that the club has acquired minor league first baseman/outfielder Alex Dickerson from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for right-handed pitcher Miles Mikolas and outfielder Jaff Decker. Mikolas and Decker were designated for assignment by the Padres on November 20. Executive Vice President/General Manager Josh Byrnes made the announcement.

The 23-year-old Dickerson was born and raised in the San Diego suburb of Poway, graduating from Poway High School in 2008 before playing baseball at Indiana University. The left-handed hitter and thrower spent all of 2013 with Double-A Altoona, batting .288 (130-for-451) with 36 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs, 68 RBI, 61 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. The 6-foot-3, 235-pounder was named both the Eastern League Rookie of the Year and a post-season All-Star. His 2013 campaign comes directly on the heels of Dickerson being named the Florida State League Player of the Year in 2012 after batting .295 with 31 doubles, 13 home runs and 90 RBI in 129 games with High-A Bradenton.

The Pirates third-round selection in 2011 batted .419 with 24 home runs and 75 RBI for Indiana in 2010 en route to not only being named Big Ten Player of the Year, but also taking home the league's Triple Crown. He represented Team USA on the Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2010 between his sophomore and junior seasons at IU. Dickerson hit .290 (20-for-69) with four doubles in 18 games for Scottsdale in the recently-completed Arizona Fall League, including taking home the N.L. title in the inaugural Bowman Hitting Challenge.