Rays' Kiermaier 'very upset' with Dickerson DFA, Odorizzi trade

As the Tampa Bay Rays convened Monday for their first full-squad workout of spring training, Kevin Kiermaier couldn't contain his frustration over the absence of Corey Dickerson, the newly minted All-Star unexpectedly designated for assignment Saturday evening, and Jake Odorizzi, who was traded to the Minnesota Twins soon after.

"I am 100 percent frustrated and very upset with the moves," Kiermaier told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. "No beating around the bush. It’s one of those things that makes you scratch your head, you don’t know the reasoning why.

"And then you see the team's explanation and still it's just like, okay, well, so be it.''

According to general manager Erik Neander, the decision to designate Dickerson for assignment following the acquisition of C.J. Cron from the Los Angeles Angels gives the Rays a more "functional roster." Dickerson, who smacked a career-high 27 homers while managing an .815 OPS in 150 games last year, was set to earn $5.95 million in 2018. If the Rays - who have 10 days to trade, release, or outright Dickerson - decide to cut him, they'll only be responsible for one-sixth of that.

"The economics are always something for us - any team, you're paying attention to it, how you allocate money, how you allocate playing time," Neander added.

The Rays' starting depth, meanwhile, enabled them to swap Odorizzi for minor-league shortstop Jermaine Palacios, according to Neander, who said that optioning guys who merit time in the big leagues to Triple-A "might not be in our best interest."

Related: Giants' Longoria feels sorry for Rays fans after recent moves

Like with Kiermaier, though, Neander's explanations didn't quite satisfy right-hander Chris Archer.

"With both of those moves we're not as good as we were 24 hours ago," Archer said Sunday. "I'll leave it at that just because there is uncertainty. Young arms could step up. Young bats could step up and fill that position Corey was going to be in.

"But as of today, our team is not quite as good as it was yesterday."