Justin

Dean

Dean served as a late-game defensive replacement for the World Series champion Dodgers last postseason before being claimed off waivers by the division-rival Giants in early November. The speedy 29-year-old center fielder makes a ton of sense as a bench outfielder for the Cubs since he’s capable of handling all three spots in a pinch.

Even though the Tyler Mahle deal was announced Monday, the Giants, for some reason, were given an extra 27 hours to make a corresponding move to open up a spot on the 40-man roster. Dean was just claimed on waivers from the Dodgers in November. He can serve as a 26th man with his quality defense in center field and pinch-running ability, but the bat isn’t there to make him anything more than that.

Dean heads to long-time rival San Francisco after playing an important role for Los Angeles as a pinch-running specialist and defensive replacement in center field during their World Series run. The 28-year-old posted an .808 OPS with six homers and 27 thefts in 90 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City this past season.

Dean heads back to the minors to make room for versatile veteran Tommy Edman to return for Wednesday’s contest against the Rockies. The 28-year-old rookie went 0-for-2 with a stolen base over 18 games at the highest level after being called up back on August 8.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 28-year-old outfielder. Dean had been hitting .274/.370/.426 with six long balls, 31 RBI and 25 stolen bases across 311 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Expect him to see most of his action as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have already optioned Esteury Ruiz to Triple-A Oklahoma City to clear a spot on the club’s active roster for Dean’s arrival. It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 28-year-old outfielder. He has done a nice job at the Triple-A level this season, slashing .274/.370/.426 with six homers, 31 RBI and 25 stolen bases in 311 plate appearances. Expect him to be used in a similar role to Ruiz, primarily as a late-inning defensive replacement and pinch-runner.

The 23-year-old backstop doesn’t have much left to prove in the minor leagues, but with Will Smit and Austin Barnes holding things down at the game’s highest level, he’ll need to work his way into the crowded outfield mix in order to have any shot of breaking camp. He’ll be an intriguing option for fantasy purposes when he does finally arrive in Los Angeles, but it’ll probably take an injury to Smith or Barnes for it to happen. Roki Sasaki and Zyhir Hope also received official invitations to spring training on Friday.

The 28-year-old outfielder was a 17th round selection by the Braves from the 2018 draft class and had toiled in the minor leagues for them for his first six professional seasons. In 2024, Dean slashed .247/.339/.321 with three homers, 38 RBI and 61 stolen bases (in 69 attempts) over 117 games between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. He’ll add minor league outfield depth for the Dodgers.