The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League in Japan signed former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder O’Koyea Dickson, the team announced Tuesday.
Dickson was a 12th round draft pick of the Dodgers in 2011 out of Sonoma State University. He made his Major League debut this past season, going 1-for-7 with two walks in seven games.
In seven Minor Leagues seasons in the Dodgers organization, Dickson proved he can handle a bat as he hit .279/.349/.491 with 117 home runs in 736 games.
Despite his strong production with his bat, Dickson lacked a true position in the field, which may have kept the 27-year-old from reaching the big leagues sooner. There were thoughts he may have been better served in an American League organization.
Dickson had another strong season this year with Triple-A Oklahoma City, as in 116 games he clubbed 24 home runs and drove in 76 runs while hitting .246/.328/.484.
On Nov. 6, Dickson was outrighted to the Minors and removed from the 40-man roster. After spending seven seasons in the Minor Leagues it makes sense that he wanted to pursue other options in Japan.
Dickson underwent shoulder surgery in October but is believed to be on pace to be ready for the start of the 2018 season.
Former big league players like Andruw Jones, Masahiro Tanaka, Hisashi Iwakuma and Takashi Saito have all played for the Eagles in the past. The Eagles went 62-78-3 in 2016 and have not had a winning season since 2013.
