Delino DeShields

Delino DeShields

32-Year-Old OutfielderOF
 Free Agent  
2024 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Delino DeShields in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
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Rest of Season
From Preseason
$Signed a one-year, minor-league contract with the Mariners in March of 2023. Released by the Mariners in May of 2023.
Cut by Seattle
OFFree Agent  
May 16, 2023
The Mariners released DeShields on May 1.
ANALYSIS
After failing to win a spot on the Mariners' Opening Day roster while attending spring training as a non-roster invitee, DeShields reported to Triple-A Tacoma and slashed .222/.300/.222 with no extra-base hits and a 3-for-5 success rate on stolen-base attempts over 12 games before receiving his walking papers. The 30-year-old outfielder hasn't surfaced in the majors since the 2021 season, when he appeared in 25 games for Cincinnati.
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Delino DeShields See More
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
September 5, 2021
September call-ups are here and Jan Levine chooses the best of the bunch while also detailing which lower-covered players have recently done well.
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
August 8, 2021
Erik Siegrist looks over the AL free-agent pool as another top prospect joins the fray in Angels outfielder Jo Adell.
The Z Files: The Fallacy of Stabilization and an Early Look at Home Runs
April 10, 2021
Todd Zola offers some thoughts on early-season trends, including the home run surge led by Nick Castellanos and the Reds.
Dream11 Fantasy Baseball: Royals at Indians
September 7, 2020
Juan Pablo Aravena breaks down Monday's Royals at Indians game for Dream11 contests.
Dream11 Fantasy Baseball: Indians at Cardinals
August 28, 2020
Juan Pablo Aravena breaks down Saturday's Indians at Cardinals game for Dream11 contests.
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Every season, someone in AL-only formats drafts the speed because he does move the needle with 20-plus steals, and said person hopes that DeShields does anything with the bat. That happened in 2017 as he hit a career-best .269 and scored 75 runs. Since then, they have been mostly empty steals that are getting tougher to carry even in the single-league formats. He is slotting into a short-side platoon/defensive replacement role on squads as he is far from being in the specialist category on the defensive side of the ball. Understand, as bad as the Cleveland outfield was in 2020, DeShields still could not keep a starting job. Cheap speed is fine, as long as it is cheap. Don't get to the point of the draft where this is the last speed option and you are in desperate need of speed.
DeShields, who has now logged close to 2,000 PA in the big leagues, probably is what he is at 27 years old. He has great speed and has displayed a consistently steady eye at the plate, with walk rates routinely sitting in the double digits, but DeShields strikes out too much (24.5 K% last season) and does little damage when he manages to put bat to ball. In fact, his barrel rate and average exit velocity both ranked in the bottom 6% of the league. He had one of the 20 highest Oppo% in the league last season (min. 400 PA), with 26 of his 89 total hits going to the opposite field. More than a quarter of his hits were opposite-field singles (27%), and he had eight bunt hits. The Rangers did not like him as an everyday player and traded him to Cleveland, where his playing-time outlook is a bit brighter. That said, it's best to get your stolen bases early and avoid one-category desperation plays like DeShields.
DeShields reached 20 stolen bases for the third time in four years, but his 2018 season as a whole has to be categorized as an unmitigated disaster. He fouled a ball off his hand in just the second game of the regular season and missed three weeks with a fractured hamate bone. Not long after his return in late April, DeShields lost his spot atop the order, falling to the nine hole, and he eventually lost his spot on the roster entirely. DeShields returned just a few days after his demotion because an injury forced the Rangers' hand, but DeShields continued to struggle and continued to deal with injuries of his own (concussion, finger) over the remainder of the campaign. He took walks at a nice clip (10.9%), but he had just a 19% line-drive rate and 27.7% hard-hit rate. Per Statcast, he had a bottom-10 barrel rate (min. 150 BBE) and his xBA was .180. Stolen bases are at a premium, but it's tough to see DeShields hitting enough to be worthwhile in standard mixed leagues.
DeShields rebounded from a disappointing 2016 season, going over 400 plate appearances with the Rangers for the second time in three seasons, and once again making an impact as a base stealer (29-for-37). As a hitter, his numbers closely resembled what he put together as a rookie in 2015, as he got on base at a nice .347 clip on the strength of a 10 percent walk rate. DeShields has a modicum of pop, but his contributions hinge on his volume of playing time and placement in the batting order. To his credit, DeShields has improved defensively since his rookie season, making him more likely to find playing time in center field going forward. He may be better suited to work as a fourth outfielder, starting mostly against southpaws and getting the occasional turn against righties, while offering a late-inning stolen-base threat off the bench. How much he plays and where those opportunities come from in Texas next season will hinge on the quality of the competition brought in prior to spring training.
DeShields' 2015 campaign gave him a leash at the beginning of 2016, but he eventually lost his major league job. DeShields' bat doesn't hold up as well as his speed. He's had a discouraging strikeout rate since his days in the minors and hasn't proven he can keep a walk rate to balance that or take full advantage of his speed. Texas may not have room for him in the lineup unless it's against a left-handed pitcher. Of course, if he can find at least a semi-regular role, his speed could return him to mixed-league relevance. After all, he stole 25 bases in 2015 and has farm seasons with 83, 51 and 54 steals. He's worth watching after the season starts in mixed leagues and worth stashing on draft day in AL-only formats, but not at a price that assumes he'll have any sort of lasting stint as a starter from the get-go.
DeShields lacks both power and contact skills, and had never shown either in the minor leagues, yet he was successful for the Rangers last year, scoring 83 runs and stealing 25 bases in 121 games, thanks to his patience at the plate and his blazing speed. Unfortunately, with his skill set, DeShields is a virtual certainty to be a drag in the power categories, and unlike many speedsters, DeShields does not make enough contact to be reliable for a high batting average. Basically, the question will be whether DeShields can get on base enough to post the kind of stolen-base totals necessary to justify his shortcomings. DeShields stole 50 bases in 2013 and 2014 and he stole an absurd 101 bases in 135 combined games at Low-A and High-A in 2013. If he regresses at the plate, DeShields could quickly find himself in the role of fourth outfielder, with Lewis Brinson waiting at Triple-A as the Rangers' center fielder of the future.
DeShields struggled in spring training in his second year attending major league camp with the Astros before reporting to Double-A Corpus Christi, where he was moved to center field full-time after spending the previous four seasons in the minors at second base. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old suffered a scary injury in a mid-April game after being hit in the face by a 90 mph fastball. Luckily, he only missed three weeks with a sinus fracture in his left cheek before returning to the Hooks' lineup. The second-generation speedster swiped 54 bases in 114 games, but regressed with his bat, hitting .236/.346/.360 with 14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 57 RBI over 411 at-bats. An elite walk rate (12%) maintained a respectable OBP, however, giving DeShields plenty of opportunity to do what he does best. The Rangers pounced on DeShields when the Astros left him unprotected for the Rule 5 draft, and he'll try to secure a bench role for Texas during spring training as a versatile speedster.
With 19 stolen bases in the month of July alone, DeShields recovered from a somewhat sluggish first half to finish the season strong at High-A Lancaster. No, he didn't come close to the 101 steals that he recorded in 2012 (he finished 2013 with 51), but his elite speed combined with his ability to get on base (.405 on-base percentage) almost assures him a promotion to Double-A this season. DeShields even got some extra time in this offseason during the Arizona Fall League, where he continued to get on base and steal bases at an extraordinary clip. While there is still plenty of room for development, as Jose Altuve continues to hold down the fort at second base for the Astros, DeShields appears to have a very bright future ahead of him as a leadoff hitter in the major leagues. There are some questions, however, as to where he may fit defensively and a conversion to center field started in the fall league.
Had it not been for Billy Hamilton's historic season, DeShields would have been the minors' top stolen-base man. The second-generation keystoner swiped an impressive 102 bags getting caught just 19 times, several of those in the last few days of the season while he was making his push to 100. It is hard not to compare a player to his father, especially when they have the same name, but DeShields is bigger and more physical than his father, which may mean that he will hit for more power as he matures. His tools have the potential to be really quite exceptional. Still, DeShields is very raw and has a lot of development time ahead of him. It's a pretty safe bet that he will spend at least the next two years in the minors.
DeShields has yet to prove he can hit at the major league level, but does have some speed. He spent a full season in the Sally League, where he was inconsistent at the plate, regressing significantly from his 2010 debut. The lone bright spot for DeShields was that he stole 30 bases, which is particularly impressive when you consider how hard it must have been for him to take full advantage of his speed when he was only getting on base at a .305 clip. He'll run when he's on base, but how often that will happen is still uncertain as he's a work in progress.
The Astros' first-round pick in the 2010 amateur draft was slowed by elbow problems in his first professional season, but still managed to steal five bases in his first 18 games. DeShields' selection that early in the draft (eighth overall) was a bit of a reach, but the Astros desperately needed athletic prospects in their farm system. Like his father, DeShields will likely wind up at second base, a transition the team is encouraging that should increase his long-term fantasy value.
More Fantasy News
Lands MiLB deal with Seattle
OFSeattle Mariners  
March 19, 2023
DeShields signed a minor-league contract with the Mariners on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Lands minor-league deal
OFAtlanta Braves  
April 9, 2022
DeShields signed a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Let go by Miami
OFFree Agent  
April 3, 2022
DeShields was released by the Marlins on Sunday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.
ANALYSIS
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Signs MiLB deal with Miami
OFMiami Marlins  
March 18, 2022
DeShields signed a minor-league contract with the Marlins on Friday.
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Becomes free agent
OFFree Agent  
October 12, 2021
DeShields refused an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville and is now a free agent, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Done in Cincinnati?
OFCincinnati Reds  
October 7, 2021
DeShields, who was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville on Thursday, could be looking for a new home this offseason.
ANALYSIS
The move bumps DeShields off the 40-man roster and puts his future with the Reds in doubt. It looks like the 29-year-old will instead be looking for a new team in 2022, which would be his fourth MLB organization.
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