Position: DH B/T: L/L
Age: 32 (4/21/1992)
2024 Traditional Stats: 23 HRs, 64 RBIs, .275/.393/.515/.908, 7 SBs, 449 PAs
2024 Advanced Stats: 2.9 bWAR, 3.0 fWAR, 151 wRC+, 23.4 SO%, 12.2 BB%, .322 BABIP, .381 xwOBA,
The Diamondbacks signed Joc Pederson, a 10-year veteran of four teams previously, and didn’t ask him to do anything he had never shown the consistent ability to do: hit lefties or play the field. The result was a 3.0 fWAR, his best mark since 2016.
Pederson posted the highest OPS (.908) of his career. It would have ranked 10th in MLB – a spot between Marcell Ozuna and Bryce Harper – but he was 53 plate appearances shy of qualifying. At the same time, he beat up on right-handed pitching but also took a few lumps of his own, getting hit by a pitch an MLB-leading 18 times.
Pederson hit 22 of his 23 homers against righties and slashed .281/.392/.531/.923 against them. (He went 7-for-32 vs. lefties for the year.) In 3,657 career PAs vs. righties, Pederson’s OPS is .844. Against lefties, it’s .630 in 648 PAs.
After playing at least some outfield every year (37 appearances in 2023, 114 in ’22, 117 in ’21) with poor results (Baseball Savant had his fielding run value at negative three in ’23, -11 in ’22, negative seven in ’21), Arizona made him exclusively into a designated hitter. He platooned with Randal Grichuk, who started against lefties.
“I loved the production we got from that spot,” Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said after the season ended just short of the playoffs. “This is the first year we’ve gone in that direction (full-time DH). They killed it, and they worked well together.”
Pederson debuted with the Dodgers in 2014 and made the All-Star team in 2015 when he hit 26 home runs and slashed .210/.346/.417. He was a Dodger for seven years before the Cubs signed him as a free agent in 2021. He was also an All-Star for the Giants in 2022.
A World Champion with the 2020 Dodgers and 2021 Braves, Pederson has 218 career playoff plate appearances. He’s hit 12 playoff homers and slashed .256/.332/.482 in the postseason. After making the playoffs the first seven years of his career, he missed them in his last three seasons.
Pederson declined a mutual option with Arizona that would have paid him $14 million in 2025. He played this season on a one-year, $9.5 million contract. MLB Trade Rumors projects the power hitter will net a two-year, $24 million deal this offseason.
Yes, a DH who can mash right-handed pitching is a valuable weapon, and the Mets have a need there. He would lengthen the lineup. I would follow the Diamondbacks’ lead and use him only in that role. If the Mets were to miss out on Juan Soto, Pederson gives the Mets a boost of power from the left side of the plate. Even if the Mets land Soto, Pederson should still be on their radar as a DH.
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