PHOENIX – A day after saying he was still looking for a slugger, D-Backs general manager Mike Hazen did just that when Arizona agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with free agent Joc Pederson Option for 2025 included, according to a baseball source.
The club has neither commented nor confirmed the deal.
Pederson is another addition from the defending NL champions this offseason, hoping to improve a team that went 84-78 in the regular season before really taking off in the postseason
The D-Backs also signed third baseman Eugenio Suarez and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, as well as newly signed outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Hazen said Wednesday that he's still hoping to get some help on offense, saying if it's going to be someone limited to the DH role, it would have to be “someone that comes in the middle of our lineup.” .
While Pederson played some outfield for the Giants over the last two seasons, defense is not his strength and he will likely spend almost all of his playing time as a DH against right-handed pitchers.
After a brief debut with the Dodgers in 2014, Pederson had an outstanding rookie season the following year, making the NL All-Star team and hitting 26 home runs. Pederson played parts of seven seasons for LA and hit more than 25 long balls in four seasons.
In 2020, Pederson was nicknamed “Joctober” after he hit .382 with two home runs and eight RBIs during the Dodgers' World Series run. A year later, Pederson extended his postseason legacy with three more home runs for the Braves in the playoffs during their World Series-winning 2021 season.
In 2024, Pederson will look to build on the form he showed in the 2022 season, his first with the Giants, perhaps the best season of his career at the helm. Pederson hit 23 home runs and posted a career-best 146 wRC+, the ninth-highest rate in baseball among players with at least 400 plate appearances. His expected slugging percentage (.502) and hard-hit rate (52.1 percent) were both in the 95th percentile.
Even though Pederson took a step back in 2023, there's reason to believe he's had some bad luck at the plate. Pederson hit just 15 homers with a wRC+ of 111 in 358 at-bats in 2023, but he actually increased his hard-hit rate while also reducing his strikeouts and increasing his walk rate. Both his BABIP (.268) and HR/FB rate (13.3 percent) were well below his career average.