That’s the question MLBTR asks in their latest Dodger related article. If there is baseball this year, it could be Pederson’s last with the Dodgers. I’ve always liked Joc Pederson. He ascended quickly through the minors, making his big league debut back in 2014. At the time he was a dynamic offensive performer hitting 30 Homers and stealing 30 bases in triple-A Albuquerque.
Once Joc advanced to the majors he went on to swat 123 home runs, including 7 in the postseason. Joc smashed 36 homers in 2019, which was a career high for him. Power was always his game but once he cut down on his swings and misses and improved his plate discipline he became very productive. He totalled 92 walks in his second season, 63 the following year and his career OBP (.339) has always been strong.
Home runs and walks were his thing. He hit right handers well, and his outfield defense was particularly strong during his early years. At one time he was the Dodger’s everyday center fielder. But he wasn’t without his warts. High amounts of strikeouts plagued his approaches during those first few seasons. However his biggest weakness was his problem hitting left handed pitching. Last season he batted just. 224 against southpaws and has hit only .188 in his career.
Entering the 2020 season, Joc was going to earn 7.75 million dollars in his last season of arbitration before hitting free agency in 2021. The Dodgers had worked out a trade to send him to the Angels during the Mookie Betts megadeal but the Angels backed out of the trade because they’ve become accustomed to losing baseball games.
It is unlikely the Dodgers will bring Joc back after this season. After all they have plenty of outfielders to man the positions. They may end up resigning Betts. They have superstar MVP Cody Bellinger, high priced AJ Pollack and a lot of other multi positional bench options to fill in when needed.
It would be a shame to see Pederson’s tenure with the Dodgers end without some sort of goodbye. If the Coronavirus wipes out the 2020 campaign, it’s possible we may have seen the last of Joc. I would personally hate to see that. Joc has been a young talented player and his production and enthusiasm would be sorely missed. Do you think the Dodgers will hang onto Joc?
Scott Andes
Scott Andes: Former Co-editor of Lasorda's Lair. Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic Cheap MLB Tickets
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