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After missing out on signing Seiya Suzuki, the San Francisco Giants added another outfielder instead: Joc Pederson.
Free-agent outfielder Joc Pederson in agreement with Giants on one-year, $6M contract, source tells @TheAthletic. First: @JonMorosi.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 16, 2022
Pederson is an outfielder who bats and throws left. In 2021, across two teams (the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves, the latter winning him a WS ring), Pederson put up a .238/.310/.422 slash line with 18 HR and 61 RBI, for a wRC+ of 94.
However, Giants fans will know Pederson better as a former Dodger, drafted in the 11th round back in 2010. In six major league seasons with the Dodgers, Pederson put up a .230/.336/.470 slash, good for a 118 wRC+ and 12.9 WAR. He can play all three outfield positions, but tended to spend the majority of his time in CF with the Dodgers, although in the last few years has seen more LF. Pederson is an excellent home run hitter who has participated in two Home Run Derbys, making it to the final round in 2015 before losing to Todd Frazier, and losing in the semi-finals to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2019.
Pederson has generally been used as a platoon player in the latter half of his career. Against RHP, he owns a .237/.341/.490 career slash, good for a 123 wRC+. Against LHP, the career slash drops to .208/.285/.325, good for a 68 wRC+. Pederson did perform better against LHP in 2021, slashing .265/.348/.378 vs LHP in 2021 for a 98 wRC+ (vs. a .230/.298/.435 slash, 93 wRC+ v. RHP), albeit in just 98 PAs vs. LHP.
The Giants now have a glut of outfielders to compete for platoon/starting spots, between Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., Austin Slater, Darin Ruf, and Steven Duggar (and potentially Mauricio Dubón). It’ll be an interesting competition to watch this spring, especially if the Giants continue to be in on other top outfielders as reported (Conforto, Castellanos).
As a fun aside, Pederson is a local kid who grew up in Palo Alto and attended Palo Alto High School (Paly). He was a big fan of Barry Bonds, although that soured a little when Bonds apparently snubbed Joc for a picture during a series where the Dodgers played the Marlins. Hopefully now that Pederson is a Giant, he can finally get his picture with Bonds!
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