<p>Just <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/the-rangers-trade-nathaniel-lowe-to-the-nationals-for-reliever-robert-garcia">hours</a> after the Texas Rangers dealt Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals, it appears general manager Chris Young is using the money saved on Lowe&#8217;s contract to splurge on a left-handed bat.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://x.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1871131304974266423">reports</a> from ESPN&#8217;s Jeff Passan and The Athletic&#8217;s Ken Rosenthal, outfielder Joc Pederson is set to join the Rangers in what would be the sixth team since his 2014 MLB Debut. Terms of the deal are two years at $37 million with an opt-out after the 2025 season.</p>
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<p>A two-time All-Star, Pederson was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of high school. The California product spent seven years with the organization before signing with the Chicago Cubs after the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series. Over the past four seasons, Pederson has split his time with the Cubs, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, and last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, inking a one-year deal worth $9.5 million. Before signing with Arizona last winter, the Blue Jays were reportedly interested in his services but <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-reportedly-interested-in-joc-pederson-as-team-searches-for-upgrade-offensively-on-open-market">could not strike a deal.</a></p>
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<p>Batting from the left side, the Diamondbacks used Pederson in the designated hitter spot and he platooned mostly with Randal Grichuk and Blaze Alexander when a left-hander was on the mound. Pederson primarily worked against right-handed pitchers (335 at-bats) while sitting against left-handers (32 at-bats) due to his split stats. Against righties, the veteran bat produced a .281/.392/.531 slash line with a .923 OPS.</p>
<h2>DH Joc Pederson lands with the Texas Rangers</h2>
<p>He collected 22 of his 23 home runs against the right-handers and added 16 doubles and 60 RBIs as well, finishing the year with a .314 BABip. Comparatively, through the small sample size, Pederson produced seven hits against left-handers to the tune of a .219 average. Two of those hits were for extra bases (a double and a home run) and he finished the year with a .749 OPS against the same side.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Outfielder Joc Pederson and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a contract, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. Pederson, 32, hit .275/.393/.515 last year, destroyed right-handed pitching and is regarded as an elite clubhouse presence. First on the news: <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ken_Rosenthal</a>.</p>
<p>&mdash; Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1871131857838088192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Collectively, Pederson amassed a .275/.393/.515 slash line with 41 extra-base hits and finished the year with a .908 OPS and a 151 OPS+ through 132 games. The Diamondback also posted a 3.0 fWAR while working as the team&#8217;s DH and produced a .240 IOS and a 125 wRC+ while ranking well across multiple Baseball Savant categories. the 32-year-old finished the year with a +32 batting run value (95th percentile) and ranked in the 90th percentile or above in xSLG (.480), average exit velocity (92.3 MPH), BB% (12.2%), and xwOBA (.378).</p>
<p>While he produces below-average speed on the base paths and wasn&#8217;t used in the outfield, Pederson&#8217;s effectiveness against right-handed arms landed him a deal with the Rangers who used 18 different players in the DH spot last season. Pederson can play all three outfield spots if needed (albeit with below-average defense abilities) but he will likely work in the same role with Texas as he did last season in the desert, working in the DH spot against right-handed pitchers.</p>
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Just <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/the-rangers-trade-nathaniel-lowe-to-the-nationals-for-reliever-robert-garcia">hours</a> after the Texas Rangers dealt Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals, it appears general manager Chris Young is using the money saved on Lowe's contract to splurge on a left-handed bat.

According to <a href="https://x.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1871131304974266423">reports</a> from ESPN's Jeff Passan and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, outfielder Joc Pederson is set to join the Rangers in what would be the sixth team since his 2014 MLB Debut. Terms of the deal are two years at $37 million with an opt-out after the 2025 season.



A two-time All-Star, Pederson was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of high school. The California product spent seven years with the organization before signing with the Chicago Cubs after the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series. Over the past four seasons, Pederson has split his time with the Cubs, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, and last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, inking a one-year deal worth $9.5 million. Before signing with Arizona last winter, the Blue Jays were reportedly interested in his services but <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-reportedly-interested-in-joc-pederson-as-team-searches-for-upgrade-offensively-on-open-market">could not strike a deal.</a>
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Batting from the left side, the Diamondbacks used Pederson in the designated hitter spot and he platooned mostly with Randal Grichuk and Blaze Alexander when a left-hander was on the mound. Pederson primarily worked against right-handed pitchers (335 at-bats) while sitting against left-handers (32 at-bats) due to his split stats. Against righties, the veteran bat produced a .281/.392/.531 slash line with a .923 OPS.
<h2>DH Joc Pederson lands with the Texas Rangers</h2>
He collected 22 of his 23 home runs against the right-handers and added 16 doubles and 60 RBIs as well, finishing the year with a .314 BABip. Comparatively, through the small sample size, Pederson produced seven hits against left-handers to the tune of a .219 average. Two of those hits were for extra bases (a double and a home run) and he finished the year with a .749 OPS against the same side.

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1871131857838088192

Collectively, Pederson amassed a .275/.393/.515 slash line with 41 extra-base hits and finished the year with a .908 OPS and a 151 OPS+ through 132 games. The Diamondback also posted a 3.0 fWAR while working as the team's DH and produced a .240 IOS and a 125 wRC+ while ranking well across multiple Baseball Savant categories. the 32-year-old finished the year with a +32 batting run value (95th percentile) and ranked in the 90th percentile or above in xSLG (.480), average exit velocity (92.3 MPH), BB% (12.2%), and xwOBA (.378).

While he produces below-average speed on the base paths and wasn't used in the outfield, Pederson's effectiveness against right-handed arms landed him a deal with the Rangers who used 18 different players in the DH spot last season. Pederson can play all three outfield spots if needed (albeit with below-average defense abilities) but he will likely work in the same role with Texas as he did last season in the desert, working in the DH spot against right-handed pitchers.

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