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Joc Pederson

Joc Pederson Declines Mutual Option

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Braves outfielder Joc Pederson has declined his end of a $10MM mutual option in favor of a $2.5MM buyout, the Associated Press reports. Unlike teammate Adam Duvall, who also declined a mutual option this week, Pederson has more than six years of Major League service time and is thus a free agent now that he’s declined his end of the option.

Signed by the Cubs to a one-year deal last winter, Pederson was guaranteed $7MM in the form of a $4.5MM base salary and the $2.5MM buyout on the option he’s now declined. He can’t receive a qualifying offer by virtue of the fact that he was traded midseason (from Chicago to Atlanta), though it’s unlikely he’d have been a candidate for such an offer anyhow.

Pederson, 30 in April, posted similar overall numbers in 256 plate appearances with the Cubs and 173 plate appearances with the Braves, resulting in an overall .238/.310/.422 batting line on the season. He connected on 18 home runs, 19 doubles and three triples.

It’s perhaps encouraging that the left-handed-hitting Pederson, who has some longstanding struggles against left-handed pitching, hit lefties at a solid .265/.348/.378 clip in 2021 — albeit in a small sample of 112 plate appearances. However, it’s also concerning that his typically outstanding production against right-handers dwindled; in 369 plate appearances with the platoon advantage, Pederson slashed an uncharacteristically pedestrian .230/.298/.435.

When the page flipped to the postseason, the “Joctober” narrative took full effect, as Pederson clubbed a pair of pivotal pinch-hit home runs during Atlanta’s NLDS victory over the Brewers. Pederson homered early in the NLCS as well, but his bat went dormant for the remainder of the postseason, as he finished out the playoffs in a 2-for-26 swoon with a walk and eight strikeouts. It’s worth pointing out that, fun as the “Joctober” moniker may be, his career postseason line of .256/.332/.482 now quite closely resembles his lifetime .232/.332/.462 regular-season batting line.

Pederson will now head back out into what he hopes will be a healthier free agent market than he encountered last winter, when many clubs simply opted not to spend on the heels of a 2020 season played without ticket revenues. The expiring collective bargaining agreement will create similar uncertainty for free agents, but it’s likelier that teams will be more amenable to spending than they were last time around. Pederson’s 2021 showing didn’t exactly send his free-agent stock soaring, but it was still an improvement over a woeful .190/.285/.397 showing from that 2020 season. A multi-year deal seems possible, but with a fairly deep crop of corner outfielders available in free agency, he might settle for a second consecutive one-year pact.

Braves Acquire Joc Pederson From Cubs

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The Braves and Cubs have swung a notable trade, as outfielder Joc Pederson is on his way to Atlanta in exchange for first base prospect Bryce Ball.  Both teams have announced the trade, and there doesn’t appear to be any money changing hands in the deal.  This means the Braves will absorb all of the approximately $1.84MM remaining of Pederson’s $4.5MM salary for the 2021 season, as well as the $2.5MM buyout of the $10MM mutual option on his services for 2022.

Pederson addresses a clear and obvious need in the outfield for Atlanta after superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. was lost for the season due to a torn ACL.  Pederson has a lot of center field experience over his career, though it is probably more likely that he’ll be deployed mostly as a corner outfielder for the Braves.  With Pederson handling left or right field on a regular basis and Guillermo Heredia getting the bulk of the work in center field, the Braves can toggle between Orlando Arcia, Ehire Adrianza, Ender Inciarte and Abraham Almonte for the other corner spot and as backup options.

Joc PedersonSome type of right-handed hitting option might be necessary as a complement to Pederson, who has a modest .271/.348/.339 slash line in 66 PA against left-handed pitching this season.  His decision to sign a free agent deal with the Cubs last winter was made in part because Chicago offered Pederson a chance to every day rather than in a platoon capacity, and his numbers are still an improvement from his overall career line against left-handed pitching.  The batting average and OBP are at least respectable enough that the Braves might still use Pederson as more or less an everyday player just to plug one outfield hole.

It also possible the Braves could add another outfielder on the trade market, since today’s swap indicates that the club hasn’t conceded anything in the wake of Acuna’s devastating injury.  Atlanta has a 44-45 record but sits just 3.5 games back of the Mets for first place in the NL East.  Since the Braves have a tough schedule between now and the July 30 trade deadline (five games against the Mets, three against the Phillies, and three each against playoff contenders Tampa Bay and San Diego), it also isn’t out of the question that Pederson could be flipped again if the Braves struggle over the next two weeks and decide to sell some pieces.

An above-average bat for most of his seven seasons with the Dodgers, Pederson was also dealt to the Angels in a rather infamously scuttled deal prior to the 2020 campaign, but he remained on L.A.’s blue team long enough to capture a World Series ring.  He posted a .991 OPS over 37 plate appearances during the Dodgers’ postseason run, providing a happy ending after a struggle (.681 OPS in 138 PA) of a regular season.

The Braves had some interest in Pederson as a free agent, but he ended up signing with Chicago, and still hasn’t really gotten himself right at the plate.  Pederson has been a slightly below-average (95 wRC+, 96 OPS+) hitter in 287 total plate appearances this season, hitting .230/.300/.418 with 11 home runs.  All 11 of those homers have come against right-handed pitching, yet while Pederson sought out more playing time against lefties during the winter, the irony is that he has now struggled to hit righties for two straight seasons.  Pederson has only a .218/.285/.442 slash line in 221 PA against righties this year.

The Cubs have a 44-46 record, only a half-game behind the Braves in the standings and yet seemingly a world apart in terms of expectations for the remainder of the 2021 season.  Chicago has won just six of its last 25 games, thanks to a crushing 11-game losing streak that seems to have put them in a seller’s mindset as the deadline approaches.  As a rental player, Pederson was a natural trade chip to be moved, and speculation has swirled for months that such impending free agents (and franchise cornerstones) such as Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, and Anthony Rizzo could be on the move by July 30.

Today’s trade could be the first of many for the Cubs over the next two weeks, and the Wrigleyville side has already picked up one interesting minor leaguer in Ball.  A 24th-round pick for Atlanta in the 2019 draft, Ball was a power-heavy prospect who immediately displayed that skill in his first pro season, batting a cumulative .329/.395/.628 with 17 homers over 263 PA with the Braves’ rookie league and A-ball teams in 2019.  It hasn’t been as smooth for Ball this year, however, with only a .207/.354/.396 slash line in 212 PA at high-A ball, including a power dropoff resulting in only six home runs and a big reduction in slugging percentage.

MLB Pipeline ranked Ball as the 12th-best prospect in the Braves’ farm system, so he is more than just a lottery ticket at age 23 if the Cubs development system can sharpen his hitting potential.  For the sake of future trade speculation, Ball isn’t really enough of a premium first base prospect that it would make a Rizzo trade any more likely than it already is, necessarily.  (By that same token, dealing a first base prospect probably also isn’t a hint about Freddie Freeman’s future with the Braves, though Freeman certainly doesn’t look like a trade candidate.)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Cubs’ Recent Losing Streak Changes Trade Deadline Outlook

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A couple weeks ago, the Cubs had positioned themselves as likely buyers during trade season. As recently as June 24, Chicago was tied with the Brewers atop the NL Central, nine games over .500. The past two weeks have been an unmitigated disaster for the North Siders, though.

Between June 25 and July 7, the Cubs lost eleven consecutive games. They snapped that streak with a win over the Phillies last night, but Chicago enters tonight’s matchup against Philadelphia with an uninspiring 43-44 record. The Brewers, meanwhile, have rattled off a 10-3 stretch over that time, opening up an 8.5 game lead on Chicago within a 14-day span. (The 45-41 Reds have also since passed the Cubs to jump into second place in the division). Chicago isn’t a whole lot closer in the Wild Card race, trailing the Padres by seven games (with Cincinnati and the Nationals also above them in the standings).

An eleven game losing streak can certainly tank a team’s season, and it seems it might’ve in the Cubs’ case. On June 24, FanGraphs gave Chicago a 35.7% chance of making the playoffs; entering play today, their odds were down to 6.4%.

With a playoff berth all of a sudden seeming highly unlikely, the calculus for the Cubs front office changes considerably, a fact that president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged this evening. Speaking with reporters (including Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune and Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago), Hoyer sounded far more willing to move players off the big league roster than he’d been a couple weeks ago.

“Eleven days ago, we were certainly fully on the buying side … and obviously (teams) are now calling to see which players are available,” Hoyer said. “So it’s a very different scenario than we’d expected. Life comes at you fast.” Asked whether the front office is willing to make players available, Hoyer noted their responsibility to consider anything “that can help build the next great Cubs team,” citing their aforementioned dwindling playoff odds.

The implications for the Cubs are obvious. Three of their highest-profile players — Kris Bryant, Javier Báez and Anthony Rizzo — are all slated to hit free agency at the end of the season. If the team isn’t contending in 2021, it stands to reason any or all of them could find themselves on the move over the next few weeks.

Certainly, there’d be plenty of interest in every member of that group. Bryant has bounced back from a disappointing 2020 to hit a very strong .269/.349/.498 with sixteen home runs over 324 plate appearances this year. He’s making far more consistent hard contact and barreling balls up at a rate he hasn’t since his MVP peak. Bryant’s production has tailed off after he got out to a scorching start to the year, but his combination of excellent season-long numbers and overall track record would make him perhaps the top player on the trade market were the Cubs to make him available.

Rizzo’s .250/.343/.439 line is down rather significantly from his best seasons. It’s still above-average offensive production, though, and he continues to offer a rare combination of bat-to-ball skills and hard contact (to say nothing of quality defensive marks at first base). Báez has struck out at an alarming 36.6% clip this year en route to a .234 batting average and a .282 on-base percentage. But he’s also popped 21 home runs and slugged .496, and he’s a comfortably above-average defender and baserunner.

Between their career accolades, key roles on the 2016 World Series team, and impending free agencies, that trio figures to draw the most fanfare in advance of the July 30 trade deadline. They’re far from the only players on whose availability other teams might inquire, though. Zach Davies, Joc Pederson and Jake Marisnick are useful players set to reach free agency this winter. (Marisnick has a mutual option for 2022, but mutual options are rarely exercised by both parties).

Willson Contreras, controllable via arbitration through 2022, is one of the game’s best catchers and was the subject of trade discussion last offseason. Closer Craig Kimbrel is having an incredible bounceback campaign, pitching to a 0.57 ERA with a 46.2% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk percentage after struggling mightily between 2019-20. Kimbrel’s $16MM salary for 2021 now looks more than reasonable, as does the matching option on his contract for 2022.

Certainly, it’d be a surprise to see all of those players change teams in the next few weeks. Hoyer pushed back against the idea the Cubs were planning to kick off any sort of full-on rebuild, even as he acknowledged that the 2022 roster will look different from the current iteration. He also noted there’s still some possibility — slim as it now seems — the team plays its way back into contention over the coming weeks.

The Cubs have eighteen more games before the deadline. After facing the Phils tonight, their slate through July 29 consists of seven games against the Cardinals, six against the lowly Diamondbacks, and four against the Reds, one of the teams they’ll need to leapfrog for a postseason spot.

Winning thirteen or fourteen of those contests might get the Cubs sufficiently close to the postseason picture that the front office decides not to orchestrate a sell-off. The core of the current club has been pivotal to arguably the franchise’s most successful five-year run in over a century. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hoyer and his front office give the group as long a leash as possible this summer to try to play their way back into the mix.

Nevertheless, the most likely scenario is that the club’s dreadful past two weeks dug them a hole too deep to come back from. That’s an inescapable reality Hoyer acknowledged this afternoon, one that may result in a few of the franchise’s most important players of recent memory donning new uniforms in a few weeks’ time.

Cubs Notes: Kimbrel, Baez, Pederson

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The Cubs have been a frequent topic of conversation this year (and the last couple) when it comes to the trade market. If they continue to be competitive, it’s certainly difficult to imagine a sell-off of their big brand stars. One interesting suggestion making the rounds (most recently from Jesse Rogers on ESPN) is that Chicago could continue to walk-the-line between short-and-long-term planning by trading star closer Craig Kimbrel. With Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and Tommy Nance providing good work out of the pen, the Cubs could conceivably back-fill the closer spot while adding to the farm system.

There would certainly be interest in Kimbrel, who appears back to his old self. The 33-year-old has locked down 14 saves in 24 appearances with a 0.75 ERA/1.27 FIP, stellar 45.1 percent strikeout rate, and much-improved 8.8 percent walk rate, his lowest such mark since 2017. He’ll be a name to watch, but for now, Kimbrel’s not going anywhere. The Cubs are more focused on getting healthy. On that front…

  • Javier Baez buzzed his right hand hitting the ball off the end of the bat in San Francisco. His wrist, hand, and thumb were sore. He will be looked at further when the team arrives in San Diego, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). It does not sound like a significant injury, which is good for the Cubs, as they’re already a little short-handed in the infield with David Bote, Nico Hoerner, and Matt Duffy on the injured list. Sergio Alcantara and Eric Sogard will have to stand in at shortstop if Baez misses any time.
  • Joc Pederson is also day-to-day after tweaking his back, per MLB.com. Pederson left Saturday’s game in San Francisco after running into the wall on an Alex Dickerson home run. Rafael Ortega has been seeing playing time in the outfield for the past couple of days.

Cubs Place Joc Pederson On 10-Day IL

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The Cubs have placed outfielder Joc Pederson on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 21, with left wrist tendinitis, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report. They recalled infielder Nico Hoerner in a corresponding move.

The IL placement continues a forgettable start to the season for Pederson, a former Dodger whom the Cubs signed to a one-year, $7MM guarantee in free agency. The left-handed Pederson has typically offered above-average offense, especially against righties, though his numbers have plummeted dating back to the start of last season.

The Cubs were betting on a bounce-back year when they added Pederson, but their plan hasn’t worked out yet. Pederson has batted a career-worst .137/.262/.235 (47 wRC+) with one home run and a microscopic .098 ISO through 61 plate appearances. Nevertheless, the Cubs have stuck with Pederson as their regular left fielder, having started him in 15 of 17 games. Ian Happ is the only other Cub who has started at the position this year.

The 23-year-old Hoerner was Baseball America’s 40th-ranked prospect as recently as 2020, but he hasn’t been able to establish himself in the majors thus far. He combined for 208 PA during the previous two seasons and batted .247/.309/.333 (73 wRC+) with three HRs.

Chicago Notes: Baez, Pederson, Kopech

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Here’s the latest on Chicago’s two major league teams:

  • Shortstop Javier Baez once again made it clear Friday that he wants to remain with the Cubs, not depart in free agency next offseason, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic tweets. “Obviously, I want to stay here. I don’t want to play for another team,” Baez said, though the Cubs may lose the opportunity to extend the two-time All-Star if they don’t do so by the time the season begins. Baez stated he’ll “probably” put a deadline on talks in spring training. Barring a new deal, Baez could be one of several free-agent standouts at his position next winter, though he’s in need of a rebound after hitting a dismal .203/.238/.360 with 75 strikeouts against just seven walks in 235 plate appearances last year.
  • One of Baez’s new teammates, outfielder Joc Pederson, told Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters that he turned down longer offers to join the Cubs. The former Dodger inked a one-year, $7MM guarantee with the Cubs because of the allure of playing every day. Pederson was a platoon player in Los Angeles, where the left-handed swinger batted .238/.349/.501 over 2,132 trips to the plate versus righties. On the other hand, he managed an ugly .191/.266/.310 line in 385 PA against southpaws.
  • White Sox manager Tony La Russa confirmed Friday that righty Michael Kopech will open the season in the team’s bullpen, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score relays. The highly touted Kopech made his major league debut in 2018, throwing 14 1/3 innings, but he had to undergo Tommy John surgery in September of that year, and he hasn’t appeared in the bigs since. Kopech missed 2019 while recovering the procedure and then sat out last season because of COVID-19 concerns. The 24-year-old continues to rank as one of baseball’s most promising prospects, though, with MLB.com placing him 39th overall.

Cubs To Sign Joc Pederson

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FEB. 5: The mutual option includes a $10MM salary or a $2.5MM buyout, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Pederson could also earn an extra $125K for 500, 525, 550 or 575 plate appearances.

JAN. 29, 9:05am: There’s a mutual option for the 2022 season on the contract as well, Sherman tweets. As with many mutual options, it comes with a notable buyout, so Pederson’s actual 2021 salary will come in a ways south of that $7MM sum. (Option buyouts are always included in the “guaranteed” portion of a contract.)

Mutual options are typically used as accounting measures more than anything else. A player who overperforms his contract will generally decline his half of the option in favor of a return to market in search of a more lucrative deal; similarly, a player who underperforms may opt into his side of the deal, but the team will turn down its half in those settings. It’s not unprecedented for both sides to exercise a mutual option, but it is quite rare. In other words, the overwhelming likelihood is that Pederson will again be on the open market next winter.

8:30am: It’s a one-year, $7MM deal for Pederson, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The contract carries an additional $500K of available incentives, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Passan suggests that the Cubs will give Pederson an opportunity to play on an everyday basis rather than platooning him — a component of the deal that was particularly appealing for Pederson.

7:24am: The Cubs are in agreement on a deal with free-agent outfielder Joc Pederson, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Excel Sports Management client’s contract is still pending the completion of a physical.

Joc Pederson | Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Pederson, 28, represents the first notable addition of the offseason for a Cubs team that has otherwise been quiet on the free-agent front this winter (small deals with Austin Romine and Kohl Stewart notwithstanding). Pederson, in fact, will become the most prominent name to sign a free-agent deal with the Cubs since Craig Kimbrel. The team has generally eschewed the pursuit of notable free agents in each offseason since signing Yu Darvish to a six-year deal, as owner Tom Ricketts has openly lamented a lack of resources and declared 2020’s revenue losses to be “biblical” in proportion.

Chicago, of course, traded Darvish and Victor Caratini to the Padres earlier this season and non-tendered Kyle Schwarber as well. They’ll reinvest some of those savings into this deal with Pederson, though it’s at least something of an odd fit given the vast similarities he has to Schwarber. Pederson is a career .230/.336/.470 hitter to Schwarber’s .230/.336/.480 batting line, though Pederson has put up that nearly identical line in a more pitcher-friendly setting (hence the gap in their respective 118 and 113 wRC+ marks).

Both left-handed hitters are largely considered to be platoon bats, and as is the case with their overall numbers, their splits against righties are nearly identical: .238/.349/.501 for Pederson against .239/.345/.514 for Schwarber. The same five-point gap in wRC+ (128 vs. 123) leans in favor of Pederson because of his home park. The primary difference seemingly comes down to defense, where Pederson has a solid track record in left field and Schwarber has been consistently below average. Still, it’s rather surprising to see the Cubs go out and sign a player whose offense is a near-mirror image of an established clubhouse presence they cast aside not two months ago.

With Pederson on board, the Cubs’ projected payroll jumps to about $152MM for the upcoming season, although future dealings could still impact that number. Both Willson Contreras and Kris Bryant are still candidates to be moved prior to Opening Day, with Bryant in particular standing out as a candidate given his lone remaining year of club control (at a hefty $19.5MM salary). The Cubs also figure to explore extensions with Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez as the season approaches.

Giants, Braves Have Shown Some Interest In Joc Pederson

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Jan. 28: The Braves have also “discussed” Pederson, tweets David O’Brien of The Athletic. He’s clear to add that there’s no indication any talks between the two sides have gotten particularly far at this point.

Pederson would give the Braves a potential replacement for fellow free agent Marcell Ozuna, who is likely seeking a lengthier and more lucrative deal than Pederson after performing brilliantly in 2020 on a one-year, $18MM deal. There’s likely room in the payroll for either player — particularly if an Ozuna deal were to be backloaded a bit — but the current Braves regime has generally leaned toward shorter-term deals.

Pederson would likely require a platoon partner with the Braves (for reasons noted below). Speculatively speaking, Austin Riley could fill that role by moving to left field against southpaw starters, with Johan Camargo filling in at the hot corner on those days. The switch-hitting Camargo is a career .286/.337/.506 hitter when he bats from the right side of the plate.

Jan. 27: Former Dodgers outfielder and current free agent Joc Pederson’s time in the National League West might not be over yet, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants are “talking to” the 28-year-old. He joins the previously reported Jackie Bradley Jr. and Eddie Rosario as left-handed-hitting outfielders on the Giants’ wish list.

In signing with San Francisco, Pederson would reunite with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who was the Dodgers’ general manager from Pederson’s major league debut in 2014 through 2018. Pederson was largely productive during that time and in the season after Zaidi’s departure, and though he struggled in the Dodgers’ World Series-winning campaign last year, there is no doubt he has been a solid offensive presence throughout his career. Across 2,517 plate appearances, Pederson has batted .230/.336/.470 (118 wRC+) with 130 home runs, including at least 25 in four seasons. Granted, Pederson has done the extreme majority of his damage versus right-handed pitchers, against whom he owns a 128 wRC+. For comparison, he has put up a paltry 59 wRC+ against southpaws.

San Francisco performed better than average off righties last year with the majors’ ninth-best wRC+ (107), and their outfield already has two lefty corner options in Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson – who each had huge seasons in 2020. On paper, there may not be a clean fit for Pederson unless he emerges as a regular in center, where he hasn’t played extensively since 2017, but that isn’t stopping the Giants from at least kicking the tires.

Open Market Notes: Kluber, Twins/Cruz, Nats, Odorizzi

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Add the Pirates to the clubs planning to attend for Corey Kluber’s January 13th workout, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic (via Twitter). The Nationals and Diamondbacks were previously mentioned as two among many planning to view Kluber in Florida. The Pirates don’t seem like the likeliest team to sign Kluber, though he could conceivably provide some veteran stability with the upside of becoming a mid-season trade chip. It’ll be interesting to see how Kluber shows after two mostly lost seasons. Before he ran into health troubles, the 34-year-old reeled off an exceptional five-season run.

Here are a few other items of open-market chatter …

  • Though there’s no evidence of recent progress, there’s still cause to remain bullish on the odds of a reunion between the Twins and slugger Nelson Cruz. The match, after all, has worked out well for both sides to date. In an appearance on the Locked On Twins podcast, Darren Wolfson of KSTP 5 indicated that mutual interest remains strong. But the club and the 40-year-old DH could also be eyeing alternatives. Wolfson suggests the Padres would have interest in Cruz if it turns out that the DH will remain in the National League. Remaining uncertainty in that regard has iced the market for lumbering sluggers. Depending upon how things shake out, per Wolfson, the Twins may have interest in a slate of options that includes Michael Brantley, Kyle Schwarber, and even Marcell Ozuna.
  • Several of those players would also be of interest to the Nationals, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It seems that Ozuna is likely to require too much space on the balance sheet. But Brantley and Schwarber, along with Joc Pederson, are each seen as possibilities to take up a post in the D.C. corner outfield. The Nats have an opening after allowing Adam Eaton to depart.
  • Free agent righty Jake Odorizzi appears to be in position to land a three-year deal, an executive tells Rosenthal. The expectation from that industry source is that the veteran starter could secure a guarantee in the realm of $36MM to $42MM — just where MLBTR predicted he’d land. There’s still no clarity as to Odorizzi’s slate of suitors, but it stands to reason he’ll have fairly widespread appeal given that Kevin Gausman and Marcus Stroman each accepted qualifying offers, removing two primary targets from the market.

Latest On White Sox’ Outfield Targets

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Despite a clear opening in their outfield, the White Sox are “extraordinarily unlikely” to sign George Springer this winter, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. The longtime Astros slugger has plenty of interest elsewhere, and Passan suggests that the ChiSox aren’t keen on paying “center-field prices for a corner outfielder.”

That’s perhaps an overly simplistic means of describing the situation, given that there are plenty of highly paid corner outfielders — some whose current contracts top whatever Springer will eventually command in free agency (e.g. Bryce Harper). However, it’s also fair to say that a considerable portion of Springer’s value is tied to the fact that he is not only a vastly above-average hitter but an above-average defender at a premium position. By all indications he’d be a strong defender in right field as well, but it seems his asking price and the Sox’ valuation of a corner outfielder — even an extremely well-rounded one — don’t align.

Right field is still a glaring need for a White Sox club that predictably non-tendered Nomar Mazara after a miserable debut season on the South Side. Fleet-footed Adam Engel gives them an option, although his track record prior to the 2020 season was that of a replacement-level player. At the very least, a left-handed bat to pair with Engel in a platoon setting would be sensible for the Sox to pursue.

To that end, it’s worth adding that The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal lists the White Sox as one of the teams with “at least some” interest in free-agent slugger Joc Pederson. Passan suggests that perhaps Michael Brantley could be a fit as well, although Brantley has just 58 career innings in right field. He’s spent the bulk of his career in left field with some frequent work in center field as well during his younger days. (NBC Sports Chicago’s Chuck Garfien makes a pitch for the Sox to bring Adam Eaton back into the fold, although that’s purely an opinion piece and not an indication that the two sides have actually spoken about a reunion.)

Pederson isn’t a new name to be connected to the White Sox. There’s been little to solidly connect the two sides up to now in the current offseason, but this is now the third consecutive offseason that has seen the White Sox reported to have interest in Pederson. The Sox and Dodgers talked about a potential Pederson swap in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 offseasons, although they obviously weren’t able to come to an agreement.

For the Sox, Pederson would likely be a pure platoon partner for Engel, as his career .191/.266/.310 slash against lefties is difficult for any club to stomach. He doesn’t hit for a high average against righties, either, but Pederson walks at a near-13 percent clip and boasts top-of-the-scale power when he’s holding the platoon advantage, as evidenced by a .238/.349/.501  batting line (128 wRC+). Brantley would be more of an everyday option, as he generally hits for average and gets on base regardless of opponent, although the bulk of his power comes against righties only. Again, though, it’s not an ideal defensive fit for Brantley, who’d probably require some time at DH as well.

Adding a lefty bat is in many ways a sensible approach for the White Sox, whose lineup is rife with right-handed bats. Outside of switch-hitters Yoan Moncada and Yasmani Grandal, the Sox’ starting lineup is entirely right-handed; Jose Abreu, Nick Madrigal, Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert all bat from the right side, as does top prospect Andrew Vaughn, who could factor into the team’s DH mix at some point in 2021.

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