Braves get slugging OF Pederson from Cubs
Mark Bowman
@mlbbowmanATLANTA -- Joc Pederson won¡¯t be as dynamic as Ronald Acuña Jr., but he¡¯ll now spend the next couple months attempting to compensate for the significant power the Braves lost when Acu?a suffered a season-ending knee injury last week.
The Braves announced they acquired Pederson in exchange for first-base prospect Bryce Ball on Thursday. The acquisition of a power-hitting, veteran outfielder was completed five days after Acu?a tore his right anterior cruciate ligament.
¡°There are still a lot of teams out there still in the hunt and still contending,¡± Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. ¡°If there¡¯s things out there we can add, we¡¯ll look to do it. I know we¡¯ve had our challenges, but I think everyone in our division has. So this one made sense for us, and we jumped on it.¡±
Pederson hit just .230 with 11 home runs and a .718 OPS in 287 plate appearances for the Cubs this year. He¡¯s not necessarily a difference maker, but he¡¯s certainly much better than Ehire Adrianza or Abraham Almonte, the two bench pieces who likely would have needed to fill Acu?a¡¯s void.
Braves manager Brian Snitker might choose to sit Pederson against some left-handed pitchers. But for now, the 29-year-old is expected to serve as the Braves¡¯ primary right fielder.
Pederson platooned throughout most of his career with the Dodgers. Against lefties this year with the Cubs, he hit .271 with zero homers, a .687 OPS and a 25.8% strikeout rate in 66 plate appearances. In 218 plate appearances against right-handers this season, Pederson has hit .218 with 11 homers, a .727 OPS and a 25.8% strikeout rate.
Pederson hit a career-best 36 homers in 2019 and then produced a respectable rate of 17.3 at-bats per home run during last year¡¯s shortened season. There seemed to be some mutual interest as the Braves pursued the upbeat and likeable outfielder this winter. But he ended up signing a one-year, $7 million deal with the Cubs.
Anthopoulos had a chance to be around Pederson while working in the Dodgers¡¯ front office during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
¡°He's a high-energy guy and a great clubhouse guy who comes in with a smile on his face every day,¡± Anthopoulos said. ¡°He¡¯s someone who if he gets hot, he can carry you. He hasn¡¯t really had that hot streak yet, but he¡¯s certainly capable of doing that. He¡¯s still young, and his raw power is as good as you¡¯re going to find.¡±
Pederson¡¯s deal includes a $4.5 million base salary for this year and a $10 million mutual option that includes a $2.5 million buyout for the 2022 season.
So unless Pederson impresses enough to influence exercising his option, this deal will cost the Braves approximately $4.3 million in pro-rated salary and the buyout. That¡¯s a price this team was willing to make as it enters the second half without Acu?a and just four games behind the first-place Mets in the National League East.
¡°Our focus right now,¡± Anthopoulos said, ¡°is as banged up as we¡¯ve been, if we can add where it makes sense, we¡¯ll certainly look to do it.
¡°Every game counts. I think any time we can strengthen the ballclub, we¡¯re going to look to do it.¡±