Joc Pederson to Cubs

[Eye Black]

Had reportedly been a potential Brewers target at one point this offseason.

 

Per Ken Rosenthal: Free-agent outfielder Joc Pederson in agreement with Cubs, pending physical, sources tell The Athletic.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

He's their Schwarber replacement. Probably is going to put up similar numbers. Pretty solid signing for them, depending on the financials.

[TURBO]

Doesn't make a lot of sense for a team that seems to have given up on the 2021 season...

[Eye Black]

Peterson’s .501 career slugging versus righties should play well in a division where not a single team has more than one projected LHP starter.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Doesn't make a lot of sense for a team that seems to have given up on the 2021 season...

 

Right. They gave up on Schwarber, but are signing a player who is almost literally his exact clone, only a couple years older. Pederson is perhaps a little better as a defender in the OF, but that's it.

 

Hopefully the Brewers can find a way to add a solid lefty or two to the rotation.

[brewmann04]

It the end of January so i would guess the Brewers are ready to add those last few pieces to the puzzle.

[Eye Black]

Pederson’s contract is one-year for $7 million according to Jeff Passan.

[DR28]

I guess 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.

[pacopete4]

The first contract and player I am a bit disappointed we didn't jump on. He would have been a nice addition to our team's makeup and could have had a very nice season in Miller Park.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I guess 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.

 

Also a component that the Brewers likely wouldn't (and given his splits, shouldn't) have offered, if they were even in the running for him. At most, he would have been looking at a part-time RF platoon with Garcia, with perhaps getting some 1B innings mixed in.

[monty57]

Doesn't make a lot of sense for a team that seems to have given up on the 2021 season...

 

The Cubs still have to make a show at putting a competitive team out there. As long as they're even remotely competitive, the fans will show up just to drink beer and have a good time, and the owners will make a lot of money. If they completely tank, fans will stop showing up, and the owners will lose, especially when they have an interest in the neighborhood bars that make big money on game days.

 

Pederson's "rate stats" will suffer if he plays everyday, but he'll hit a lot of home runs in Wrigley, so he'll be someone the fans will cheer.

[JohnBriggs12]

Pederson's career numbers and his 2020 numbers are incredibly similar to Schwarber's. It's almost scary how close they are. Yet Schwarber got $3 million more. I'd say a very good deal for Cubs.

 

In B-R similarity scores, Schwarber is number one most similar to Pederson, and Pederson is number 2 most similar to Schwarber.

 

They're essentially the same guy.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Pederson's career numbers and his 2020 numbers are incredibly similar to Schwarber's. It's almost scary how close they are. Yet Schwarber got $3 million more. I'd say a very good deal for Cubs.

 

We don't know what the buyout on Pederson's 2022 mutual option is, though. Also, Schwarber was estimated to get between $7-8 million in arbitration from the Cubs had they not non-tendered him. So when you dig into it, probably not as good of deal as it appears on the surface.

[brewmann04]

7 Million not Bad but he would be limited with the Brewers but would most likely put up good HR # in Miller park

[SRB]

1/$7M seems incredibly cheap, doesn't it? I guess strict platoon guys really cannot command much on the market.

 

Good move for the Cubs, unfortunately.

[mtrebs]

This guy tends to give the Brewers fits too, doesn’t he? Or am I just imagining this since lots of guys give the Brewers fits.

[Eye Black]

This guy tends to give the Brewers fits too, doesn’t he? Or am I just imagining this since lots of guys give the Brewers fits.

Pederson has a career .663 slugging and 1.034 OPS in 26 games against the Brewers.

 

Schwarber on the other hand had a career .441 slugging and .758 OPS in 73 career games against the Brewers.