Diamondbacks reportedly interested in re-signing Joc Pederson
After putting together an impressive season in 2024, the Diamondbacks are interested in bringing back the left-handed half of their DH platoon.
The Diamondbacks find themselves in a similar situation to last offseason in deploying the designated hitter. In 2024, they went with the combination of Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk to finish with the fourth-best Wins Above Average (+2.1) in all of Major League Baseball according to Baseball Reference. Both players have hit the free agent market after declining mutual options. Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic reported that Arizona is still interested in re-signing Pederson to form the left-handed half of their designated hitter platoon.
Pederson is one of two former D-backs on the free agent market that should easily secure a multiyear deal with $10 million or more per season, along with first baseman Christian Walker. However, it’s looking more like they could be priced out Walker’s market, with FanGraphs’ median crowd source projecting him to get a 3-year, $54 million deal. Pederson will be much more affordable, with the same crowd source projecting 2 years and $28 million. It’s unlikely the D-backs will be able to sign both, with roughly $24 million left in their budget.
For the total cost $12.5 million in 2024, Pederson was a huge bargain. In 132 games, he hit .275 with 23 home runs and a .908 OPS. The D-backs shielded him from facing left-handers, as 407 of his 449 plate appearances (90.6%) came against right-handed pitchers. Pederson destroyed righties to a .281/.392/.531 slash with 22 home runs and a 154 wRC+. It was a big part behind why Arizona led all of MLB in runs scored per game.
The underlying metrics showed that Pederson was one of the most potent bats against right-handed pitching. While he overperformed his xStats, Pederson still ranked high in most metrics. Here’s where he ranks, along with the percentiles relative to the rest of MLB hitters.
The biggest takeaway is not only did Pederson make a lot of loud contact in the air, but also grinded out at-bats to draw a high walk rate. It was noted that his fly ball rate increased to 28.6% and his pull rate to a career-high 48.7%. When talking about a slugger, seeing him hit more pull-side fly balls is very encouraging although he has the power to hit it out to all fields nonetheless. It continues the trend shown in 2022-2023 with San Francisco, where he made consistent loud contact and hit the ball in the air.
The primary concern with Pederson has to do with aging, which is why he’s being projected for a two-year deal. He’ll turn 33 in the first month of the 2025 season. However it’s less of an issue considering he never took the field for Arizona in 2024. Even though he’s limited to 450 plate appearances per season due to platooning, there isn’t a better left-handed platoon bat on the market in terms of value relative to cost.
The team will still need to address the issues at first base and the right-handed part of the platoon. Ideally that player also serves as a fourth outfielder, similar to the role that Grichuk played. Right now, the team doesn’t have that type of player on their roster, although infielders Tim Tawa and Blaze Alexander are internal candidates to consider. Tawa has yet to play in the major leagues and Alexander struggled in his first stint in the majors. They could look at Austin Hays or potentially swing a trade for Lane Thomas as alternatives to Grichuk on the market as the fourth outfielder/right-handed DH.
Michael McDermott has been writing about the Arizona Diamondbacks, and their minor league system, for 9 seasons for AZ Snake Pit, Diamondbacks on SI, and Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X at x.com/michaelmcdmlb or at Bluesky.