Cleveland Guardians 2022 free agent target: OF Joc Pederson

The Cleveland Guardians have been named as potential suitors for free-agent outfielder Joc Pederson. Does a deal for him make sense?

There appears to be a groundswell of interest between the Cleveland Guardians and free-agent outfielder Joc Pederson.

Pederson, 29, most recently won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves after being traded mid-season by the Chicago Cubs. He had a disappointing run with the Cubs in 2021, hitting just .231/.300/.418 with 11 home runs, 11 doubles, 39 RBIs and a 91 OPS+. He had a better time in Atlanta, hitting .249/.325/.428 with 7 home runs and 8 doubles in 173 at-bats while helping to transform a floundering team into a World Series contender.

Does Joc Pederson Make Sense for the Guardians?

The thing is, for Pederson’s faults as a hitter, signing him would automatically make him the best (or at least the most established) Guardians outfielder by a mile. Sure, he strikes out plenty and doesn’t walk much, and he’s never hit .250 in his entire eight-year career. But he’s also averaged nearly 24 home runs a year since 2015 (not counting the shortened 2020 season), and nearly 20 doubles to boot.

With the Dodgers, where Pederson started his career, he saw plenty of at-bats, but never had an entirely full season to work with. If the Guardians were to sign him with the intention of plugging him in every single day anywhere in the outfield, there could easily be 30-30 potential.

Defensively, Pederson leaves a lot to be desired as well. But it’s doubtful the Guardians are really looking at that right now. They need consistent production – and ideally pop – from a corner outfield position, which Pederson certainly provides.

And truthfully, there are much better options for the Guardians technically available through potential trades, but perhaps the asking price is just far too high for the likes of Bryan Reynolds and Cedric Mullins.

All that being said, Pederson hits the ball – extremely hard. If he’s giving you 25-30 home runs a year, you live with the strikeouts. It doesn’t seem either that the market for him is so hot that a contract would prove unreasonable. For 2-3 years, he’d provide stability in an outfield that desperately needs some, allowing some of the prospects in the system to develop further before it’s their time to finally break into the majors.