4 outside-the-box free agent options to creatively fix Pirates' first base hole

Joc Pederson

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed veteran designated hitter/outfielder Joc Pederson after a solid run with the San Francisco Giants. He only signed for $9.5 million, but he gave the Snakes a huge bargain. In 449 plate appearances, Pederson hit .275/.393/.515. Pederson went yard 23 times with a .240 isolated slugging percentage. His 12.2% walk rate is the best he’s put up since his sophomore 2016 season, while his 12.5% barrel rate is the second-best of his career. Pederson struck out at a less-than-stellar 23.4% rate, but all told, he had a .391 wOBA and 151 wRC+.

Pederson’s underlying numbers were also elite. He was in the 90th percentile or better in xwOBA (.381) and xSLG% (.491), as well as average exit velocity at 92.3 MPH. He fell just short of the 90th percentile in barrel rate, sitting in the 87th percentile. Pederson was also in the 78th percentile of xBA at .268.

Pederson’s numbers are great, but his profile comes with a caveat: almost all of his plate appearances were against right-handed pitchers. Only 42 of his 449 total trips to the dish were against opposite-handed pitching. For what it’s worth, he did draw seven walks and had two extra-base hits in the few times he was allowed to face a lefty, though that isn’t the norm for him, given his .630 OPS against lefties throughout his career.

Pederson only played designated hitter this year for the D-Backs. He hasn’t played the field since 2023 and hasn’t played it regularly since 2022. Pederson started his career out as an outfielder, but saw his defense and range quickly fall during the 2020s.

Pederson has some limited experience at first base. He has 154 innings at the position and hasn’t played the position very well when he has been given a shot, with -6 DRS in that small sample size. Nearly all of those innings originate from 2019 when the LA Dodgers tried him out at the position. He logged a single inning at 1B with the Chicago Cubs in 2021 and four more in 2023 with the San Francisco Giants.

The slugger’s limited work at first base is a bit worrying, but Pederson was not given a good shot at learning the position. The Dodgers gave him time at first base during the middle of the 2019 season. Letting him get the proper work in during spring training would give him a fair shot to learn the position, and potentially play it at a decent level.