Braves Rumors: Top 3 Available Outfield Trade Targets
3. Joc Pederson
Joc Pederson is a name that just recently came on the market, and it sounds as if the Los Angeles Dodgers might be close to moving him.
This isn’t a name that instantly struck me as a great fit for the Braves, but if you look at his body of work it could make sense.
He was an All-Star in 2015 as a rookie when he hit just .210 with 26 home runs in 480 at-bats.
The following season he put up similar numbers but a .246 batting average and .352 on-base percentage.
Two-thousand seventeen was pretty much a lost season, and then he bounced back to his career norms in 2018 hitting 25 home runs with a .248 average.
Pederson has had to split time in a crowded Dodgers outfield throughout his career, but still, his overall numbers aren’t promising. Yeah, you love the power, but he needs to be a more consistent hitter.
At the same time, he’ll play the 2019 season at 27-years-old so he’s still relatively young.
The left-handed hitter is also controllable for two more seasons and will make an affordable $5 million in 2019.
He has a done a better job of limiting the strikeouts. After getting punched out 170 times in 2015, he only struck out 85 times in 395 at-bats in 2018.
I still don’t think Pederson is a great fit for the Braves, but I wouldn’t hate the idea of him hitting 25-30 home runs in Atlanta next season if the price is right.