Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson has agreed to a $ 7 million one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, sources told ESPN.
The 28-year-old Pederson hit .234 / .339 / .479 with 123 at home and 108 doubles in 687 games in the regular season for the Dodgers in 2015-2019, was selected in an All-American team. Star and posted a .864 OPS against rights.
While the teams have shown a significant interest in Pederson as a commission specialist, the Cubs intend to use him as an everyday player. Pederson’s desire for consistent bats, as well as Wrigley Field’s favorable size for his swing, lifted Chicago above other teams. In 2019, when Pederson posted his most appearances on set, he posted the best home runs of his career with 36 and a .876 OPS.
Pederson, originally selected in the eleventh round draft at a high school in Northern California in 2010, was used on the left field board by the Dodgers and provided exceptional lead power. He was abandoned from that spot when Mookie Betts joined the team and fought in the shortened pandemic season of 2020, hitting just .190 / .285 / .397 in 138 appearances on set.
But Pederson continued to be a force in the postseason, hitting .382 / .432 / .559 in four rounds in 2020 and playing a major role in the first Dodgers World Series in 1988. At the end of the season, teammates of the Dodgers of Pederson had invented a new month in his honor: “October.”
The Athletic portal was the first to announce the agreement.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan contributed to this report.