White Sox: Joc Pederson Could Provide Outfield Depth for Next Season
White Sox could target young outfielder if he’s non-tendered by Dodgers this upcoming offseason. The former All-Star had a clutch home run in World Series.
The Chicago White Sox lack of outfield depth this past season was troublesome. The Sox had to rely too heavily on unproven outfielders after dealing with injuries and trades of some of their players. This upcoming offseason, the Sox will need to address their lack of outfield depth.
One player the Sox could target this offseason is current Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson. The 25-year-old is playing as the Dodgers designated hitter in the World Series and had a clutch three-run home run in game four on Saturday night.
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Pederson will be up for arbitration this offseason and could be non-tendered a contract for next year by the Dodgers. After an impressive first half during the 2015 season, Pederson has struggled often at the plate. Last season, Pederson hit .246/.352/.495 with 25 home runs and 68 RBIs for Los Angeles.
In 2015, Pederson was an All-Star in his rookie season but finished the year hitting .210. He hit a career-high 26 home runs in 2015 but hasn’t appeared in more than 147 games since that year.
This past season, Pederson appeared in just 102 games and hit .212/.331/.407 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. Pederson didn’t appear in the NLDS for the Dodgers this year, but he did play in the NLCS. He only had one hit over six plate appearances for Los Angeles against the Cubs, but currently, has three hits for the Dodgers in the World Series.
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There’s no guarantee the Dodgers won’t tender Pederson a contract for next season. However, if they do, the Sox should explore the option of adding more outfield depth by signing Pederson. The Sox already have a left-handed hitter in its outfield in Nicky Delmonico and they could add another lefty in Pederson for 2018.