Reports surfaced during the winter that the Dodgers were “shopping,” or at least listening to trade offers for Joc Pederson. The Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cleveland Indians were mentioned as possible trade partners for the Dodgers 26-year-old outfielder.

Considering how many left-handed-hitting outfielders there are on the Dodgers 40-man roster, plus the (then) possible pursuit of another left-handed-hitting outfielder – free agent Bryce Harper – it made perfect sense for the Dodgers to listen to what other teams might have to offer in return for Pederson, who is eligible for free agency after the 2020 season.

And here we are on March 8. Harper signed a ludicrous 13-year / $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies and once popular Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles has yet to report to Spring Training for what is being called “personal issues,” with no indication of when – or if – he will make it to camp.

So, Pederson is no longer on the trading block, right?

Not so fast. Check this out:

• The Dodgers still have left-handed hitters Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, and Alex Verdugo on the roster, all of whom are considered to be “regulars,” not in need of a platoon partner. (David Freese will share first base duties with Muncy, who can also play second base).
• The reports on Seager have been encouraging, with the expectation that he will start playing in spring training games early next week after dealing with some sort of illness this past week.
• Chris Taylor is a good offensive and defensive outfielder and needs a regular position to play.
• Kiké Hernandez had a break out season in 2018 with the bat and is a Gold Glove-caliber defender also looking for more playing time.
• The Dodgers signed 29-year-old veteran Brad Miller to a minor league contract on February 28. Miller is a left-handed hitter with power who has played 156 games at second base during his career. He made his Dodgers Spring Training debut on March 6, with one hit in two at-bats against the Indians. With the announcement of the Miller signing, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman had this to say about him:

“He’s a guy that we’ve admired from afar for a while … Lot of pop from the left side, (defensive) versatility. Depending how things play out, adds a player of depth, a very quality Major League player.”

• Minor leaguers Matt Beaty and Ezequiel Carrera have impressed in spring training with their hitting ability and Edwin Rios has demonstrated in the minors and this spring that he can hit with power.

Both the White Sox and Indians are still in need of good, Major League outfield talent. And teams like the Nationals, Rays, Orioles, Rangers, Tigers, and Blue Jays could use an upgrade on their outfield rosters.

There is one rather significant glitch in all of this Joc talk, however, and depending on how much importance you put on what are often referred to as “meaningless spring training games,” it could be very important for the (undoubtedly) many scouts who have been watching the Palo Alto, California native and Dodgers 11th-round draft pick in 2010.

Through the seven spring training in which Pederson has appeared thus far, he is a dismal 1-for-17 (.059), with three walks and nine strikeouts. The one silver lining to this otherwise (very) dark cloud is that his one hit was a solo home run, which he hit in the Dodgers very first Spring Training game back on February 23. But with less than three weeks to go until Opening Day 2019, you have to wonder how much real interest there still is in him.

Are the Dodgers willing to trade Joc Pederson? TBD. But one thing is certain, the Dodgers will only trade him if they receive top-notch talent in return … .059 notwithstanding.

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