June 29th, 2019 at 12:00 pm 
by 0799291000348 The Joc-Pederson-at-first-base experiment must end … now!
Give him kudos for being a team player and for trying to learn a significantly different position in the middle of the regular season. But his errors by commission and omission are hurting the team, many of which are not recorded on his stat page. After years of watching Gold Glove-quality defense at first base from Gil Hodges, Wes Parker, Steve Garvey, James Loney, Adrian Gonzalez, and even current teammates Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, David Freese (when healthy) and Matt Beaty, Pederson’s first base “defense” is painful to watch.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
By no means is this meant to slam Pederson, just the opposite, in fact. As a left field platoon player facing right-handed pitching, Joc is on pace to hit 40 home runs in 2019 and currently has an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .924; All-Star caliber numbers. He also owns an excellent fielding percentage (FPCT) of .987 as a left fielder. At first base … not so much (.967).
Platooning Pederson with soon-to-be-returning (from the injured list) A.J. Pollock in left field, with Alex Verdugo in center, and Bellinger in right, would be one of the best offensive and defensive outfields in Major League Baseball.
So what’s the problem? Why not simply Platoon Joc and Pollock in left field, Muncy at first base, and call-up Dodgers top infield prospect Gavin Lux to play second base? Lux, who was just promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, is the Dodgers real top position-player prospect, not catcher Keibert Ruiz.
The problem is that the Dodgers apparently promised Pollock (and his lofty 4-year / $55 million contract which runs through 2022 with a player option for 2023) that he would be their everyday center fielder and would not be platooned.
On paper, the Dodgers have several options, but realistically, it comes down to either platooning Pederson and Freese at first base, or trading Joc. (Verdugo and Pollock aren’t going to be traded).
Trading Pederson, a soon-to-be two-time All-Star, for help in the bullpen seems like the best option, if not the only viable option. With the development of left-handed-hitting Matt Beaty and the return of two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger shortstop Corey Seager after the All-Star break will free up Chris Taylor for second base and / or the outfield, and the performance of left-handed-hitting outfield prospect Zach Reks at OKC, there is more than enough depth for Pederson to be traded.
Trade for whom? Great question – one to be addressed in a future article.
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Posted in 
They’ll trade him.
Freese defense at first base is far from stellar. That being said the Dodgers have a huge lead right now. I want the Pederson experiment at first to continue. His bat is so deadly that just some passable D at first will play with his bat. A rebuilding team most likely will not want Joc in a trade because his salary is going to keep going up and only has 2 years of control left. A team that is contending that needs a bat is not going to want to trade away part of their bullpen. Joc is most valuable to the Dodgers right now. Also let’s not pretend like Reks can just come up to the big leagues and produce like Pederson. Seager is no guarantee to stay healthy and especially Pollock. If Pollock isn’t producing trust me he will sit and Pederson will play against Righties. The Dodgers have demonstrated time and again they don’t care about feelings and the best players will play. These things always seem to have a way of working themselves out.
Fair points in a debate to keep Pederson at first base, but…
(1) Freese defense is not in question, and compared to Joc, it is golden;
(2) continuing to play him at first base is giving the other team more outs in every game, resulting in more runs, and I believe it will (if it has not already) been frustrating to pitchers and infielders.
(3) just because the team has a big lead is no reason to be complacent about letting him play out of position;
(4) I disagree that a team in need of a bat will not part with a reliever — it certainly depends on the team involved and what other players may be included with Pederson;
(5) Reks is just an example of Dodgers outfield depth. Matt Beaty has shown that he can hit ML pitching, Ed Rios is still regarded as a top prospect, etc.; and,
(6) I think the Pederson, Verdugo, Pollock positional issue could become a clubhouse distraction.
Why not just dump Pollack? He’s awful. Who cares what they promised him? Play the best players. The odd man out is Pollack, not Pederson.
Just admit it’s a bad deal, cut him, and move on. Carl Crawford style.
TRADE
I don’t know why the dodgers signed pollock. We have so many outfielders and they re better than. Pollock. The dodgers should let joc orders on atbat against lefties n righties. He is better than verdugo n specially pollock. Bad free agent signing.
Trade Peterson as part of package to acquire a right handed starter or a stud left handed reliever. Peterson is a home run or nothing. Look at his average the last 30 days.He usually hits home runs off sh__ pitchers.As it stands right now if we were lucky to make to the World Series against the Yankees, we are over matched with our lineup vs theirs, their bullpen vs ours,and the left hand pitching they have against our lineup. As we all know Kershaw stinks every year in the World Series. Mr Friedman,acquire Wheeler from the Mets and Vasquez from the Pirates or we will go home empty handed in the Fall. You have the assets,players in the minors and the money to get it done. Don’t let us down.
It’s simple. Leave Joc in LF to platoon with Taylor or Hernandez. Move Bellinger back to 1B where his Defense is Gold Glove caliber. Play Verdugo in RF where his glove and arm are equal to Bellinger or close. Muncy stays at 2B. Pollock plays CF unless he continues to struggle at plate. In addition, bring Will Smith back and start him at C and option Barnes until September. When Seager, Freese, and Pollock are back, Beaty, Garlick and Rios will be back at AAA until September anyway.
A good option (although it takes a lot of at bats away from David Freese who is having a terrific year platooning at 1b), but Dodgers are on record that it does not want to put Bellinger at first base and risk another injury to his right shoulder.
Trade for pitcher
Joc is frustrating to watch. He isn’t a liability in the outfield, or running the bases. He can pummel right handed pitching. But, it doesn’t seem like he has ever adjusted his approach with 2 strikes, or come remotely close to hitting lefties. Cody B made adjustments, as did Turner, Taylor, Muncy… They’re all professional athletes playing an incredibly difficult game, but Joc seems to only care about hitting home runs. That’s not a team first attitude. Trying to play first is helpful, but might be too little too late. There are several teams who might be out of the race this year, but could use him next season. Joc and Keibart Ruiz as part of a package for Vazquez from the Pirates would get my vote!
Pederson LF or Pederson 1B. I think they should give this more time to figure out.
Put him back in the outfield. Next question.
Moment Pederson was told he was gonna have to start fielding balls at 1B DURING the regular season a few weeks back, he must’ve known the writing was already on the wall by then. Like I’ve said countless times before regarding him especially: TRADE. BAIT. Friedman won’t have a better window of opportunity to flip him after this season either. I’d rather deal him for a couple really nice prospects (like they did with Puig and Kemp when they made that offseason trade with the Reds), but if it turns out he can net them that long-elusive late-inning bullpen arm with the potential to take over for Jansen as soon as next season then I’m 100% down with it! Besides, sending Pederson on his way opens the door for one of those homegrown Dodger kids like DJ Peters, Zach Reks, or Cody Thomas for instance…
Is it possible the stress of doing well learning a new position is affecting his batting?
Since when do we start Joc at first base when we have Bellinger and Muncy…and Freese. Put Joc back… https://t.co/duIZXuw6sH
The moment a player misses two months with an injury all promises should be out the window. Joc has no business at 1st base. Freese is as bad as a team should be willing to accept on defense for a team with championship aspirations
Dodgers prospect Edwin Rios putting on exhibition tonight on how to play first base, and Joc looks much better in left field
We need reliable middle relief and a left handed co-closer badly. Right now, we only have 1 reliable middle reliever, Urias. Everyone else is a coin flip every time they are run out on the field. I had high hopes for Ferguson, but not so much anymore. We have some really bad dead weight in Rosscup, Chargois,Floro,Kelly, and yes, even Baez and with Jansen going downhill and picking up speed, by next year he will be average or below average. Clayton now looks like a number 3 or even 4 starter sometimes. Maeda is a 5 inning starter that needs to be piggybacked every time out. IMHO, Salow should be brought up for a cup of coffee tryout. He is a left handed reliever who shows real promise. He can’t do any worse than Ferguson or Rosscup did tonight. Gonsolin can be used like Urias right now or help in the piggybacking category when Maeda or Clayton or Stripling fail to go any longer than 5 innings. If we don’t trade for a left handed reliever ASAP who is better and more durable than Jansen, then it is a “wait ’till next year scenario all over again.
With all of our “investors”, in my opinion, the Dodgers are now run more like a “business” with a greater emphasis on “return on investment” than a single owner/fan necessarily would. This is where an owner like Steinbrenner has an edge over us. The Yanks just keep on tinkering with trades and acquisitions with a greater emphasis on a world championship then we do until they magically now have a better winning record then us. I could be wrong, and I sincerely hope that I am. The fact that we didn’t go all in for Kimbrel was an ominous omen in my opinion. What we do or don’t do by the trade deadline will indicate whether return on investment is more important to our investors than a world championship.
You’re absolutely right Paul, it’s about staying under the salary cap as was promised in an article I read before the season started.The present roster is constructed for winning the season,not the World Series.