Joc Pederson Signs With The Chicago Cubs

According to multiple reports Friday, the Cubs have signed outfielder Joc Pederson to a one-year, $7 million contract. There’s also reportedly a mutual option for 2022.

The deal is pending a physical, but Pederson would likely help fill the void in left field created when the team non-tendered Kyle Schwarber, who went on to sign with the Washington Nationals.

The Cubs look to have saved a little on going with Pederson over keeping Schwarber, who was projected to cost around $8 million in arbitration next year.

These savings could help the Cubs fill out the starting pitching rotation, left heavily depleted by the free-agent departures of Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, and Tyler Chatwood and the December trade of Yu Darvish.

Pederson previously spent seven seasons with the Dodgers, where he logged innings at all three outfield spots. The Cubs currently have Jason Heyward and Ian Happ to take up most of the time in right and center field, so Pederson will help round out the outfield corps in left.

As a hitter and as a defender, Pederson bears a lot of similarities to the man he is ostensibly replacing in left field. Pederson has consistently hit for power since his first full season in the majors in 2015, and he strikes out about three percent less than league average. The latter will be important in a Cubs lineup that had the fourth-highest strikeout rate in baseball in 2020.

In the outfield, Pederson is probably going to be a slight improvement over Schwarber. The latter has always been known for having a strong arm but not particularly great range. As a result, Schwarber has been a net negative in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) for the Cubs since 2015. Pederson, on the other hand, had only one season with the Dodgers with a negative DRS, and that was last year’s shortened campaign.

The Cubs have spent the offseason so far jettisoning salary, and they have looked like a team gearing up for a lengthy rebuild. New general manager Jed Hoyer traded Darvish and Victor Caratini to the Padres in December, and let Quintana, Chatwood, Lester, and Schwarber go to other teams. There have also been rumors that he is entertaining offers for Kyle Hendricks and Willson Contreras.

But by signing Pederson, it appears that Hoyer has found a way to save money on a left fielder and not lose the offensive production of Schwarber. The National League Central is shaping up to be one of the weakest in baseball in 2021 — unless the Cardinals do find a way to wrest Nolan Arenado from the Rockies — so the Cubs still have a shot at winning their division again.

Much of this will depend on how the Pederson savings is allocated, and the team needs arms. They signed Kohl Stewart on Thursday and are reportedly going to have eyes on free agent Jeff Samardzija, who pitched for the Cubs from 2008 to 2014.

There are still a few weeks before spring training is supposed to begin, so the Cubs will likely stay busy on the fringes of the free-agent market as they work to fill out a 40-man roster that would stand at 38 with Pederson.