Los Angeles Dodgers: Trade or keep on potential trade chips this winter

5. Joc Pederson: Keep

This one might surprise a lot of people as Joc Pederson is someone that the Los Angeles Dodgers could get a decent return out of. With a surplus of outfielders and left-handed bats on the roster, Pederson becomes a smart piece to move to actually get some value in return.

Pederson had a good bounce-back season last year that saw his value return and regained his fan support. Prior to the year, fans and analysts alike were nitpicking the decision to keep Pederson up and keep Andrew Toles in AAA. It is safe to say that Pederson proved his doubters wrong in 2018.

Pederson performed well in ample plate appearance. In 443 trips to the plate, Pederson slugged 25 home runs, drove in 56 RBIs and hit .248 with a .843 OPS.

Those are pretty good numbers for a guy that was seen as a strikeout machine that could only hit the occasional home run the two years prior. In 2018, he re-invented himself as a power-hitting leadoff man that could get the offense going in the right matchup against right-handed pitching.

While Pederson might not have as big of a role with Verdugo, Bellinger and Harper potentially patroling the outfield, he does have value as a power-hitting bench piece and is talented enough to fill in for any guy on any given day.

With the injury nature of the MLB, relying on Pederson (and others) to be the backups is much better than relying on Matt Kemp and Andrew Toles. For that reason alone, I think the Dodgers are going to keep Pederson around.