
The Los Angeles Dodgers are shopping Joc Pederson in order to open room for A.J. Pollock and have to find the right trade partner and price for Pederson.
TheLos Angeles Dodgershave a lot of power on the roster but also have too much of a good thing: left-handed hitting. While the team does haveJustin Turnerand left-handed hitterCorey Seager, who is not bad against southpaws, the Dodgers still are much worse off when they are facing left-handed pitching.
ManagerDave Robertsechoed these sentiments, stating that the team does indeed need one more impactful right-handed bat (h/tLA Times).
That has led to an interest in free agent outfielderA.J. Pollock, who is a former all-star and is right-handed. While Pollock doesn’t seem to be the solution, since he hit under .230 last season against southpaws and hasn’t played a full season since 2015, he does seem to be the team’s top priority.
To open space for Pollock in the outfield, and likely to ensure that top prospectAlex Verdugogets to start, the Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly shoppingJoc Pederson.
Source:#Dodgerssigning of FA outfielder A.J. Pollock is contingent on ultimately trading outfielder Joc Pederson. Trade could come either before or after signing of Pollock. Pederson is currently being shopped to multiple teams.
— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte)January 23, 2019
Although Pederson is a fan favorite, this makes sense. He is coming off his best year since the first half of his rookie season. His trade value is as high as it is ever going to be and there still is that chance that he resorts back to his heavy strikeout ways.
While he does add a left-handed power surge to the order, the team already has that inCody BellingerandMax Muncy. To want to flip that for a right-handed bat is understandable.
There should be multiple suitors lined up for Pederson with a few teams, in particular, that would be the perfect fit for the power-hitting outfielder. Here are the three best fits for Pederson outside of LA along with the expendable trade pieces they could potentially send.
Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations
