Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Joc Pederson

Joc Pederson is a free agent this offseason for the fifth year in a row. And while he’s getting dangerously close to his mid-thirties, he has never hit the open market in a better position.

The 2024 season was kind to the lefty slugger. Pederson set new career highs in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, wRC+, and xwOBA. He fully embraced his niche as a platoon DH, and the results couldn’t have been better. His only job was to obliterate right-handed pitching, and that’s exactly what he did.

According to weighted Runs Above Average (per FanGraphs), only 10 batters were more productive than Pederson against right-handed pitching in 2024. All 10 of them earned MVP votes this fall.

It also helps Pederson’s case that he wasn’t eligible for a qualifying offer this offseason, having already received one from the Giants two years back. He is arguably the best pure hitter on the market not to be tied to the QO (depending on how much faith you have in Jurickson Profar or Tyler O’Neill to repeat their 2024 performances).

Given his age and defensive/platoon limitations, I wouldn’t be surprised if Pederson continues on as a mercenary of sorts, finishing out his career on a series of one-year contracts. That means pretty much any team that has room on the roster for his very specific skill set could be in play for his services.

Here are some teams who could use Pederson’s bat in 2025.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Let’s start with the most obvious fit. We know the Diamondbacks have room for a righty-mashing DH on their roster because that’s exactly the role Pederson played for them this past season.

For Pederson’s part, why wouldn’t he want to return to a place where he had so much success?

The only thing that stops this from being a perfect fit? Potential payroll constraints.

Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen has suggested the D-backs will run with a similar payroll in 2025 as they did the year before. If that’s the case, Hazen might not have the resources to replace all three bats the team lost to free agency (Pederson, Christian Walker, and Randal Grichuk) and improve the bullpen, which was arguably Arizona’s biggest weakness in 2024.

If the Diamondbacks make a push to re-sign Walker or to add one of the top relievers on the free agent market, that could leave Pederson looking elsewhere.

San Francisco Giants

If he doesn’t re-up with Arizona, perhaps Pederson will head further west and reunite with another one of his former teams: the Giants.

Pederson had success with San Francisco over two seasons from 2022-23, and he expressed interest in returning after the 2023 season. He also grew up a Giants fan, so there is little doubt he’d be happy to suit up in orange once again.

As for the Giants, they could use a designated hitter after trading Jorge Soler at the deadline and losing Michael Conforto and Mark Canha to free agency. They’ll have even more playing time to give away if they trade either LaMonte Wade Jr. or Mike Yastrzemski, both of whom are rumored to be on the trade block.

The Giants could also use another lefty bat – especially if they trade Wade or Yastrzemski. San Francisco’s lineup was much worse against right-handed pitching than left-handed pitching in 2024.

Unsurprisingly, reports suggest the Giants are planning to cut payroll this offseason. Presumably, they want to get back under the first luxury tax threshold and reset their penalties.

However, that still leaves them with almost $60 million of wiggle room. That’s more than enough for POBO Buster Posey to sign Pederson and still address several other areas of need.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals didn’t have a set DH in 2024. And of the five players who took the most reps at the position, four are no longer with the team. Andrés Chaparro is the only one still around, but he didn’t do anything at the major league level to earn a significantly longer look in 2025.

As the Nationals look to improve their roster this offseason (and possibly sneak into the Wild Card picture), DH is a great place for them to make an addition. A veteran bat could make a huge difference in the middle of their young lineup.

As for why Pederson would pick the Nationals? He might like the idea of being the experienced leader of an up-and-coming clubhouse. What’s more, the Nationals have very few long-term payroll commitments, so they might be more willing than most teams to offer him a multi-year deal.

Cincinnati Reds

No team had a lower wRC+ from the DH spot in 2024 than the Reds. The outlook for 2025 isn’t much brighter.

If I had to guess, I’d say Jonathan India, Jeimer Candelario, and Jake Fraley are likely to split most of the playing time at DH next year. That’s not a promising group of names. It would be even less promising if the Reds were to trade India over the offseason. Simply put, Pederson would be a massive upgrade.

The downside is that adding a DH-only bat would make it harder for the Reds to maintain flexibility in the lineup. Flexibility is an asset they have prioritized over the last couple of years.

Ultimately, however, the pros outweigh the cons by 10 to one. First and foremost, this team needs offense, and they need it any way they can get it. What’s more, they can still rotate other players through the DH spot when Pederson is sitting against a left-handed pitcher.

From Pederson’s point of view, there’s no better landing spot for a left-handed power hitter than Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals spent big last offseason, but the pitchers they signed worked out a lot better than the position players. If they’re planning to spend again this winter (and there’s no reason to think they aren’t), they could focus on adding a proven, middle-of-the-order bat to join Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, and Vinnie Pasquantino at the top of the lineup.

It’s also worth noting that the Royals spent big last offseason without signing any free agents who received the qualifying offer. As a smaller market team, it stands to reason they would try to take the same approach this winter.

Kansas City already has plenty of left-handed batters on the roster, but none, aside from Pasquantino, is particularly reliable. In fact, a left-handed DH might be just what the Royals need, since it would allow them to continue using the righty-batting Perez or Freddy Fermin at DH on days they aren’t catching.

According to Statcast, Kauffman Stadium is one of the hardest ballparks for left-handed batters to hit home runs in. Then again, the same is true of Oracle Park in San Francisco and Chase Field in Phoenix, and Pederson thrived in both of those stadiums.

Less Likely Landing Spots for Pederson

New York Mets

The Mets were one of a handful of teams to use a full-time designated hitter in 2024: J.D. Martinez. With Martinez back on the free agent market, New York has an opening for a new DH in 2025. Pederson could be their guy.

However, this one comes with a pretty big asterisk. If the Mets win the Juan Soto sweepstakes, I doubt they’ll pursue Pederson. But if they miss out on Soto, they’ll have plenty of money to throw at other free agents. Why wouldn’t they go for the next best left-handed power bat on the market?

Seattle Mariners

Jerry Dipoto took on a couple of power-hitting DH types last offseason in Mitch Garver and Mitch Haniger. When neither of those moves worked out, he traded for another DH at the deadline: Justin Turner.

The Turner trade ended up working out quite well for Seattle, so it’s fair to presume Dipoto will try to find a longer-term solution at DH this winter.

That being said, the Mariners already have two left-handed hitters they’d like to keep as far away from left-handed pitching as possible: Luke Raley and Josh Rojas. Unless they’re counting on big bouncebacks from Garver and Haniger, a new right-handed bat would be more practical than Pederson.

San Diego Padres

Pederson has already been a Dodger, a Giant, and a Diamondback. Why not give the Padres a try?

The Padres don’t have a DH right now. And unlike last year, they don’t need to keep the position open for an injured Manny Machado. He should be back at third base full-time in 2025. That gives San Diego room to add an impact bat like Pederson.

However, A.J. Preller has a lot of holes to fill in the lineup after losing Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, Kyle Higashioka, and Donovan Solano to free agency. And the Padres’ payroll already projects to be much higher than it was at the beginning of last season.

Considering the makeup of San Diego’s roster, Preller might prefer to spend his potentially limited resources on a right-handed bat.