8:30 am: It’s a $ 7 million contract for Pederson, tweets Jeff Passan of ESPN. The contract brings an additional $ 500K of available incentives tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Passan suggests that the Cubs will give Pederson the opportunity to play daily instead of putting him in the pack – a component of the deal that was particularly attractive to Pederson.
7:24 am: Cubs agree to an agreement with the free outfielder Joc Pederson, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter) The Excel Sports Management customer contract is still pending completion of a physical exam.
Pederson, 28, represents the first notable addition to the off-season for a Cubs team that was otherwise quiet in front of the free agent this winter (small businesses Austin Romine and Kohl Stewart notwithstanding). Pederson, in fact, will become the most prominent name to sign a free agent agreement with the Cubs since Craig Kimbrel. The team has generally avoided the search for notable free agents in every offseason since signing Yu Darvish to a six-year deal, as owner Tom Ricketts openly lamented the lack of resources and declared the 2020 revenue losses to be “biblical” in proportion.
Chicago, of course, negotiated Darvish and Victor Caratini for the Fathers at the beginning of this season and without contest Kyle Schwarber also. They will reinvest some of those savings in this business with Pederson, although it is at least an odd fit, given the vast similarities he has with Schwarber. Pederson is a career .230 / .336 / .470 hitter for Schwarber’s .230 / .336 / .480 hitting line, although Pederson has placed that almost identical line in a more pitch-friendly environment (hence the gap in their respective 118 and 113 wRC + marks).
Both left-handed batters are widely considered to be platoon bats and, as is the case with their overall numbers, their divisions against right-handed are almost identical: .238 / .349 / .501 for Pederson against .239 / .345 / .514 for Schwarber . The same difference of five points in wRC + (128 vs. 123) leans in favor of Pederson because of his domestic park. The main difference apparently comes down to defense, where Pederson has a solid track record on the left and Schwarber has consistently been below average. Still, it is quite surprising to see the Cubs go out and sign a player whose attack is an almost mirror image of an established presence at the club that they left out less than two months ago.
With Pederson on board, the Cubs’ projected payroll jumps to around $ 152 million for the next season, although future negotiations may still impact that number. Both Willson Contreras and Kris Bryant they are still candidates to be moved before Opening Day, with Bryant in particular standing out as a candidate due to his only remaining year of controlling the club (with a salary of $ 19.5 million). Cubs also want to explore extensions with Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez as the season approaches.