Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson has agreed to a one-year $ 7 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, sources told ESPN.
28-year-old Pederson hit .234 / .339 / .479 with 123 home runs and 108 doubles in 687 regular season games for the Dodgers from 2015 to 2019, was selected for an All-Star team and posted an .864 OPS against duties.
While teams have shown significant interest in Pederson as a committee specialist, the Cubs plan to use him as an everyday player. Pederson’s desire for consistent at-bats, as well as Wrigley Field’s dimensions conducive to his swing, elevated Chicago above other teams. In 2019, when Pederson posted his most record appearances, he posted the best home runs of his career with 36 and a .876 OPS.
Originally an 11th round design pick from a Northern California high school in 2010, Pederson was used in the left field by the Dodgers on the committee and delivered exceptional power of leadoff. He was dropped from that spot when Mookie Betts joined the team and struggled in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, hitting just .190 / .285 / .397 in 138 at bats.
But Pederson remained a force through the postseason, hitting .382 / .432 / .559 in four rounds in 2020 and was instrumental in the Dodgers’ first World Series championship since 1988. At the end of the season, Pederson’s Dodgers- teammates had invented a new month in his honor: “October.”
The Athletic portal was the first to announce the agreement.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan contributed to this report.