Thursday evening the Atlanta Braves swung a trade to acquire veteran outfielder from the selling Chicago Cubs in Joc Pederson. Here’s the press release straight from the Braves on Twitter:
#Braves Acquire OF Joc Pederson: pic.twitter.com/TVgP2MxKvC
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 16, 2021
This is a move that not a lot of people talked about with the Braves acquiring Pederson but it’s certainly needed after the season-ending injury to Ronald Acuna Jr.
Pederson isn’t having the best of seasons this year as he’s hitting just .230 with a .300 on-base percentage, he’s driven in 39 runs, clubbed 11 home runs, smacked 11 doubles, and scored 35 runs. He may not be having a good season but maybe a change of scenery will do him some good but he is hitting right at his career average at .230 so this shouldn’t be viewed as a major move by Atlanta.
However, his best season as a Big Leaguer was in 2019 when he hit .249, slugged 36 long balls, drove in 74, and scored 83 runs in 149 games played for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The man they traded to the Cubs for Pederson is 22-year-old first baseman Bryce Ball who is currently playing for A+ Rome. This season he’s hitting just .207 but has an on-base percentage of .354, he’s got 30 RBI’s, six home runs, 12 doubles, and 24 runs scored.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Braves look to make any other moves, they could use another reliever and probably another outfielder if they can swing another veteran outfielder this move for Pederson will look better than it does if he’s the only man they add to the outfield mix.
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