The Cincinnati Reds are going shopping this offseason as they look to turn around their franchise under legendary manager Terry Francona.
Francona retired a few years ago, but was persuaded to come out of retirement by the Reds. Cincinnati and Francona wouldn’t have agreed to a deal if the longtime Guardians manager didn’t believe Cincinnati was serious about winning.
The first step in this process will be winning free agency and bringing talent to the Queen City.
And the ideal free agent target landed on the open market after declining the mutual option on his contract.
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Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson has opted out of his $14 million mutual option, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported Saturday, making him a free agent this offseason.
Pederson, 32, slashed .275/.393/.515 as a DH in 2024. In 132 games and 367 at-bats, Pederson has 23 home runs. The left-hander has averaged 26 homers per 162 games over the past three seasons.
Pederson’s .515 slugging percentage would have ranked first among qualifying players on the Reds’ 2024 roster.
According to Baseball Savant, Pederson would also have benefited a bit from playing in the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. Baseball Savant states that Pederson would have hit 24 home runs in Cincinnati, compared to 23 home runs in Arizona.
That’s not a huge difference, but Baseball Savant also states that Pederson would have 229 career home runs in Cincinnati, compared to the 195 he actually has. It’s just a hypothesis, but it’s something to think about.
Cincinnati could use a bat from the middle of the lineup to hit behind their dangerous shortstop, Elly De La Cruz.
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