The Diamondbacks spent the offseason searching for a big bat for the middle of their lineup, ultimately landing Joc Pederson on a one-year deal. General manager Mike Hazen spoke with the media to discuss the signing.
The main driving factor behind the signing was the changing roster dynamics in the National League West division. With an influx of right-handed arms, and the D-backs adding two right-handed bats in Eugenio Suárez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., discussions then shifted towards adding a left-handed bat.
"Bringing Lourdes back and Eugenio filling in the right-handed [bats], the middle part of the our lineup was getting very right-handed. He does an incredible job of hitting righties. It felt like the division was going to stack up pretty right-handed dominant, we felt like this was going to be a good fit. Keep Corbin [Carroll] and Ketel [Marte] where they need to be, keep Alek [Thomas] and [Geraldo] Perdomo where they need to be. It was just a good fit for us."
One of the reasons Pederson joined the D-backs is to help rebuild his free agent value before hitting the market next year. He served primarily as the left-handed option for the designated hitter in San Francisco, playing 38 games in the field and 79 as the DH. Pederson is looking to prove that he could not only play the outfield, but also stay in the lineup against left-handed pitching. Hazen confirmed they will give him those opportunities in spring before deciding the type of role he'll get once the regular season starts.
"Torey [Lovullo] is going to deploy the roster as it needs to be deployed, but I'm interested to see what those competitive thoughts will turn themselves into coming into camp. I know he's primarily DH'd in the last little bit here, so we'll see where all that takes us. We have a competitive roster in terms of what could happen from a playing time perspective."
The more Pederson can contribute, both offensively and defensively, the more flexibility Lovullo will have to utilize his bench. For Pederson, it's not only being able to play the outfield, where he'll have an opportunity to work with one of the game's best instructors in Dave McKay, but also hitting lefties. Last season, he struggled against lefties with a .186/.327/.279 slash, but the previous year put up a respectable .245/.333/.408 line. With a very left-handed hitting outfield, they'll need some of them to be able to stand in there against left-handed pitchers. Hazen is hoping that Pederson and Alek Thomas step up against lefties, but is confident in their depth should it not come to pass.
Pederson is one of three free agent signings the D-backs have made this offseason, guaranteeing a total of $134.5 million. Thanks to an economic windfall created by their World Series run, the team is projected to have a franchise-record payroll entering the 2024 season.
"We're very appreciative that we have an opportunity, coming off the World Series, to go out and improve our roster. Ken [Kendrick] and Derrick [Hall] have made it clear to us that when the team was in a spot where it needed to and deserved to be reinforced externally that they were going to do that. They have in a significant way. It's nice to be able to add those players from the outside," Hazen said.
Hazen also noted that the effect of being able to add to the roster improves player morale, citing the trade deadline as an example. Arizona swung deals to land closer Paul Sewald and outfielder Tommy Pham, both of whom keyed their World Series run.
The D-backs will continue to look for ways to improve their roster, but will mostly focus on adding to their bench and bullpen depth. The backup catcher, backup shortstop, and the final three bullpen spots will likely be up for grabs when camp begins on February 14th.
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