Chicago Cubs: Joc Pederson signing a bit curious
The Chicago Cubs are apparently finalizing a deal to bring left-handed outfielder, and former Los Angeles Dodger Joc Pederson to the North Side. However, the move is leaving a lot of fans asking the same questions this morning — ‘why?’
We have, for a while, commented on just how odd this offseason has been for the Cubbies. They are very reluctant to announce they are embarking on a full rebuild, but that feels like what they are doing with the moves to shed players like You Darvish, Jon Lester, and Kyle Schwarber, along with the rumors that they are looking to trade star third-baseman Kris Bryant along with catcher Willson Contreras.
Nevertheless, the team appears to be trying to bring in a few second or third-tier free agents like Kolten Wong (as reported recently) and now Pederson. The Cubs seem to be taking the approach of putting players on the field who aren’t good enough to compete, but perhaps not exactly bad enough to keep fans away from the ballpark after a global pandemic kept them out for all of 2020.
Even still, it is still puzzling why they made a move for Pederson. For starters, he is, at best, a platoon type player who struggles against left-handed pitching. Therefore, don’t expect him to be an everyday type of player.
Interestingly, the Cubs had an outfielder who fell into a similar category in Schwarber. Schwarber was clearly at his best when not having to play everyday in the field, but the Cubs chose to move on from a fan favorite. But to replace him with essentially the same player in terms of their limitations seems at best an odd move, and at worst, an incompetent one.
Next. Lester era is officially over. dark
Unfortunately, this is the result of an organization that either doesn’t have a concrete long-term plan or is reluctant to make it public. The Cubs seem to be stuck somewhere between full rebuild and not wanting to completely alienate their fans. Yet, it feels like that is exactly what they are doing. These half-measures make little sense and serve only to create more confusion around the direction leadership is taking this team.