Detroit Tigers: Three potential offseason free agent targets
By Nick Stevens
A power-hitting corner outfielder would be a big boost to the middle of the Detroit Tigers lineup.
The Detroit Tigers may be ready to speed up the rebuild and bring in pieces to compete, but it won’t be this offseason. The organization can, however, still add valuable talent on a budget with an eye towards making this team better for the future.
How about signing outfielder Joc Pederson? Now a World Series champion, Pederson is coming off a down year in 2020 but he’s a power-hitting corner outfielder with 64 postseason games under his belt and a combined slash line of .272/.349/.502 and a 127 wRC+ in his postseason career.
In parts of seven seasons in the big leagues, Pederson has 130 career home runs and owns a 12.1% walk rate and 118 wRC+. He has been a 3.0+ fWAR player in three different seasons and remained relatively healthy throughout his career.
Pederson will be 29 next season, meaning there’s plenty of game left in his bat to be a contributor on a Tigers club that’s ready to compete. He’s an impact bat who provides an immediate upgrade to Detroit’s lineup and the price tag should be within a range the Tigers are comfortable spending at, even in the current market.
His 2020 regular season numbers may have been down, but his postseason surge was critical to aiding Los Angeles bringing home a World Series title and as recently as 2019, Pederson, collected 36 home runs with a career-high .249 average, a .339 OBP, and a career-high .249 ISO.
Unless a contending comes in with an aggressive offer, the Detroit Tigers should be in play for Joc Pederson.