FRIEDMAN noncommittal on JOC in CF

meh, probably just posturing...

Andrew Friedman noncommittal on Joc Pederson in center field
By Eric Stephen | True Blue LA



LOS ANGELES -- With 12 trades involving 32 players in the last seven weeks, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has been trying to build what he calls "a highly-functioning baseball team as opposed to a collection of talent." But how Joc Pederson fits into that mix, at least to start 2015, is currently in question.

The trade of Matt Kemp brought not only four years of catcher Yasmani Grandal, but also opened up right field, which in theory allows Yasiel Puig to shift back into his original and best position which would allow Pederson, called by manager Don Mattingly and others the best defensive center fielder in the organization, to play center.

But for now, at least publicly, the Dodgers won't commit to a rookie in center.

"We'll take some time in spring training and assess [Pederson]. We'll get a feel for him in camp and how he's handling things," Friedman said on Friday. "There will be a discussion we'll have with the staff, and I'm sure it will be an ongoing discussion we have between now and the last game in March."

It makes sense for the Dodgers to keep their options open, or at least keep the illusion going for appearances. After all, one day before Dee Gordon was traded, general manager Farhan Zaidi said, "We are not dangling him. He is our second baseman," which while possibly technically true at the time doesn't mean things can change in an instant.

Friedman on Friday said if Pederson wasn't in center the team would consider some combination of Puig, Andre Ethier, Enrique Hernandez and Chris Heisey in center field.

"We have different guys who can go out there," Friedman said. "We'll just have to figure it out."

2015 projections

Take this with a grain of salt, as it's the only 2015 projection system online, but here are the Steamer projections for 2015, in which Pederson more than makes up for the slight offensive gap with Ethier with superior defense.

• Ethier: .261/.336/.400, .324 wOBA, 1.1 WAR
• Pederson: .230/.322/.388, .317 wOBA, 2.4 WAR

Using projections normalized to 600 PA.​

The key here is of course Ethier, who has three years and $56 million guaranteed left on his contract, and has made it known this winter he wants to start in 2015. With Pederson in Triple-A, Ethier could start or at least be the busy half of a platoon in right field, with the Dodgers hoping he rebounds from a 2014 season — .249/.322/.370, 97 OPS+ — that was the worst of his career.

After trading Kemp, Friedman was asked if he needed to trade another outfielder this winter.

"I think it was really important for us going into the offseason to trade one. Now, we're just open-minded to different scenarios that makes us a better team, whether it's an outfielder or someone else," Friedman said. "We're now in a mode of being opportunistic, continuing to target guys we like and we feel like fit us."

I don't think there is any way the Dodgers head into the season with Ethier around if he's not starting, even if it means eating over half his deal to dump him. This talk could simply be the Dodgers continuing to play things as close to the vest as possible until a deal is done.

Or it could mean the team just isn't yet ready to fully commit to Pederson, which would be perfectly fine. But that time to turn the keys over to Pederson will come soon enough, and if I were a betting man I'd guess it happens sooner rather than later.

No matter what the Dodgers say out loud.​

_

 

i hear sanskrit

 

so if rube spoke
and i wasn't able to hear it
would jessica make a sound?

 

Joc is probably gonna struggle when he comes up, although he's probably our best option for CF, cause most guys at that age are gonna struggle but you have to wait it out and see if he grows to reach his potential by the end of the year.

Really, all this talk about him struggling makes Puig look fucking incredible for being a star the second he came up. Players just rarely do that and he did it. He's slowed down here and there, and then adjusted, but man, I'm still in awe at what he could do when first called up.

Oh right, this is about Joc.

If he can give us some raw power and walking skills, we can handle the strikeouts. Dodgers seemed to target Rollins/Kendrick for there contact and they now don't have Kemp/AJ/Hanley every day who strike out a ton, so now you can live with Joc's strikeouts since it's not so much of a trend in the lineup.