Dodgers: If Depth is Important Pederson Must not be Traded

When the Dodgers signed AJ Pollock the concerns were obvious and immediate. Pollock, a 31-year-old has a track record of poor health and he is not getting younger. But, the Dodgers said they can count on depth to make Pollock successful. Depth means they can’t trade Joc Pederson.

The strategy is surprisingly sound, actually. Sign an upper echelon bat in Pollock, not worry about his health and use the Dodgers depth to either keep Pollock healthy or to replace him when he gets hurt. That works.

The Dodgers are essentially counting on Pollock to play somewhere between 110 and 125 games and players like Andrew Toles, Alex Verdugo, Joc Pederson and others will be there to play the rest.

Not to throw this word around lightly, but that is rather brilliant. When Pollock plays he maintains an OPS+ of at least 100 every year. Since 2013, in seasons with at least 75 games played, Pollock’s worst OPS+ is 100. He has been no worse than average for quite a while now.

But in that sentence was the kicker, in seasons with 75 games. Since 2013, Pollock has played more than 115 games just twice. The confidence in his health should be about as big as his games totals.

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So, depth will almost certainly be necessary. That makes Pederson almost certainly necessary and the rumors that are still coming out about a Pederson trade are incredibly confusing.

Since his first full season in the major back in 2015, Joc has not played less than 120 games. Yes, in 2017 20 of those 122 contest were played in the minor leagues due to poor play but the point here is Pederson knows how to stay healthy.

Thus, he is depth. The Dodgers signed Pollock with a very Rich Hill-esque mindest: this is a good player that gets hurt but we can make it work. With Rich Hill, the Dodgers have the pieces to replace him. Ross Stripling comes to mind.

With Pollock, they will need that Stripling. Pederson is that Stripling and, in terms of value, Pederson is an excellent backup option.

Since 2015, Pederson’s lowest OPS+ is 96 and that came in his abysmal 2017 season where he had to be sent down. Outside of that year, his lowest OPS+ is 113. 13 percent better than AJ Pollock’s floor.

Pederson does, however, have a weakness- left-handed pitching. Against southpaws, Pederson is hitting a career .181 with only nine of his 87 career home runs. Left-handed pitching is the kryptonite to an otherwise very talented player.

Against righties, Pederson is hitting .239 with 78 home runs and 181 RBI’s. His OPS against righties? .842.

At the end of the day, do those splits make Pederson a superhero? No, they do not. Joc is your average platoon guy that can be used in a starting role against just one side of the mound. But, those types of players are just as important as the rest especially when your center fielder has a tendency to be hurt.

The Dodgers have a player in Pollock who has a tendency to find himself on the injured list. He has proven that time and time again when Pederson has proven his durability.

That is the argument right now. This has nothing really to do with stats. Simply put, the Dodgers need the highest quality depth they can get if it is depth they will rely on. Why make a signing that requires backup players if the plan is to trade the best backups?

For Joc, the starting situation may not be ideal. Nobody wants to be the backup. However, right now, his role on this Dodger team may be as important as ever. He needs to be a role player, an NBA sixth man. Pederson’s value is immense and trading him would be a mistake.