SF Giants: Joc Pederson accepts one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer

Joc Pederson has accepted the SF Giants qualifying offer, re-signing with the team on a one-year, $19.65 million dollar contract.

Marc Delucchi | Nov 15, 2022

SF Giants: Joc Pederson accepts one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer /

In this story:

San Francisco Giants

Joc Pederson will be back in a SF Giants uniform next season after he accepted a qualifying offer, as first reported by MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. The Giants surprised many when they offered Pederson a one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer, and it seems Joc and his agent did not think they could get a better deal on the open market. Giants left-handed starter Carlos Rodón declined his qualifying offer.

SF Giants outfielder Joc Pederson takes a swing. (2022) — SF Giants outfielder Joc Pederson connects with a pitch against the Padres. (2022) / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

If Pederson had rejected the qualifying offer and signed elsewhere, the Giants would have received draft compensation. If Rodón signs with another team, the Giants will receive a competitive round B pick, which slots between rounds 2 and 3.

The Giants have not hesitated to use the qualifying offer during the Farhan Zaidi era. They used it on closer Will Smith and Madison Bumgarner after 2019, on Kevin Gausman after 2020, and on Brandon Belt after last season - Gausman and Belt both accepted the offers while Smith and Bumgarner signed elsewhere and netted the Giants picks.

Pederson was a Silver Slugger finalist this season, hitting 274/.353/.521 with 23 home runs in 134 games with the Giants. A Bay Area-native, Pederson received his second career All-Star game selection and went 0-for-2 in the midsummer classic.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler made sure to shield Pederson from left-handed pitching this season. Just 13 percent of Pederson’s plate appearances were against southpaws, who he has struggled against throughout his career. While his defense in the outfield leaves a lot to be desired, the Giants are apparently willing to put up with that for the sake of his bat.

Another wrinkle that could increase Joc Pederson's value going forward is MLB's decision to ban extreme shifts next season. Pederson, a dead-pull hitter has been consistently hampered by extreme shifts. Given Pederson's track record of productivity with extreme shifts, it's not out of the question that the SF Giants could expect even more from him next season.

Published Nov 15, 2022

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).