Former San Francisco Giants Slugger Agrees To Deal With Texas Rangers

The San Francisco Giants will not be having a reunion with a former slugger as he lands with the 2023 World Series champions.

Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The San Francisco Giants will not be having a reunion with a former slugger who hit free agency this offseason.

Two-time All-Star Joc Pederson — who spent the 2024 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a one-year contract — has agreed to terms with the Texas Rangers on a two-year deal worth $37 million that contains an opt out after the first season. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report the news of the agreement and Buster Olney of ESPN reported the contract details.

Pederson spent the two seasons prior to arriving to the Diamondbacks with the Giants from 2022-23, both on one-year contracts. Prior to the 2022 season, he came to San Francisco on a one-year deal worth $6 million and after an extremely productive season with a .274 batting average and an OPS of .874 with 23 home runs, he was awarded with a major pay raise on another one-year deal but this time worth just under $20 million.

He was still solid in 2023, but a major step down from the 2022 numbers resulted in the Giants letting him walk, signing yet another one-year deal worth $12.5 million.

Pederson, who has played in the outfield for his entire career, has stepped into a more of a designated hitter role over the last several seasons but DH'd exclusively in 2024 and had another really nice season.

Especially dominant against right-handed pitching, Pederson played in 132 games with a batting average of .275, career-bests in OPS and on-base percentage with a .908 and .393 respectively, a .515 slugging percentage, and 23 home runs.

Perhaps most impressive was Pederson's 1.040 OPS with runners in scoring position, an invaluable trait to be at your best when there's an opportunity to get men across the plate.

After showing the 2022 version of himself rather than the 2023 version, Pederson was guaranteed to have a job and likely land a nice payday, and a reunion with San Francisco seemed like it could be in the cards. Seeing him have a career season with a division rival who pushed for a playoff spot after another disappointing year for the Giants, Pederson felt like a potential boost to the offense without having to break the bank.

Seeing the 11-year veteran land elsewhere is certainly a disappointment, but San Francisco will be thrilled to have Pederson out of the division and in the American League. But Pederson will visit Oracle Park in April when the Rangers face the Giants in a three-game series.