Hallelujah. The ‘Joc Pederson, First Baseman’ experiment is over. For now.
According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Joc Pederson will move back to being a full-time outfielder with Cody Bellinger moving full-time to first base.
Roberts said Cody Bellinger will play first base again. Joc Pederson will not for the time being. Pederson goes back to outfield.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 1, 2019
Rumors were that the Dodgers wanted Bellinger to receive a much-deserved Gold Glove in right field, but team performance far outweighs individual accolades.
Joc Pederson’s defense at first base in his short time there was lackluster to say the least. He posted an awful -3 defensive runs saved and committed 6 errors in just 20 games. Yikes.
This was always something that should have been an off-season experiment not one that took place in the middle of the summer.
Pederson continues to crush the ball and will most likely assume the platoon job in left field with Alex Verdugo playing full-time in right field.
Bellinger has been fantastic in past years with his defense at first base, posting positive defensive runs saved marks in all 3 seasons of his big league career. With Belli, however, comes concerns with the health of his right shoulder on diving attempts. He already dislocated it slightly earlier this season, but he is far and away the best defender at first on this team, and needs to resume his duties as a gold glove caliber 1B.
It’s over, folks. The defense is now the way it should be.
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