Giants agree to deal with Cali native Joc 

Fan favorite Joc Pederson and the reigning NL West champion Giants have come to an agreement on a one-year deal.

Pederson finished his 2021 in style, becoming only the ninth player to win back-to-back World Series titles with different teams. He helped Atlanta capture its first championship since 1995, hitting three home runs in the NLDS against the Brewers, including two as a pinch-hitter. Pederson also became a key clubhouse presence, making a pearl necklace the hot item of the fall in Atlanta.

In 137 regular-season games for the Cubs and Braves, the 29-year-old hit .238/.310/.422 (93 OPS+) with 18 home runs and 61 RBIs. He had signed a one-year deal with Chicago in February, getting a guaranteed $7 million between a $4.5 million base salary and the $2.5 million buyout on a $10 million mutual option for 2022. The Cubs traded him to the Braves on July 15, propelling Pederson into another postseason.

Pederson, who debuted in 2014, has been a playoff participant after each of his seven full seasons and taken advantage of those opportunities. He owns a career .814 postseason OPS in 79 games, hitting 12 homers. Pederson played a key role in the Dodgers breaking a long title drought in 2020, hitting .382/.432/.559 across 37 plate appearances.

Drafted by the Dodgers in the 11th round in 2010 out of Palo Alto (Calif.) High School, Pederson became a top prospect and was an All-Star as a rookie in 2015. He produced a well above-average 119 OPS+ and averaged 25 homers from 2015-19 before slumping in the pandemic-shortened ‘20 campaign.

Pederson left the Dodgers last offseason looking for an everyday opportunity, since L.A. largely used him as a platoon player. His career OPS against righties (.832) is more than 200 points better than his OPS against lefties (.610), and 137 of his 148 homers have come with the platoon advantage.