Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle for second straight game
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees.
With the Yankees sending a left-handed starter (Carlos Rodon) to the hill for the second straight day, the left-handed-hitting Pederson will once again remain out of the lineup. Despite facing right-handers in all but nine of his plate appearances on the season, Pederson is still batting just .127, the lowest average among all players in the majors with at least 140 plate appearances. Pederson has struck out at a palatable 19.9 percent clip and has been the victim of a .148 BABIP, so expect the 33-year-old's production to eventually pick up once his batted-ball luck improves.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Launches second homer
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Pederson went 1-for-2 with two walks and a two-run home run during Saturday's 5-1 win against the Astros.
Pederson broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with a two-run homer, his second long ball of the year. It was also just the second time this season he's driven in two runs in a game. The 33-year-old still has an ugly .502 OPS for the year, though he may have turned a corner this month with a .233/.439/.500 slash line and 11:5 BB:K through 12 games in May.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Multiple hits again
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Pederson went 2-for-2 with a double and a walk in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to Boston.
Pederson recorded multiple hits for a second straight game and is a combined 4-for-5 with two doubles, one walk and an RBI in the first two games of the series with the Red Sox. It's just the second time all season he's hit safely in consecutive contests. He still has a way to go to dig out of an epic season-starting slump -- his average was .052 on April 22 -- but Pederson is batting .281 (9-for-32) over the last 12 games, and the bat is showing signs of life.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Out of lineup against lefty
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Pederson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.
Pederson will sit for the third time in the four-game series while the Athletics send another southpaw (Jeffrey Springs) to the hill. With Pederson on the bench, Jonah Heim will serve as the Rangers' designated hitter.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle against southpaw
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Athletics.
With southpaw JP Sears toeing the rubber for the Athletics, the left-handed-hitting Pederson will hit the bench for the series opener. Jonah Heim will fill in for Pederson as Texas' designated hitter.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Climbs above .100
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Pederson went 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored in Sunday's 3-2 loss the Giants.
Pederson's bat has shown recent life. He's gone 4-for-11 over his last five games and inched his average to .101 through 78 plate appearances. Pederson is not the only member of the team that's struggled to produce; the Rangers rank dead last in MLB with 86 runs over 28 games.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Logs first RBI
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Pederson went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in Friday's 2-0 win over San Francisco.
Pederson singled home a run in the fifth inning to increase the Rangers' lead to 2-0. Incredibly, it was the first RBI of the season for Pederson, who has mostly batted third for the Rangers. After enduring an 0-for-41 stretch, Pederson has two hits and over his last six at-bats.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Resting against southpaw
Rotowire
Pederson isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics.
The lefty-hitting Pederson will grab a seat on the bench Wednesday against the lefty-throwing JP Sears and the A's. The 33-year-old slugger's absence will put Jonah Heim at the DH spot while Kyle Higashioka starts behind the dish.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Sits against righty
Rotowire
Pederson was held out of the starting lineup against a right-hander Sunday against the Dodgers.
The hot-hitting Josh Smith filled in at designated hitter against a right-hander, which has been Pederson's role. Unfortunately for Pederson, a season-opening slump (3-for-55, .055) may cost him some starts in the short term.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Dropped to fifth
Rotowire
Pederson batted fifth in the order and went 0-for-2 in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Dodgers.
Pederson had consistently batted third to begin the 2025 campaign, but his season-opening slump finally prompted manager Bruce Bochy to move him down in the order, with Josh Smith taking over the third spot Saturday. Pederson is now 2-for-55 (.055) to start the season and could be in danger of more than being dropped in the order. Bochy might be tempted to give the hot-hitting Smith (.341), a super-utility player without a permanent home in the everyday lineup, more opportunities at DH ahead of Pederson.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Epic slump continues
Rotowire
Pederson went 0-for-3 in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Dodgers.
Season-opening slumps tend to get more attention than ones in the middle of a season, but there's no sugar-coating Pederson's futility. Following Friday's game, he's 0-for-his-last-36 and is batting .057. If he qualified he would be last in the majors. To Pederson's credit, the slump hasn't resulted in him chasing -- his 24.8 chase percentage is below league average and less than his career norm (27.6). He is, however, topping a lot of balls and is experiencing a spike in groundball rate (56.4). Texas manager Bruce Bochy is standing behind the slugger and continues to put him third or fourth in the lineup.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: On bench versus southpaw
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Angels.
Pederson is hitless in his past 24 at-bats and has gone 3-for-49 through 14 games this season. Jonah Heim will serve as the designated hitter against Halos lefty Yusei Kikuchi while Kyle Higashioka starts behind the plate.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Slump continues
Rotowire
Pederson went 0-for-4 in Saturday's 9-2 loss to Seattle.
Pederson's string of futility reached 22 consecutive at-bats without a hit, dropping his batting average to .077. He had opened the season batting third or fourth but was dropped to fifth Saturday for a second straight start. Texas manager Bruce Bochy was quick to point out the drop was not a concession to Pederson's struggles, but was instead a move to avoid having three consecutive left-handed hitters after Josh Smith was inserted into the third spot in the order with Wyatt Langford (oblique) on the injured list.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Mired in slump
Rotowire
Pederson went 0-for-3 with a walk in Friday's 5-3 loss to Seattle.
Pederson extended a hitless streak to 18 at-bats and is batting .086 (.334 OPS) for his new team. After a career-best season in 2024 while with Arizona, he gambled on free agency and won, getting a two-year deal with the Rangers. Texas viewed him as the answer at designated hitter, a position from which it got a league-low .584 OPS in 2024, but it has not yet worked out. Pederson has just one barrel (3.8 barrel percentage) and a career-worst 30.8 hard-hit percentage.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle against southpaw
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
Pederson will take a seat for the second time in the series while the Cubs send another lefty (Shota Imanaga) to the mound. With Pederson on the bench, Jonah Heim will get a day off from catching duties and will serve as the Rangers' designated hitter.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Sitting against left-hander
Rotowire
Pederson is absent from the lineup for Monday's game versus the Cubs.
The Rangers are facing a left-hander in Justin Steele for just the second time this season, which means Pederson will begin the contest on the bench. Jonah Heim is starting at designated hitter and Kyle Higashioka is doing the catching for the series opener.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Slow start
Rotowire
Pederson went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Cincinnati.
Pederson had a first-inning double but was stranded at second base. The lefty batter is off to a slow start for his new team with Tuesday's double being just his second hit in 15 at-bats.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: In lineup against righty
Rotowire
Pederson started at designated hitter Friday and went 1-for-3 with a run scored in Friday's 4-1 win over Boston.
Pederson, who was held out of Thursday's season opener against a lefty, was in the lineup against a right-hander. However, Kevin Pillar pinch hit for Pederson with lefty Brennan Bernardino on the bump for the Red Sox in the eighth inning. Texas manager Bruce Bochy may be strict in using Pederson against right-handers only.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: On bench for opener
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox.
Pederson is expected to serve as the Rangers' primary designated hitter against right-handed pitching this season, but he'll take a seat Thursday while the Red Sox send southpaw Garrett Crochet to the bump. Corey Seager is managing a calf injury and will get a day off from shortstop and step in as Texas' DH.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Goes deep again
Rotowire
Pederson started at first base and went 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's Cactus League game against Cincinnati.
Pederson walloped a three-run homer in the first inning. It was his third of the Cactus League and second driven to the opposite field. Pederson is expected to mostly see time at DH in 2025, but he'll get opportunities to fill in for Jake Burger at first base.
