3) Joc Pederson
The Mets still need a designated hitter. If the season started tomorrow, Starling Marte would be their answer at the position. Let’s add another power bat to the mix by going out and getting Joc Pederson. Pederson is coming off an outstanding season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and would platoon very well with Marte.
Pederson batted .275/.393/.515 with a .391 wOBA, and 151 wRC+ through 449 plate appearances. He went yard 23 times with an isolated slugging percentage of .240. Pederson walked at a healthy 12.2% BB%, which helped offset his unimpressive 23.4% strikeout rate. Pederson ended the season in the 90th percentile or better in multiple statistics on Baseball Savant, including expected numbers like xwOBA (.378), xSLG% (.480), and exit velo (92.3 MPH). He fell just short of the 90th percentile of barrel rate as well at 12.8% (87th percentile).
It was a career year for Pederson. In seasons where he has had at least 400 plate appearances, he set career bests in OPS, OBP, wOBA, and wRC+. It is also the first time since his 2016 sophomore season he has had at least +3.0 fWAR. Pederson made all of his appearances as a designated hitter as well.
The veteran slugger is also a good platoon-mate for Marte. 407 of Pederson’s 449 plate appearances were against right-handed pitching. Pederson batted .291/.391/.531 when facing opposite-handed hurlers. Meanwhile, Marte hit .310/.384/.460 in 113 PAs when he faced a lefty but had a sub-.700 OPS when he stepped into the box against right-handed pitchers.
Adding Joc to this already stacked line-up would simply be unfair, especially against right-handed pitchers. Pederson would add yet another bat with 20+ home run potential. But he’d be an affordable piece who would complement fellow veteran Starling Marte very well at designated hitter.