The Los Angeles Dodgers officially added Curtis Granderson to their 25-man active roster, and created space by optioning Joc Pederson to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Granderson, along with cash considerations, was acquired from the New York Mets late Friday evening in exchange for cash or a player to be named later.
The veteran outfielder will wear No. 6 with the Dodgers, which allows Chris Taylor to remain No 3. Granderson is in the final year of a four-year, $60 million contract signed with the Mets in December 2013. He’s owed roughly $3.6 million for the remainder of this season.
Granderson batted .239/.341/.444 with 106 doubles, 12 triples, 95 home runs and 247 RBI over 573 games with the Mets. He brings a strong clubhouse presence, added versatility and is another option for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to bat leadoff.
Pederson heads to Oklahoma City mired in a 2-for-41 slump. His two hits during that stretch are RBI doubles, with one tying the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 9, and the other providing the Dodgers with an insurance run in the series opener against the Detroit Tigers.
Pederson unveiled a new batting stance Friday night, ditching an upright stance in favor of one where his knees are bent and the bat is in parallel to his body as opposed to over Pederson’s left shoulder. It produced a 1-for-3 effort against the Tigers.
Being able to tinker with his swing while in Oklahoma City may suit Pederson well, particularly if playing time was going to be difficult to come by with the Dodgers. There was a bit of a roster crunch prior to the trade for Granderson, as Adrian Gonzalez was activated off the disabled list.
On the year, Pederson is batting .215/.329/.418 with 18 doubles, 11 home runs, 33 RBI, a .324 wOBA and 101 wRC+ in 87 (68 starts). He was hitting .248/.359/.481 through 72 games (56 starts) before the skid began.
Pederson need not look far for a model of success, as Yasiel Puig rebounded from being demoted last August in the wake of the Dodgers trading for Josh Reddick.
