Chicago Cubs: Comparing Joc Pederson to Kyle Schwarber

The Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms with former Dodgers outfield Joc Pederson on a one-year, $7 million deal per Ken Rosenthal. Pederson, 28, comes in to add another power bat to the lineup and bring much-needed depth to the outfield. Outside the surprise that the Cubs actually brought in a well-known player on an big league deal, it is easy to spot easy similarities between him and Kyle Schwarber in the numbers.

Replacing one hitter on the Cubs with the seemingly same hitter

It was not long ago when the Cubs declined to tender Kyle Schwarber a contract, thus making him a free agent for the first time in his career. He was going to make at least $8 million had he been tendered by the Cubs, but he signed with the Nationals on a one-year, $10 million deal after being non-tendered.

Now the Cubs have Joc Pederson, a guy who can hit 25-35 home runs with a solid OBP but does not hit for a high average. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? In terms of offense the Cubs have replaced Schwarber with one guy who is incredibly similar at the plate. If we look at what Schwarber’s arbitration number was going to be and Pederson’s deal, it is essentially a $1 million difference. Yes, Schwarber is making $10 million with the Nationals but this is just looking at what range he probably would have gotten with the Cubs.

With all of that said, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The fact that the Cubs were able to replace Schwarber with a player similar with a few more upsides is more than many anticipated the way things were going this offseason. While Pederson is not the dream contact-first bat that could be of good use on a team with holes in their swings, there is good value in this player.