Despite win Monday, awful production from pricey Texas Rangers player a concern | Opinion
Of all the moves that Texas Rangers GM Chris Young has made since he replaced Jon Daniels, signing Joc Pederson to a contract beyond a $5 Starbucks gift card is quickly climbing the ranks as his biggest stinker.
Pederson, and specifically his designated hitter position, is an issue that needs discussing. Maybe they began that conversation on Monday night against the New York Yankees by “starting” Pederson on the bench.
The Rangers scored four second-inning runs for a lead that lasted but one more inning. The Yankees led 5-4 with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning when Rangers manager Bruce Bochy put Pederson in as a pinch hitter.
With the type of swing and contact the Rangers have seen infrequently from Pederson, he tied the game on his third home run of the season. Maybe Pederson should be the full-time pinch, not designated, hitter.
Going into Monday’s game, Pederson’s odds of hitting a home run were +500, according to Sports Illustrated. That comes out to a “16.7% implied probability of him hitting a home run.”
In the bottom of the 10th inning, designated hitter Josh Jung won the game on a 3-run home run. The Rangers are now 59-55, and 1 1/2 games out of the wild card spot in the American League.
Rather than address their meh offense at the trade deadline, the Rangers upgraded a pitching staff that already had the best ERA in baseball. Never knock a team for finding more pitching, but going with the status quo with this offense is a risk.
“Led” by Peterson, the Rangers designated hitter spot is the worst in Major League Baseball, which includes the Class A hitters the Colorado Rockies are offering. Name the stat from a DH, and the Rangers rank either last or second-to-last.
He is well aware of it.
“I’ve sucked for about four months; (the home run) doesn’t cover up the ugliness that it’s been,” he said after the game. “Baseball is a lot more than one moment. You get behind and it feels like quick sand.”
The numbers are embarrassing, and historic. If you’re going to be bad at something, at least make it memorable. Entering play Monday, the combined batting average of the Rangers’ designated hitters is .167, with 32 RBI. If you are one of those “on base percentage” people because you’re smarter than everyone else, the Rangers’ DH’s boast a disgusting .246 OBP.
It is all part of the “this makes no sense” season for the Rangers, who lead MLB in pitching and fielding but have often struggled to score runs even on balls hit over the fence. The 2025 Rangers are currently on pace to have its worst ever season at the DH spot.
What in the name of Pete Incaviglia is going on here?
It’s August, and Monday night is the first time this season where the DH bailed out this offense. But that doesn’t mean it’s fixed.
This DH hell pit all starts with Pederson, whom the club signed to a two-year, $37 million contract in the offseason. He was coming off a highly productive 2024 season with Arizona, and his addition was supposed to solve what was a major problem for the Rangers last year.
The DH spot for the Rangers last season was their Achilles. Pederson has turned the Rangers DH into a torn Achilles. You don’t need Barry Bonds at DH to win the World Series, but you can’t run out Daniel Doesnthit, either.
If you are one of those compassionate types, Pederson suffered an injury to his hand in May that knocked him out for two months. If you are one of those logical types, he wasn’t hitting before the injury.
“He’s been fighting it,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said after the game. “He’s missed a lot of time. He’s still in spring training mode.”
Since coming off the disabled list on July 27, he has three hits in 22 at bats. That is consistent with the production he was putting up before the injury. It didn’t help that when he arrived to the team in spring training, he appeared not to be in the type of shape he had been with the Diamondbacks.
For the season, Pederson is batting .126 with three home runs and 7 RBIs in 170 plate appearances. The next most productive DH for the Rangers is catcher Jonah Heim, who has 6 RBIs.
This illustrates the other problem with Pederson. There aren’t a lot of candidates to replace him, which is why the Rangers not making much of an attempt to find an upgrade for their lineup at the trade deadline is bewildering.
All roads lead back to the contract. White flagging a player who makes $18.5 million this season to sit and watch a baseball game from the bench is an expensive swallow, even for team owner Ray Davis who has embraced spending like the fifth wife of an oil and gas executive.
Jung, who has struggled at the plate this season, has more value at third base with his gold-caliber-glove. Josh Smith is a valuable player, but he has too much to offer in the field to be a DH.
Jake Burger, when he comes off the disabled list, could be an option. Rowdy Tellez may get a look.
Because all of these alternatives come with issues, the Rangers are more apt to stay with Pederson to see if he can hit his way out of a season-long slump. Maybe his success as a pinch hitter on Monday night will reverse what has thus far been a terrible run as a designated hitter.
This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 10:32 PM.
