Currently employing a multitude of outfielders, the Los Angeles Dodgers don’t have any room for uber-prospect Joc Pederson in their lineup. That’s been of understandable disappointment to the Southern California fan base but might the Dodgers have concerns about promoting the five-tool player too early?
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With Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford all entrenched on the Dodgers roster thanks to either their solid play (Puig) or albatross of a contract (Kemp, Ethier, Crawford) the Dodgers find themselves in a bit or a predicament regarding Joc Pederson’s future. When exactly do they call him up? They certainly don’t want to do so only to have him sit on the bench, but they also don’t want an unhappy veteran on their roster either.
The best case scenario would be to trade one of their sub-par outfielders, though that’s easier said than done. Given all that, it sounds as if there is some concern from the Los Angeles Dodgers front office as to when they should promote Joc Pederson.
"Promoting Pederson without trading Kemp would create an untenable logjam, giving the Dodgers six healthy outfielders. Promoting Pederson also could lead to other problems, particularly if he struggles under the demands of playing for a large-market contender."
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports also went on to say that some in the organization do not feel he is ready for the limelight, hinting at his questionable attitude.
"His maturity is another concern; Pederson was benched for not running hard to first in early June, and ejected for throwing his helmet and arguing a called third strike on Tuesday night."
I’m going to venture that a franchise who brought up Yasiel Puig isn’t going to be that concerned about a helmet throw and poor base running habits. Still, as much as Dodger fans are clamoring to see Pederson, it seems questionable as to when he’ll get his much anticipated call-up.