Pearly gates: Braves heaven should repeat itself as Joc Pederson sends clear message

The Atlanta Braves find themselves in a similar situation to the one they were in just three seasons ago. Back in 2021, they lost Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season and didn't have the best record ever, but were in a weak NL East and wound up buying at the trade deadline. Those trades proved to be instrumental, as Atlanta won the World Series.

The NL East has a dominant team this season in the Philadelphia Phillies, but Atlanta controls its own destiny when it comes to the Wild Card with how weak the National League as a whole has been. Acuña might be out for the year and optimism might be low, but the Braves could just be a couple of trades away from making another unlikely October run.

One of the players that Atlanta traded for back in 2021 was Joc Pederson. While his bat cooled down as the postseason progressed, Pederson's hot start helped Atlanta advance in the playoffs to begin with. The 32-year-old is now with the Arizona Diamondbacks but he makes a lot of sense this time around as a potential trade candidate. He proved it again on Thursday night.

Braves must consider a Joc Pederson reunion

Pederson launched a Grand Slam to turn a somewhat close game into a laugher for Arizona. It was the latest big hit in what has been an impressive season for Pederson, who inked a one-year deal with the defending National League champions ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Pederson is now slashing .286/.384/.503 with eight home runs and 28 RBI in 58 games played. He is hitting .275 with a .917 OPS with runners in scoring position. Almost all of that damage has been done exclusively against right-handed pitching as Pederson has just seven at-bats against lefties. That's important to keep in mind.

His ability to crush right-handed pitching is something that the Braves actually need. Right now, with Acuña out, the Braves are starting Adam Duvall every day, whether the pitcher is left-handed or right-handed. While Duvall has an impressive .951 OPS against lefties, he has just six hits in 72 at-bats (.083 BA) and a .243 OPS against righties. Not a .243 average or OBP, OPS. It has been that bad.

Duvall's track record suggests that he'll figure something out against righties eventually, but even then, he has such a long way to go to even be in the same conversation as Pederson who has a .865 OPS against righties. For reference, a .865 OPS would be the 15th-best in the majors among qualifiers.

As seamless as the fit is offensively, Pederson does leave a lot to be desired defensively. With Marcell Ozuna locked in as the team's DH Atlanta would likely have to use Pederson in the field, but at this point, can they afford not to do this with how bad their offense has been?

It takes two to tango, and even with Arizona being three games under .500, they're not clear sellers yet. Time will tell where things go on that front, but if the Diamondbacks do sell at the trade deadline, Pederson will be an easy target for Atlanta to pursue. While the fit isn't one without flaws, his history in Atlanta and his offensive output against righties should get Alex Anthopoulos on the phone to get Joc back with the Braves.