Rangers sign famed lefty slugger in wake of Nathaniel Lowe trade

Over the past few weeks, no team has been more active in upgrading their 2025 roster than the Texas Rangers. By now, they've touched on the vast majority of their roster holes and the club has brought aboard two prolific power hitters in just about as many weeks.

First it was Jake Burger, a corner infielder the Rangers acquired from the Miami Marlins in an absolute heist of a trade. Now, the club has signed Joc Pederson to a two-year, $37 million contract. Pederson's deal will include an opt-out following the upcoming season.

Pederson, an 11-year veteran, just wrapped up a 23-homer season with the Arizona Diamondbacks where he also posted a .908 OPS and 151 OPS+ in 132 games. He's basically a non-factor against left-handed pitching, but he possesses true light-tower power against righties, so count on him to form a platoon at designated hitter for the 2025 Rangers.

Rangers sign Joc Pederson to replace Nathaniel Lowe

On Sunday, the Rangers traded first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals in exchange for a relief pitcher with insane strikeout stuff. Essentially, the club elected to replace Lowe and his slowly declining power with Pederson, whose reputation speaks for itself as a power-hitting veteran with extensive playoff experience.

This past season, the Rangers finished just ninth in the American League in home runs and 12th in wRC+. Their biggest roster hole has clearly been the bullpen, but don't sleep on their need for offensive firepower. Chris Young has kept the pedal to the metal in recent days to get the roster for the upcoming campaign shored up, and bringing aboard multiple power bats was absolutely a part of the vision.

Of course, the Rangers also finished in the bottom half of the AL in most offensive categories against left-handed pitching, so Pederson's addition on its own is not going to help that. Burger, however, should provide more than enough thump against southpaws.

There's no doubt that the Rangers have quietly put together one of the best offseasons in the league so far. They've done an efficient job of bringing aboard proven winners with long track records of success, and they appear to be headed for a much-needed rebound after the disappointment that was 2024.