ARLINGTON — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker estimated that designated hitter Joc Pederson “hit for an hour” in the cages after Monday’s exhibition vs. the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Field.
“That’s not the first time he’s done that,” Schumaker said. “He’s been doing it all spring.”
Pederson laughed when asked for confirmation.
“I don’t know about an hour,” he said. “That makes me sound like I work harder than I do.”
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The exact length of Pederson’s postgame session might be up for debate. The totality of the work he’s put in this spring, as far as the Rangers are concerned, is what gives the club reason to believe that the 33-year-old’s efforts will pay off.
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Pederson, who slashed .175/.298/.250 with 15 strikeouts in 17 games this spring, had not carded an extra base hit until he hit a solo home run in Tuesday’s exhibition finale vs. the Royals. He swatted a fastball from Royals right-hander Seth Lugo into the left field seats for an opposite-field home run and rounded the bases with a smile.
“You knew it was going to come,” Schumaker said. “All the metrics were suggesting it’s going to come eventually. You want to see results, I get it, it’s a results-based game. He wants to see it because he knows all the work should translate at some point. But that’s part of being a pro; he knows if he trusts this process, something good will happen eventually.”
Pederson slashed .181/.285/.328 in an injury-shortened 96 games last season and opted into the second year of a two-year, $37 million contract this winter. He shed weight this offseason and reported to camp in better shape than last year. His spring stats were reflective of his first season with the Rangers, but through the lens of historical context, Pederson’s camp performances don’t always align with what he does once the games begin to matter.
“You always want results,” Pederson said. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work down in the cage. I guess in two days the results start mattering, so hopefully we’ll get a lot of results.”
The Rangers are expected to face two left-handed starters in their first three games against the Philadelphia Phillies and may likely sit Pederson against them to get a right-handed hitter into the lineup.
When he does play, though, the Rangers expect production.
“I couldn’t be more excited for him that he sees it working on the field and not just in cage work or batting practice,” Schumaker said. “Hopefully he’s getting hot at the right time.”
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