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Pederson is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees.
Brandon Nimmo has been limited to designated hitter duty as he comes back from a hamstring issue, which leaves Pederson without a spot to play. It's just the second time this season that the left-handed-hitting Pederson has been absent from the lineup when the opposition was starting a right-handed hurler.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Moving to bench in Nimmo's return
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.
After sitting out Saturday's 5-1 loss due to a hamstring injury, Brandon Nimmo will check back into the lineup Sunday as the Rangers' designated hitter, which leaves no room in the lineup for Pederson. With an 0-for-7 showing at the plate over the first two contests of the series in Detroit, Pederson is now batting a lowly .205 on the season.
Pederson went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Yankees.
Pederson entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and belted a solo home run. It was just the second home run and third extra-base hit over 27 games this season for Pederson. He'll continue to serve as the designated hitter against right-handers, but the Rangers should be open to replacement options. Since signing with Texas in 2025, Pederson has slashed .192/.301/.332 with 11 home runs over 123 regular-season games.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle against lefty in series opener
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
As per usual, the left-handed-hitting Pederson will hit the bench while the Rangers match up with a southpaw starter (Max Fried) for the series opener. Andrew McCutchen will step in for Pederson as the Rangers' designated hitter and will bat fifth.
Pederson went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Tuesday's 5-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Pederson, who opened the season hitless over his first 16 at-bats, has seen his average slowly climb since. He's hit safely in 10 of the subsequent 15 games, going 12-for-37 (.324) to raise his season average to .235. Despite the hitting surge, it hasn't improved Pederson's run production. He has just two extra-base hits and three RBI over 21 games.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Not starting in series finale
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.
Pederson will take a seat for the second time in the series and has now hit the bench for all five of the Rangers' matchups with left-handed starting pitchers this season. Platoon mate Andrew McCutchen will replace Pederson in the lineup at designated hitter and will bat sixth.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle Friday
Rotowire
Pederson isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Dodgers.
Pederson lost his three-game hitting streak with an 0-for-2 effort Wednesday, and he'll now receive a day off to begin Texas' three-game set in Los Angeles. Andrew McCutchen will fill in as the designated hitter and bat fifth.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Launches first home run
Rotowire
Pederson went 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Cincinnati.
Pederson halted an 0-for-16 stretch to start the season with a seventh-inning home run. It's been a frustrating start to 2026, the second straight season he's opened with a significant slump. In 2025, Pederson was batting .052 (3-for-58) after 20 games on his way to a .181 average and nine home runs over 96 games.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle against southpaw
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.
The left-handed-hitting Pederson has now hit the bench for each of the Rangers' first three matchups versus southpaws, which doesn't come as a major surprise with the 33-year-old having produced a 79 wRC+ over 668 career plate appearances against lefties. Andrew McCutchen is expected to serve as Pederson's primary platoon mate this season, but Brandon Nimmo will be in the designated-hitter spot Wednesday while McCutchen draws his first start in right field.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: In lineup against righty
Rotowire
Pederson served as the designated hitter and went 0-for-1 with a walk in Saturday's 5-4 extra-inning win over Philadelphia.
Pederson, who was held out of the first game of the series with left-hander Cristopher Sanchez on the mound, got the start against righty Aaron Nola. As soon as lefty reliever Tanner Banks entered the contest, Texas manager Skip Schumaker sent Andrew McCutchen out to pinch hit for Pederson. It looks like DH will be strict platoon between the two.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Spring slide continues
Rotowire
Pederson went 0-for-2 in Friday's spring game against San Francisco.
Pederson's struggles from 2025 have carried over into 2026. He's batting just .171 (6-for-35) with zero RBI over 15 Cactus League games. Pederson is expected to be part of a rotation at designated hitter, which could also include players that have been more productive this spring. Both Andrew McCutchen (.533 average) and Mark Canha (.316, three HR) have been better than Pederson.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Limited impact in spring
Rotowire
Pederson, who will start at first base and bat second in Monday's game against the Padres, has gone 4-for-17 with one walk and four strikeouts through his first eight Cactus League contests.
Coming off a rough first season with Texas in which he posted a career-low .614 OPS over 305 plate appearances, Pederson decided against becoming a free agent over the winter and picked up his $18.5 million player option to remain with the Rangers for 2026, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. While Pederson is likely to maintain a regular spot in the lineup as the Rangers' primary designated hitter against right-handed pitching, he hasn't shown many early signs of reclaiming the power production that eluded him in 2025. All four of his hits so far in spring training have been singles.
Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
The left-handed-hitting Pederson will remain absent from the starting nine for the second straight day to close out the season while the Guardians send another southpaw (Logan Allen) to the hill. Adolis Garcia will serve as Texas' designated hitter in Pederson's stead.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Leaves yard
Rotowire
Pederson went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to the Twins.
Pederson began his night with a solo home run off Zebby Matthews on Matthews' second pitch of the game. It was Pederson's first homer since Aug. 31 and just his second extra-base hit over that span. Pederson remained in the leadoff spot and could stay there the rest of the week when there's a right-hander on the mound. The Rangers are currently slated to face four more righties this week.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Bats leadoff
Rotowire
Pederson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored in Saturday's 4-3 loss to Miami.
Pederson batted leadoff for just the second time this season. He got on base in his first two plate appearances and scored after walking in the third inning. Josh Smith, who normally leads off for Texas, was dropped to sixth in the order. It's unclear if manager Bruce Bochy plans to continue using Pederson atop the order against right-handed pitching, or if this was a one-off decision.
