Rangers' Joc Pederson: Preparing to play in wild-card round
Rotowire
Pederson (hand) took some swings in the batting cage Friday and is scheduled to face teammate Jack Leiter (ankle/biceps) in live batting practice this weekend, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
A small fracture in Pederson's left hand ended the 34-year-old's regular season, but it sounds like he's expecting to play Tuesday -- that is, if the Rangers are able to punch their ticket to the playoffs. Pederson put together a resurgent campaign with an .816 OPS and 26 homers after posting a .613 OPS with nine homers in 2025.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Heading to injured list
Rotowire
Texas placed Pederson (hand) on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Sept. 19.
The veteran left-handed-hitting Pederson will head to the 10-day IL, effectively ending his regular season. Pederson has not played since Sept. 12 because of soreness in his fractured left hand. If the 34-year-old indeed misses the remainder of the regular season, he will end his 2026 campaign holding a slash line of .235/.329/.487 with 26 homers and 53 RBI over 431 plate appearances. Pederson could return for the playoffs is Texas is able to qualify.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Sitting again Tuesday
Rotowire
Pederson (hand) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets.
According to Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com, the veteran slugger hit off a tee Tuesday afternoon and is scheduled to do so again pregame. Pederson continues to deal with soreness in his fractured left hand and has some more hurdles to clear before returning to game action. He likely would have been on the bench Tuesday regardless of the injury since lefty Sean Manaea is starting for New York.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Remains out Sunday
Rotowire
Pederson (hand) is absent from Sunday's starting nine against Toronto.
Pederson will sit out a seventh consecutive game due to a small fracture in his left hand. Corey Seager will slot in as the designated hitter, while Ezequiel Duran moves to shortstop and Nicky Lopez mans second base for Texas.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Sitting again Saturday
Rotowire
Pederson (hand) isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Toronto.
Pederson will miss a sixth consecutive start as he continues to battle soreness in his fractured left hand. Corey Seager will handle DH duties Saturday, putting Ezequiel Duran at shortstop and Nicky Lopez at second base.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Out of lineup Friday
Rotowire
Pederson (hand) is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays.
Pederson hasn't played since last Saturday but remains day-to-day for Texas. Josh Jung is handling DH duties for the Rangers on Friday, with Ezequiel Duran leading off and playing third base.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Swelling abates
Rotowire
Pederson (hand) is not yet swinging a bat, but the swelling in his left hand has gone down over the past few days, MLB.com reports.
Pederson missed a fourth consecutive game Thursday after suffering a slight fracture of his left hand Saturday when he was hit by a pitch. The first three of those four missed contests were against left-handers, so Pederson would not have been in the starting lineup anyway, but he was replaced at DH on Thursday by Josh Jung against Boston right-hander Sonny Gray. The Rangers are scheduled to face another right-hander Friday, Toronto's Dylan Cease.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Out of Texas lineup
Rotowire
Pederson (hand) is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox.
Pederson suffered a small fracture in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch Saturday. He hasn't played since then, but the Rangers are facing a righty in Sonny Gray for the first time during that span. Pederson is aiming to play through the injury, but clearly he's not feeling well enough to do so just yet. Josh Jung is slotting in at designated hitter for Texas on Thursday.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Dealing with hand fracture
Rotowire
Pederson, who is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Red Sox, has a small fracture in his left hand, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.
The veteran slugger suffered the injury on a hit-by-pitch Saturday against the Diamondbacks, but he's hoping the swelling will subside soon and allow him to play again this season. Pederson is likely to be sidelined at least the next few days as he continues to be evaluated.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: X-rays negative after HBP
Rotowire
Pederson had X-rays on his hand come back negative after being hit by a pitch during Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
The 34-year-old initially remained in to run the bases after the hit-by-pitch but was eventually replaced by a pinch hitter. The results of the initial X-rays are encouraging, but Pederson is still scheduled to undergo further testing to determine the full extent of the injury. The slugger wasn't likely to be in the lineup for Sunday's series finale regardless of the injury since lefty Eduardo Rodriguez is taking the mound for Arizona.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Belts homer Thursday
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Pederson went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in a loss to the Mariners on Thursday.
Pederson opened the scoring in the contest with a two-run blast off Logan Gilbert in the third inning. That was his lone hit of the game, and Pederson has now gone 39 contests since his last multi-hit effort. Still, he's continued to provide power when in the lineup -- Pederson has gone just 15-for-88 (.170 batting average) during the aforementioned 39-game stretch, but seven of those hits have left the park. With 26 long balls overall on the campaign, Pederson has tied the second highest single-season mark of his career.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle against southpaw
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Athletics.
The left-handed-hitting Pederson will retreat to the bench while the Athletics send southpaw Gage Jump to the hill for the series opener. Elias Diaz will replace Pederson as the Rangers' designated hitter.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Tossed from series opener
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Pederson was ejected from Monday's game against the White Sox after being denied a challenge, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports. He went 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored before exiting.
Pederson voiced his displeasure with the home plate umpire from the dugout after he was denied an ABS challenge earlier in the game, and he was promptly ejected from the matchup. Justin Foscue was called on to replace Pederson in the DH slot following his departure.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle against lefty
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.
Pederson will head to the bench along with Evan Carter and Nicky Lopez while the Angels send southpaw Yusei Kikuchi to the bump. Logan O'Hoppe will cover the DH spot and bat seventh.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Homers, walks three times in loss
Rotowire
Pederson went 1-for-1 with a solo home run and three walks in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Angels.
Pederson opened the game by taking Ryan Johnson deep for his seventh leadoff homer and 22nd long ball of the season. It was his fifth home run over his last 15 games, prompting Los Angeles to pitch around his hot bat and walk him in each of his final three plate appearances. The strategy paid off, as Texas managed only two runs in the loss. Pederson is now one homer shy of matching his highest single-season total since 2020. Through 108 games this season, he owns an .854 OPS
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle against southpaw
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.
After going 1-for-7 with a home run and two RBI as the designated hitter in the first two contests of the series, Pederson will head to the bench against lefty Cade Povich. Corey Seager will get a break from playing shortstop but will stay in the lineup at DH.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle Wednesday
Rotowire
Pederson is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's matchup against the Giants.
With left-hander Carson Whisenhunt toeing the slab for the Giants, Pederson will sit out Wednesday's series finale. Justin Foscue will replace Pederson as the designated hitter and bat fifth for Texas.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Clubs 20th homer in loss
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Pederson went 1-for-1 with two walks and a solo home run in Friday's 11-2 loss to the Astros.
Pederson's homer in the sixth inning was his 20th of the season and marked his return to the 20-homer club. This is the seventh time in 12 seasons he's reached that threshold and comes after the low point of his career in 2025, when he hit just nine home runs with a career-low .613 OPS.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Taking seat Wednesday
Rotowire
Pederson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Right-hander Casey Legumina is opening the contest for the Rays, but the Rangers will keep the left-handed-hitting Pederson on the bench since southpaw Ian Seymour is on track to pitch behind Legumina in bulk relief. Wyatt Langford will replace Pederson at designated hitter and atop the batting order Wednesday.
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Rangers' Joc Pederson: Cracks two homers Monday
Rotowire
Pederson went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI during Monday's 7-3 win over Seattle.
Pederson got the Rangers on the board early with a leadoff homer off George Kirby before adding a three-run blast in the second inning to extend Texas' lead to 4-1. It was the second multi-HR game of the season for Pederson and brought him up to 19 long balls on the year, which is more than double is total from 2025 (nine). He's in the midst of a 10-game on-base streak, during which he has gone 14-for-36 (.389) with one steal, five home runs and nine RBI.
