You didn’t have to watch the Texas Rangers closely to know about the historic struggles of Joc Pederson in 2025.

After signing a two-year $37 million dollar deal with Texas in the offseason, Pederson struggled both at the plate and staying healthy.

Limited to just 96 games, Pederson hit just .181 with nine home runs and 26 RBI struggling to bounce back from a historically bad start to the season.

Fielding was also not on the table for Pederson as he appeared in just five games defensively with four coming at first base and one in right field.

Unsurprisingly, Pederson accepted his player option for the 2026 season and will now have a big year ahead of him.

There’s no doubt that Pederson has been a solid hitter over the course of his 12-year career, and seeing that will prove huge as the Rangers look to rebound offensively and return to the postseason for the first time since winning it all in 2023.

A bounce back season from Pederson would give the Rangers a much needed power bat in the middle of the order who can crush right handed pitching.

In a season in which Texas will attempt to shift its hitting philosophy to more of a contact center approach, Pederson could join the likes of Corey Seager and Jake Burger as players who could remain a power presence.

However, there’s no doubt that 2026 will bring a lot of pressure for Pederson to get off to a good start at the plate.

With the Rangers not really loving Pederson’s defense and the fact that he pretty much only hits right handed pitching, it’s certainly more difficult for first-year manager Skip Schumaker to get him in the lineup consistently.

If Pederson can’t figure it out at the plate, the Rangers may be forced to just move on from him all together.

Pederson’s contract does have a mutual option in 2027 so if he does bounce back in 2026, it could be likely he returns.

However, long before any sort of 2027 talk begins, the Rangers need to get Pederson looking like himself again.

If Pederson and a few other Rangers can produce bounce back seasons, the offense could return to being amongst baseball’s best.

An offensive resurgence would certainly be a huge key in helping Texas return to the postseason, a place that Pederson is familiar with and would like to get back to with the Rangers.

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