Pederson will play right field, replacing superstar Ronald Acuna, who tore his ACL last weekend and will miss the rest of the season.
“We wanted to get at least an outfielder if we could with Ronald going down,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos said.
The Cubs, after enduring an 11-game losing streak that pushed them far back in the National League Central, decided to sell, as multiple recent reports indicated last week.
After Acuna’s injury, and given how the season has transpired for the injury ridden 44-45 Braves, there was thought the team could become a seller at the July 30 trade deadline.
The Braves trail the Mets by four games in the wide-open National League East.
But our focus right now is, as banged up as we’ve been, is if we can add where it makes sense, we’ll certainly look to do it.
He spent the past seven seasons with the Dodgers, playing a role with two Los Angeles teams that eliminated the Braves from the postseason in October 2018 and 2020.
He hasn’t really had that hot streak yet, but he’s certainly capable of doing that.
He’s hit .236 with a .837 OPS in his career against right-handers as opposed to a .203 average with a .593 OPS against lefties.
Pederson has a mutual option worth $10 million for next season, which the Braves assumed in the deal.
“He’s a young man that’s got tremendous upside,” Anthopoulos said.