The Chicago Cubs activated Joc Pederson from the 10-day injured list on Monday, giving the slugger a chance to face his former team.
Pederson was in the starting lineup for Chicago’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, leading off and playing left field. But the game was postponed because of inclement weather in the forecast.
Pederson had been sidelined by left wrist tendinitis. He is batting just .137 with a homer and four RBIs with his new team.
“Competing against your old teammates and a little bit of (a) chance to face some of your old friends is always something that I think a lot of players take a lot of pride in,” manager David Ross said. “It’s fun. He’s got a lot of history with those guys, a really good history, a winning history with that group.”
Catcher Willson Contreras also was set for his first start since he left Friday night’s 8-6 loss at Cincinnati with tightness in his right thigh. But Ian Happ was out of the starting lineup a day after he was involved in a scary collision with Nico Hoerner in short center field.
“I think both of the guys are really sore from a pretty intense collision,” Ross said before the game was postponed. “Being available and being able to use guys, you know a lot went on in that collision that makes a lot of different body parts sore. I’ll know much more when I talk to the trainers after they put them through all the tests and see the doctors.”
The 29-year-old Pederson was selected by Los Angeles in the 11th round of the 2010 amateur draft. He hit .230 with 130 homers and 303 RBIs while spending his first seven seasons with the Dodgers, winning the World Series last year.
Pederson became a free agent after last season and finalized a $7 million, one-year contract with Chicago in February.
“It’s been in Ohio as early as the mid-1850s at least, brought in as an ornamental plant because of its unique foliage and white flowers,” Gardner said. “It was actually planted in people’s landscaping, and it has been spreading.”
The Cubs sent right-hander Keegan Thompson to their alternate site to make room on the roster. Thompson, who pitched a scoreless inning in his big league debut Sunday at Cincinnati, is expected to join Triple-A Iowa when its season begins.
The decision to send Thompson down keeps Hoerner on the roster after he was promoted when Pederson went on the IL last month. Hoerner is off to a strong start, hitting .389 with seven RBIs in his first 11 games.
Chicago will make up the postponement with a split doubleheader against Los Angeles on Tuesday. Kyle Hendricks will start Game 1 for the Cubs, and the team did not announce a starter for the nightcap.
