Dodgers demote Pederson to make room for Granderson

The Los Angeles Dodgers bolstered their already impressive lineup late Friday by acquiring outfielder Curtis Granderson from the New York Mets, but the move meant somebody would have to be bumped from the squad.

Joc Pederson, who has been an integral part of the Dodgers since his rookie season in 2015, was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room on the 25-man roster for Granderson.

Pederson is currently working on a new batting stance and swing, which Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes may help him counteract some of his recent struggles, but it's going to take some time to get used to the adjustment.

"(Pederson) being optioned gives him an opportunity to reset," Roberts told Daniel Kramer of MLB.com on Saturday. "I have no doubt that Joc is gonna come back here and help us win a lot of baseball games - obviously get to our ultimate goal, and that's to win a championship.

"But right now, where he's at in the middle of a swing change, trying to get some consistency, and in a Major League setting, it's really hard to continue to perform when you're looking at the scoreboard, when you're looking at your average, and trying to win baseball games. So, for him to go to OKC (Oklahoma City) and take a breath, I think it'll be good for him."

Pederson, 25, has struggled to a .215/.329/.418 slash line across 87 games this season, with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs.

Prior to this year, the former No. 1 prospect of the Dodgers had two consecutive seasons of 25-plus home runs and also managed an .847 OPS in 2016.