Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Peralta May Miss Start Of Season Due To Shoulder Issue

Joel Peralta

UPDATE (Feb. 26, 8:40 a.m. PT): According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Joel Peralta’s status may not be as grave as originally thought:



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Roughy one month after taking over as Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman reunited with relief pitcher Joel Peralta by completing a trade for the right-hander along with Adam Liberatore from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Greg Harris and Jose Dominguez.

At the time of the trade, Peralta figured to slide into a bullpen that needed to be upgraded after an inconsistent season in 2014. Peralta’s value to the Dodgers then increased with Kenley Jansen undergoing surgery on his left foot, which is expected to sideline the closer for the first one or two months of the season.

According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Peralta may also be in danger of not being on the active roster by Opening Day (April 6):

Dodgers reliever Joel Peralta, sidelined by shoulder stiffness, said he is hopeful he will be able to throw off a mound by next week. That will put Peralta nearly two weeks behind the rest of the team’s pitchers and at risk of opening the season on the disabled list.

Peralta reported to Spring Training last week, but fell behind other pitchers as he dealt with shoulder stiffness from as a result from throwing a bullpen session prior to arriving at Camelback Ranch. He managed to play catch on Sunday and again Monday, but there’s otherwise been little to progress to report on.

The 38 year old said he believed the discomfort was a byproduct of him opting to forgo participating in winter ball, which was a decision he and Friedman agreed on. Should Peralta miss some of the season, it will place more pressure on the likes of Chris Hatcher, J.P. Howell, Brandon League, among others to shoulder the load until Jansen returns.

Peralta appeared in 69 games with the Rays last season and was 3-4 with a 4.41 ERA in his fourth year with the team. He is under contract with the Dodgers for $2.5 million in 2015 and has $2.5 million options in 2016 and 2017.

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Chris Hatcher Discusses Getting Traded To The Dodgers While Traveling Abroad


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