NEWS/RUMORS/INJURIES/"CHRIS's CRAZY THOUGHTS" Thread

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Dodgers Acquire Joel Peralta
By Steve Adams [November 20, 2014 at 11:32pm CST]

The Dodgers announced that they have acquired right-hander Joel Peralta and lefty Adam Liberatore from the Rays in exchange for right-handers Jose Dominguez and Greg Harris.

Peralta, 39 in March, has been a workhorse out of the Rays’ bullpen for the past four seasons, averaging 74 appearances and 67 innings per season while posting a 3.58 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 269 1/3 innings. Peralta is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, with a ground-ball rate just north of 31 percent in his career, but the pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium should mitigate some of that concern.

The veteran Peralta gives the Dodgers a much-needed bullpen upgrade at a very reasonable financial cost. He’s due just $2.5MM in 2015 and has club options for 2016 and 2017 at the same rate — neither of which has a buyout attached. There’s an obvious connection between the Dodgers and Peralta, as former Rays GM Andrew Friedman recently jumped ship to become the president of baseball operations with Los Angeles. Friedman no doubt thinks highly of both Peralta and Liberatore.

Peralta struggled, to some extent, in 2014, posting a 4.41 ERA — his worst mark since an ugly 2009 season with the Rockies. However, he still managed to strike out 10.5 hitters per nine innings and showed the best control he has displayed in recent years, walking just 2.1 batters per nine. Peralta’s typically low BABIP spiked to .307 this past season and he allowed homers at a slightly higher clip than usual; those factors are the likely reasoning behind his increased ERA. However, metrics such as FIP (3.40) and SIERA (2.54) feel that Peralta was much better than his ERA.

The 27-year-old Liberatore was lights out in Triple-A this past season, notching a 1.66 ERA with 11.9 K/9 against just 2.1 BB/9 in 65 innings of relief work. He was highly effective against both right- and left-handed hitters, holding each to an OPS south of .500.

Dominguez, 24, has received a brief taste of Major League action in each of the past two seasons with L.A., allowing 10 runs in 14 2/3 innings with a 12-to-6 K/BB ratio. He’s shown a propensity for strikeouts in the minors, however, averaging 10 punchouts per nine innings for his career. Dominguez struggled in the lower levels but has posted a 2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 Double-A innings and a 2.61 ERA in 41 1/1 Triple-A innings. Baseball America ranked him 11th among Dodgers prospects last offseason, calling him a “pure power arm” whose fastball sits 97-100 mph and can touch 102. However, BA noted his erratic command and a 50-game suspension for PED use on his minor league track record in their scouting report. MLB.com ranked him 13th among Dodgers prospects midseason, also praising his fastball but noting that his slider is better known for its velocity than its bite at this time.

The Dodgers selected Harris, 20, in the 17th round of the 2013 draft, and he posted nice strikeout numbers in Class A this season. Harris pitched to a 4.45 ERA as a 19-year-old in the Midwest League, whiffing 92 hitters against 28 walks in 87 innings of work. Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel tweets that he’s heard good things about the velocity of both pitchers acquired by the Rays in this deal, with Dominguez having been clocked as high as 103 mph and Harris sitting in the mid 90s as a starter.

 

have spoken...

DAVE STEWART: "Hey Andy, Dave Stewart."
FRIEDMAN: "It's Andrew, and what the fuck do you want bkitch?!!!"
DAVE STEWART: "Any interest in Miguel Montero?"
FRIEDMAN: "No. Any interest in watermelon?"
DAVE STEWART: "Wow, racist!"
FRIEDMAN: "No, idiot -- Wattamellin. He's a lefty in AAA."
DAVE STEWART: "Oh shit, my bad. It's just..."
FRIEDMAN: "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh, i did mean watermelon!!!"
DAVE STEWART: "Man, fuck you."
FRIEDMAN: "Bwaaaahhh!!!"​

 

dodger updates...

• Andrew Miller is said to have multiple three-year offers in hand already, but nothing from the Dodgers.

• The other top reliever on this year’s market, David Robertson, just may end up finding someone to meet his reported asking price of Jonathan Papelbon money according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com, but it won't be from the Dodgers.

• Jon Lester will meet with at least two more teams next week, none of those teams being the Dodgers. Lester met with the Red Sox, Cubs and Braves this week, but not the Dodgers. The Sox reportedly made a six-year offer in the $110-120MM range and are willing to negotiate further. The Dodgers are not. The Braves reportedly have yet to extend a formal offer. The Dodgers will not be extending any offer.

• Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski appeared on MLB Network Radio with Jim Bowden today and said that while he couldn’t rule out the return of ace Max Scherzer, he feels the chances were better last spring. The chances of the Dodgers signing him remains zero.

• The Braves and Padres have emerged as the two favorites to land free agent Cuban infielder Yasmany Tomas, while the Dodgers are not favorites to land anyone. The Phillies have reportedly backed off due to growing concerns over his glove and conditioning. The Dodgers have no concerns because they will not be pursuing him. Top officials from Atlanta and San Diego will meet with Tomas in the Dominican Republic this weekend, while the Dodgers front office executives will be preparing to shop for deals on Black Friday.

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