David Peralta has enjoyed plenty of career success against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they were among the teams with interest in the veteran outfielder at the deadline last season before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays.
After finishing out the 2022 season with the Rays, Peralta went into free agency for the second time in his career. It was a drawn-out process that culminated with signing a one-year contract with the Dodgers that includes incentives.
The slow-developing market appears to have been due in part to Peralta needing back surgery.
According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Peralta’s surgery became necessary to treat a herniated disc:
The outfielder required back surgery to address a herniated disk over the winter, with the discomfort coming “out of nowhere,” with Peralta not sure enough to speculate how that might have affected his production.
The 35-year-old hit a combined .251/.316/.415 with 30 doubles, 12 home runs and 59 RBI last season.
Peralta had a higher batting average after being traded to the Rays, but his .335 slugging percentage trailed the .460 produced while with the Diamondbacks. Peralta led the Majors with eight triples in 2021, but some of his offensive statistics have been on the decline since posting an .868 on-base plus slugging in 2018.
Peralta did finish with a 104 wRC+ last season, and has exceeded 100 in five of the last six years.
What role will David Peralta have with Dodgers?
Since losing Cody Bellinger to the Chicago Cubs in free agency, the Dodges acknowledged they felt a need to address their outfield.
That was expected to come in the form of a center fielder, but signing Peralta offers more versatility with Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson.
Meanwhile, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said during Spring Training that the team views Peralta as a platoon option in left field.
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