Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Talks About the Additions of David Peralta and Alex Reyes
Late last week, the Dodgers made a couple surprise moves. After it seemed like their offseason action might be done, they signed veteran outfielder David Peralta and former All-Star closer Alex Reyes to one-year deals, with a team option on Reyes' contract.
On Thursday, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts talked to the media about the additions of the two veterans.
"I think with both guys, it's experience. They're both, from what I've gathered, great teammates, great competitors. And so I think to kind of get assimilated with what we do with the Dodgers and the culture, I think it'll be easy but certainly very additive given their track records. I'm excited."
Roberts went on to talk about the role Peralta will fill on the team. Peralta bats left-handed and has always been a much better hitter against right-handed pitching.
"We have a lot of guys on our roster that handle left-handed pitching, so having a guy like David who throughout his career has been very, very good against right-handed pitching ... he's going to be very helpful for this ballclub."
Peralta is a former Gold Glove winner, but the year he won it, 2019, was the only year he really graded out as a good defensive outfielder. So his most important position will be the left-handed batter's box.
Reyes will miss the first few months of the season after missing all of last year. His contract is full of incentives for 2023 based on appearances, plus an option for 2024 that can become more valuable based on appearances this year, too.