Dodgers might be without speedster Peraza for rest of season
Jose Peraza was poised to be a speedy pinch runner for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason, but now it appears as though he might not flash his speed on the base paths until 2016.
The 21-year-old highly regarded infielder had an MRI on his re-aggravated left hamstring on Monday, the results of which revealed that he'll likely be sidelined for the rest of the season, per manager Don Mattingly.
"Sounds like it could be," Mattingly said.
While Peraza only hit .182/.250/.318 in his first seven major-league games with the Dodgers this season, he flashed enigmatic speed that provided an instant boost to Los Angeles' subpar base running this month.
He scored half of the times he got on base and successfully stole three bases in as many attempts, two of which were of third base.
Sans Peraza, the Dodgers are without a runner with elite speed who they can use as a pinch runner in the playoffs, when base running is all the more paramount to winning games.
"I don't think we have anyone else that we would consider for that role," Mattingly said. "Obviously that's up in the air now.
"That type of thing is a luxury. Sometimes you would need it, sometimes you wouldn't. We had Dee [Gordon] a couple years ago and I think we used him one time. It's one of those things, you never know if you're going to need it or not until you get to that spot."
(h/t Los Angeles Times)
