Joel Peralta On The DL, Yimi Garcia Called Up

Sep 9, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Yimi Garcia (63) delivers a pitch against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

This feels a bit like the Chris Perez situation doesn’t it? SWEET SWEET RELIEF even if it’s not the kind I wanted anyways, Joel Peralta was placed on the disabled list today, with Yimi Garcia recalled

This could easily be included in the game thread, but a separate post gives me a chance to ramble on about the bullpen woes for the 20th time, him being on the roster is just kind of baffling, the talent for him to compete against major leaguers just isn’t there, Joel always challenged dudes, never giving up anything, and making the opponents beat him (at least that’s what Tampa Bay analysts said about him), the problem is, shoulder problems at the beginning of one’s age 39 season rarely ends well, and it doesn’t considering his 5.60 Fielding Independent Pitching in 20 innings pitched culminating in a -0.4 fWAR total, so by adding Yimi, the bullpen hopefully improves by some tangible amount.

Garcia has had a wild season, everything after April is bad (4.67 FIP, 7 dingers in 26.2 innings pitched), but that April is so freaking good (0.61 FIP/ 0 dingers allowed in  11.2 IP) that the Dodgers could potentially fix their miserable bullpen by A) not pitching a guy who has no business being in the big leagues and B) pitching a guy that is useable in high leverage situations.

The bullpen was clearly a problem, something had to change, and [phantom?] DL’ing Peralta was the easiest, most obvious way to make a change, whether the best 7/8 incumbent relievers are good enough for the team to be competitive in the postseason is a question that must be answered, and whether Yimi Garcia deserves to be in the conversation for a postseason roster spot is another question, but the total negative that was Joel Peralta was replaced by a question mark in Yimi Garcia, and that is undoubtedly the best move for the team right now.