2015 Dodgers review: Joel Peralta

Here is a look at the oldest of the 55 players to play for the 2015 Dodgers, 39-year-old relief pitcher Joel Peralta.

What went right

Peralta filled in nicely with three saves in the first 11 games of the season, with closer Kenley Jansen still recovering from foot surgery.

The right-hander was healthy in the first week of the season, when he struck out four of 14 batters (28.6 percent) with no walks, but then spent the better part of four months either on the shelf or rendered ineffective by various injuries.

Peralta recovered in the final month of the season to allow two runs in nine innings, both runs on solo home runs, with 11 strikeouts and no walks. His 35.5-percent strikeout rate in September and uptick in velocity and finish to his fastball served as a reminder that Peralta has been putting up strong peripherals for some time.

From 2010-2014, Peralta's strikeout rate was 27 percent with a 7.4-percent walk rate, a five-year span that saw him put up a 3.34 ERA and 3.34 FIP.

Peralta's last walk of the season came on July 21 against the Braves. After walking Juan Uribe with two outs in the seventh inning, Peralta didn't issue a walk to any of his final 58 batters faced in 2015.

Left-handed batters hit just .229/.302/.313 in 53 plate appearances against Peralta this season.

Peralta's strong finish earned him a spot on the Dodgers' NLDS roster, and he struck out one in a perfect inning in Game 1, his only appearance. Peralta has seven career postseason appearances and has yet to allow a run.

What went wrong

Peralta's overall 19.8-percent strikeout rate on the season was his lowest since 2009, and his 33 games pitched was also his lowest in six years, with a 4.34 ERA and 5.00 FIP on the year.

Those numbers were dragged down by two stints in the disabled list, missing 54 games from April to June with right shoulder soreness and missing another 18 games in August with a right neck sprain.

From the All-Star break through Aug. 9, after which he made his second trip to the DL, Peralta allowed eight runs on 15 hits, including three home runs, in eight innings, striking out just five of his 41 batters faced (12.2 percent).

2015 particulars

Age: 39

Stats: 33 games, 3-1, 3 saves, 29 IP, 8 BB, 24 K, 4.34 ERA, 5.00 FIP, 0.0 rWAR, -0.3 fWAR

Salary: $2.5 million

Game of the year

On opening day against the Padres, Peralta pitched a scoreless inning through the heart of the order in the eighth inning, preserving a tie, earning the win after the Dodgers took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Peralta did allow a single to Justin Upton with one out, but erased him on a double play two pitches later.

Roster status

Peralta has remaining club options for both 2016 and 2017, each valued at $2.5 million with no buyout.

The argument for exercising Peralta's option is a bet on health, as he has proven to be an effective relief pitcher when healthy. But entering his age-40 season, coming off a season when he was healthy for maybe half the year at most, that risk might prove too high.

The last season Peralta pitched for a team without Andrew Friedman in the front office was in 2010 with Washington.