Dodgers finalize contracts for David Peralta, Alex Reyes, and Jimmy Nelson

The Dodgers on Thursday made official their three one-year contracts agreed to in the last week. Outfielder David Peralta will earn $6.5 million in 2023, reliever Jimmy Nelson will earn $1.2 million, and reliever Alex Reyes will earn $1.1 million.

To make roster room for all three, the Dodgers placed three pitchers on the 60-day injured list — Walker Buehler, Blake Treinen, and J.P. Feyereisen.

Buehler had Tommy John surgery and a right flexor tendon repair in August, which is expected to sideline him most if not all of the 2023 season. It’s the second Tommy John surgery for Buehler, who also underwent the reconstructive elbow procedure after he was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round in 2015 out of Vanderbilt.

Treinen had right shoulder surgery to repair his rotator cuff and labrum in November, which is expected to wipe out most if not all of his 2023 season. This comes after a season in which Treinen only pitched in six games, including the postseason, missing over four months with a partial capsule tear in his right shoulder, then again missed most of September with right shoulder tightness.

“I feel like I should be able to come back this year at some point, I think it’s a very real possibility,” Treinen told reporters at Camelback Ranch on Wednesday. “It’d be really kind of a gut punch to me if I wasn’t able to.”

The Dodgers acquired Feyereisen from the Rays in December for minor league pitcher Jeff Belge. The now-30-year-old right-hander allowed only one unearned run in 22 relief appearances for Tampa Bay last season, putting up a 0.00 ERA with 25 strikeouts and five walks in 24⅓ innings.

Feyereisen missed the last three months of the season with a right shoulder impingement and had shoulder surgery in December. He’s expected to be out until around the All-Star break.

Landing on the 60-day injured list means, at a minimum, Buehler, Treinen, and Feyereisen are ineligible to return until May 29 at the earliest. But all are expected to be out much longer than that.

Peralta’s deal with the Dodgers was first reported on Friday, with the 35-year-old likely to play left field — the position he’s played almost exclusively in the field since 2018 save for one game pitching — and used heavily against right-handed pitchers. The left-handed Peralta is a career .294/.350/.486 hitter with a 121 wRC+ against right-handers, including .267/.329/.449 with a 116 wRC+ in 2022.

Peralta also had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back during the offseason, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported on February 4, which might have affected Peralta’s .255/.317/.335, 91-wRC+ line with the Rays after the trade deadline.

Reyes missed all of 2022 with a frayed labrum in his right shoulder that required surgery in May. He was an All-Star in 2021 with the Cardinals, saving 29 games with a 3.23 ERA, 3.47 xERA, 95 strikeouts and 52 walks in 72⅓ innings.

Nelson last pitched on July 30, 2021, spending the last season and a half rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and flexor tendon repair. He turns 34 in June.

After missing his first season in Los Angeles with back surgery in 2020, Nelson had a 1.86 ERA, 1.89 FIP, and 2.15 xERA in 28 games in 2021, including 44 strikeouts and 13 walks in 29 innings.

Nelson will wear uniform number 40 with the Dodgers, the same number he had during his previous stints with the team. Peralta will wear number six, the uniform number he’s worn all throughout his time in the majors. Reyes is number 27.