Nationals @ Dodgers August 11, 2015: A Move In The Bullpen

You were wondering when then would be now, and now it’s when: Joel Peralta has been put on the 15-day disabled list with a sore neck, and Yimi Garcia has been recalled to take his place.

Peralta reportedly injured himself in Philadelphia, and claims it’s affected his command. I’m inclined to believe him, I think, because there were enough reasons to like his acquisition in the first place that it’s difficult to accept he’d be this bad without some underlying physical concern. (Also, he claims the neck was bothering him months ago.) Either way, whether this is real or not, I think we all agree that he was in no position to help the team like this. I know most of you wanted him DFA’d. I’m greatly looking forward to his Juan Uribe-like tale of redemption when he returns in September to help the team. Maybe.

Speaking of which: Chris Hatcher! If he’d been anything like the reliever the Marlins had in 2014, this bullpen would look a lot different. I think sometimes we forget just how good he was last year, actually. Of course, then he was sorta bad in April, and really bad in May, and hasn’t been heard from since with an oblique injury. He’s nearly ready:

Chris Hatcher expected to be activated off DL within a day or two of Friday (first day eligible). "We like Chris," Mattingly said

— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) August 11, 2015

I’m really, really looking forward to the snark that will provide. But if there’s any hope for improvement in this group of relievers, it might be from him looking more like he did with Miami. I know that isn’t a lot to hang your hat on.

Otherwise: Howie Kendrick is probably out until September. Justin Turner won’t be activated tomorrow. And Bryce Harper is out with a minor knee injury. Baseball!