LOS ANGELES — Looking to jump-start a slumping Yasiel Puig, manager Don Mattingly dropped his center fielder to the sixth spot in the Dodgers’ batting order for Monday’s series opener against the Nationals.
“Just hopefully he’ll relax and get back to what he does,” Mattingly said. “Wanted to take little pressure off of him and just allow him to be in a spot with a little less pressure.”
Puig entered the night 2-for-27 over his prior eight games, striking out 10 times and lowering his average to .298. He batted .216/.296/.247 overall in August.
Mattingly said the nature of Puig’s at-bats will tell him whether or not he’s snapping out of his cold spell.
“He’ll be hitting some balls hard,” Mattingly said. “You can just see a guy when he gets his feel back. That changes quickly. It changes at any moment. It changes with a take or one swing, and all of a sudden the guy will be hot again.”
“We talk about it with Adrian [Gonzalez]. You see it with him. He struggles for a little while, next thing you know, boom, he’s off and running. You see the confidence come back in guys, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Top prospect Pederson among LA’s September callups
LOS ANGELES — On the first day of roster expansion, several new faces were in the Dodgers’ clubhouse Monday.
No. 3 prospect Joc Pederson, a 22-year-old outfielder, and No. 15 prospect Yimi Garcia, a 24-year-old right-handed reliever, were both in a Major League clubhouse for the first time. Infielder/outfielder Alex Guerrero is back with the Dodgers for the first time since the team’s opening series in Australia. Catcher Tim Federowicz is back for this third stint with the Dodgers after appearing in 18 games earlier this season. And right-hander Chris Perez (right ankle bone spurs) is off the disabled list, having last pitched on Aug. 3 against the Cubs.
After Triple-A Albuquerque’s 12-11 win against Las Vegas on Sunday, manager Damon Berryhill called Pederson into his office and told him, simply, “It’s time.”
It wasn’t necessarily a surprise for Pederson. He had seen his name mentioned, heard the media reports and had an inkling that he would be getting the call to the Major Leagues once the calendar turned to September. But Sunday night was the first time he had heard, for certain, that it would happen.
He joined the big league team the next day, slipping on a No. 65 jersey in his very own locker in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse — right next to longtime Dodger outfielder Andre Ethier. His mother, father, sister and two brothers were in attendance Monday night. They were already in town for Pederson’s sister’s commitment to play soccer at UCLA.
It’s been a big week for the Pederson family.
“I’m excited,” Pederson said. “It’s a dream come true. But it’s now time to help the team win.”
Pederson, a 22-year-old center fielder, won the 2014 Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award, was the league’s rookie of the year and became the fourth player in 112 years of the league’s existence to post a 30-home run/30-steal season — the first since 1934. Overall, he batted .303 with 30 steals, 33 home runs — tops in the league — and 78 RBIs in 121 games with Albuquerque.
However, manager Don Mattingly isn’t planning to throw Pederson into the fire. Mattingly said Pederson will play primarily off the bench.
“We can use him to steal a base, we can use him to pinch-hit, we can actually play him all over, we can use him in different ways,” Mattingly said.
“I think people in our organization who have seen him the most feel like Joc’s the best center fielder in our organization. That being said, he’s also a guy with no experience at the big league level at this point. And we’ll try to use him and hopefully he’ll gain some experience in this last month.”
Pederson said he’s never been in a bench role in his playing career, but he said he’ll make the necessary adjustments to prepare himself.
Guerrero, who hit .329 with 15 homers in 65 games at Albuquerque, could provide the Dodgers with an offensive boost off the bench — as well as a glimpse at the future. And Garcia, who went 4-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 47 appearances at Triple-A, could serve as protection in the bullpen, Mattingly said.
“Alex has swung the bat well and deserves to be here,” said Mattingly.
“Yimi, he gives us another arm out there. He gives us a guy that’s pitched late in games, Triple-A level. He’s also pitched in multiple-innings situations, so at this point, protection for us in different ways.”
To make room for Pederson on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated infielder Carlos Triunfel for assignment.
Mattingly said he expected infielders Miguel Rojas and Erisbel Arruebarrena and right-hander Carlos Frias to join the team as soon as Tuesday.