The Los Angeles Dodgers longtime outfield prospect DJ Peters will be moving from triple-A to the majors, but not in the way that he was planning. The Dodgers designated the 25-year-old for assignment on July 29th. When a player is designated for assignment, he may either be traded or placed on waivers by the designating club. Other teams then have a chance to claim the player via the waiver wire. If the player is not claimed by another team, then he is either sent to the minors or released. Peters was already in triple-A when he was designated for assignment, so he was going to be released by the Dodgers. But the Texas Rangers submitted a waiver claim for Peters on the waiver wire. Now DJ Peters is the newest member of the Texas Rangers.
Peters brought attention towards himself in Spring Training of 2018 when he batted to a .409/.409/.864 slash line. He hit three home runs and batted in five runs in 22 at-bats. But the Dodgers did not have room for him in the outfield and he was striking out too much. As a result, Peters remained in double-A until his promotion to triple-A in 2019. It was not until 2021 that he would get a shot at the major league roster – and a limited shot at that. This season, Peters has batted to a .192/.382/.385 slash line with one home run. In his 26 major league at-bats, he struck out 14 times.
Peters Regressing, Rangers Claim From Dodgers
This season has been the lowest amount of home runs that DJ Peters has hit in his career. He hit 27 home runs in 2017 for the Dodgers high-A affiliate. Then in 2018, Peters hit a career-high 29 home runs in double-A. In 2019 for Oklahoma City, Peters hit 12 home runs and had 39 RBI in 208 at-bats. Combined in 2019 between double and triple-A, Peters hit 23 home runs. For the Dodgers triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City this season, Peters slashed .234/.317/.370. In addition, Peters only has four home runs and 19 RBI in 184 at-bats.
Peters looks to make a fresh start in Texas for the Rangers, where he will reportedly be a bench player to start his career there. But with the Dodgers full outfield, there was no place for Peters to play. Year after year, the Dodgers made improvements to their outfield. Cody Bellinger won the MVP and the Dodgers signed AJ Pollock. Then they added Mookie Betts as well. Add to that the fact that Chris Taylor’s performance this season has been excellent, and changing teams seems to be the best option for DJ Peters. Hopefully, DJ is able to settle into a long career in the majors with Texas.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
DJ Peters, Cody Bellinger, AJ Pollock, Mookie Betts, Chris Taylor
