LOS ANGELES -- Jose Peraza will make his major league debut Monday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting at second base in the series opener against the visiting Washington Nationals.
Peraza, a 21-year-old Venezuelan who was acquired from the Atlanta Braves in a three-team, 13-player deal at last month’s trade deadline, will bat second while taking the place of 32-year-old Howie Kendrick, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day after straining his left hamstring while running out an infield single in Sunday’s loss at the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Peraza, a slick-fielding speedster with limited power, was hitting .385 in 10 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Previously, he batted .294 in 96 games this season with Atlanta’s top minor-league affiliate, the Gwinnett Braves.
Peraza feels he’s a natural shortstop, as evident by his Twitter handle, @JosePerazaSS, but has primarily played second base in the Braves’ farm system this year as well as last season. He had 19 errors with Gwinnett and one with Oklahoma City this season.
“We’re going to try and keep him as comfortable as possible,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said before the game.
Mattingly said he also plans to use Enrique Hernandez, Alberto Callaspo and possibly Justin Turner at second base during Kendrick’s absence.
Hernandez is starting Monday’s game in center field in place of Joc Pederson, who will sit against left-hander Gio Gonzalez of the Nationals. Callaspo is starting at third base as Turner continues to recover from an infection in his leg that has kept him out the last two weeks.
“[Peraza] is a guy that’s similar to [Hernandez] from a standpoint that he can play all over,” Mattingly said.
Kendrick was third among Los Angeles regulars with a .296 batting average and second in RBIs (49) and runs scored (57).
