One month after being hired as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ president of of baseball operations, one of Andrew Friedman’s first moves was to go treasure hunting in his former organization, acquiring Joel Peralta and 27-year-old left-handed prospect Adam Liberatore from the Tampa Bay Rays.
While Peralta was expected to immediately help the Dodgers’ bullpen, it was Liberatore who looked like the key piece of the deal. After starting the 2015 season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, he made his Major League debut on April 17, pitching a perfect frame against the Colorado Rockies.
He allowed just two runs through May, showing the stuff and deception to get lefties and righties out.