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          Dodgers Report

          Dodgers activate Joel Peralta

          • Mark Saxon, ESPN Staff WriterJun 22, 2015, 11:36 PM
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              Mark Saxon covers the St. Louis Cardinals for ESPN.com. He served as the Dodgers team reporter for ESPNLosAngeles.com. through the 2015 season. He spent six years at the Orange County Register, and began his career at the Oakland Tribune, where he started an 11-year journey covering Major League Baseball. He has also covered colleges, including USC football and UCLA basketball.
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          UPDATE: Ian Thomas made it in time for Monday's game and the team announced it had recalled him from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

          LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers activated Joel Peralta from the 15-day disabled list and optioned two pitchers -- Matt West and Daniel Coulombe -- to Triple-A Oklahoma City. It doesn't add up, right?

          Well, as of an hour before game time, pitcher Ian Thomas was delayed traveling from Oklahoma City to Chicago and the team wasn't sure he would make it in time to be activated. There is intermittent thunderstorm activity in the Chicago area. Thomas' name originally was on the Dodgers' lineup card, but it was crossed out. If Thomas doesn't arrive in time, the Dodgers will be a man short in their bullpen.

          Peralta, 39, was out for nearly two months with right shoulder soreness. He said he was two days from undergoing disk surgery in his neck when doctors told him he could rehab the injury without surgery. Had he undergone the operation, it would have been season-ending and, quite possibly, career-ending.

          "It has to cross your mind at my age," Peralta said.

          The Dodgers like Peralta's influence on some of their younger relievers, particularly on harder throwers Yimi Garcia and Pedro Baez. Baez is scheduled for two more rehab games for Triple-A Oklahoma City before he re-joins the Dodgers' bullpen, probably next week. They also think Peralta's softer approach gives their bullpen useful variety.

          "We've got a lot of guys out there with sort of the same look. He's a guy with experience, kind of that cat burglar in a sense of you look at his stuff, he's not throwing 98 mph, how's he get people out? He's not afraid to throw anything in any count," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He's a lot like J.P. [Howell]. Those guys just don't give in to hitters."

          ETHIER SECURE

          Carl Crawford is progressing from a torn oblique muscle well enough that Mattingly said he could embark on a minor-league rehab assignment in as little as 10 days, putting him on schedule to return shortly after the All-Star break. However, when he returns -- presuming the Dodgers have no further injuries to their outfielders -- he will be playing off the bench.

          Andre Ethier, who has an .840 OPS, will remain the starting left fielder.

          "Andre's kind of taken that spot, so Carl's got to work his way back in," Mattingly said. "I'm not sure what I'm going to with Carl at this point."