![San Francisco Giants v Los Angeles Dodgers](https://lasports.today/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2163699699.0.jpg)
Before David Peralta signed with the Dodgers during the 2022-23 offseason, Dodger fans remembered him mostly as a stalwart for the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he spent parts nine seasons with the big league team.
Now, the Dodgers have taken a chance on another former Snake in shortstop Nick Ahmed.
Ahmed spent the first 10 seasons of his career as a member of the Diamondbacks, winning two gold glove awards and helping Arizona reach the postseason in 2017. After a lackluster 2023 season where he posted a paltry 51 wRC+, Ahmed was released before the end of the regular season, missing out on Arizona’s miraculous run to the World Series.
Ahmed spent the first half of 2024 with another Dodger rival in the San Francisco Giants, where the results weren’t anymore impressive. After being cut by San Francisco and with an injury to Miguel Rojas, Ahmed is now with his third National League West team, and he introduced himself in a big way on Thursday.
Ahmed spent the past 11 seasons facing Clayton Kershaw as an opponent, where he amounted to just a .529 off the future Hall of Fame pitcher. In his first ever game as a teammate of Kershaw’s, Ahmed connected for his first home run as a Dodger, which ended up being the deciding factor in the Dodgers’ 6-4 win over the team that just cut him just a week ago.
Ahmed discussed what it’s now like to be teammates with his former rival, noting the relief of not having to face him anytime soon, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
“I’ve had a lot of at-bats off of him, facing him for a lot of years,” said Ahmed, who spent 10 seasons with the Diamondbacks. “I’m glad I don’t have to face that slider anymore. Just watching him compete over the years. To play behind him is an honor.”
Links
- Janiss Carr shares Dave Roberts appraisal for the group of rookie starting pitching that has helped keep the Dodgers atop the NL West standings, with him referring to the rookies as “MVP’s.”
- Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw are back in the Dodgers’ rotation, yet starters such as Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller are hopeful to see postseason action in light of their individual woes. Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times notes that the struggles that both right handers have faced are key motivators in making their ways back to the rotation.