Tampa Bay Rays re-sign relief pitcher Joel Peralta – MLB News
After so many speculations in the media from the last two weeks regarding Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher, Joel Peralta playing for another team in the league next season, the Rays ended all assumptions by re-signing the player. Salary arbitration talks with
Peralta’s agent were positive and the club gave him another one year’s extension worth $2.175 million on Tuesday, ending all rumours which brought Rays and Peralta in the limelight.
Joel Peralta’s long time agent, Mark Gilling also stated in the media regarding his client’s over-joy after getting an extension in his contract. Gilling said that Peralta felt ‘very pleased’ as the deal went pretty smooth. He added for Peralta, “Joel felt
really comfortable there last year, he really appreciated the manager and the team and he had a relationship with Andrew (Friedman, executive VP), He wanted to get this done.”
Peralta, who came in the Rays’ roster last season from the Washington Nationals, performed well at top of the 2011 regular season, but down the stretch late in the competition he lost control over his renowned fast throwing and was hammered by many opponent
hitters.
That was the main reason why the Rays management decided earlier not to re-sign him for the 2012 Major League Baseball season. After a deep look at his last season’s overall stats, the management ultimately decided to give him another go.
Looking at last season’s stats with the Rays, Peralta went at 2.93 ERA along with six saves, 61 strike-outs and 0.92 WHIP. These stats are fairly good for a reliever but to stay longer in the Rays roster, Peralta has to come-up with a different strategy
that would ensure good ball play next season.
Re-signing Peralta is a good sign for Tampa Bay Rays as they have almost completed the 40-man roster for the upcoming year. Peralta’s presence also gives them a little room to add a young pitcher who could play as a starter to give modest backup to Peralta’s
pitching. Peralta usually comes to the pitch in the sixth or seventh innings and if there a good starter up-front, he can be more lethal with less pressure in the bottom innings.
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