Jhonny Peralta.
It’s precisely the move we expected the Tigers to make. That is, a drip not a splash.
Not only is he the Tigers’ new and temporary third baseman until Brandon Inge returns, he’s also the new and temporary shortstop until the Tigers acquire Stephen Drew.
Ahem.
What’s more, you present a writing dilemma for me. Do I add “Jhonny” to my spell check dictionary and run the risk of misspelling someone who’s name is Johnny, or live with the annoying red line under “Jhonny”?
[callout title=Jhonny Peralta 101]Here’s what we know about the Tigers’ newest acquisition:
- Age: 28
- Born: May 28, 1982 in Santiago, Santiago, D.R.
- Signed by the Indians as an amateur free agent in 1999.
- 2010 Salary: $4,850,000
- 2010 Stats: .246 / 7 HR / 43 RBI / .698 OPS
- Lifetime: .264 / 103 HR / 456 RBI / .751 OPS
- Lifetime vs Tigers: .256 / 11 HR
- Lifetime vs. White Sox: .237 / 7 HR
- Lifetime vs. Twins: .238 / 11 HR
Source: Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index
[/callout]
This isn’t exactly like 2006 when the Tigers scrambled to find a replacement at second base for the injured Placido Polanco and made the mystifying trade for Neifi Perez. Peralta will help the Tigers a lot more than Perez, but the bar is set fairly low in that regard.
Even though the Tigers appear on the brink of collapse, they still are 9-1/2 games closer to first place than the Indians are, which means Peralta could be energized and be a big help.
Again, it’s all relative.
Perhaps the way to view this trade is how Baseball Prospectus 2010 sums up Jhonny Peralta:
Peralta has enver been the most consistent player, but given the gross similarities of his 2007-2008 seasons, any bounce back seems likely to be similar in form — good, but just barely that.
On the bright side, the Tigers have made a trade. Let’s savor it; this might be all we get.
On May 29, 
dailyfungo.com 