Exit Interview 2017: Jhonny Peralta

For the sixth straight year, we’re taking a look back at everyone that played for the St. Louis Cardinals this season.  Whether they were a major contributor or a bit player, here all year or for just a little while, we’ll look at their season and talk about what went right and what went wrong.  The stat line listed is just their time in St. Louis, though splits and other numbers in the discussion may be for the entire year.  Imagine this as them stopping by Mike Matheny‘s office for a little review on their way home for the winter.  As always when you see incredible artistry in the blogs, all credit for the header work goes to @cardinalsgifs.

Player: Jhonny Peralta

Season stats: 21 G, 58 PA, 3 R, 4 BB, 13 K, .204/.259/.204, 25 OPS+, -0.3 bWAR

Hero/Goat: None

Overall grade: D

Positives: Had a three game hitting streak after coming off the disabled list in May….ended his Cardinal career (and likely his career as a baseball player) with a single in his last at bat….had a multi-hit game against the Giants….hit .267 against righties….had a .304 average at home….hit .316 in May….went 3-7 as a pinch-hitter….hit .400 (2-5) on the first pitch….hit .263 against relievers….went 4-5 with a walk against the Giants on the season.

Negatives: The time he spent on the disabled list may have been when he was helping the team most….had no extra-base hits….hit .129 on the road….hit .170 as a starter….went 0-8 with runners in scoring position….hit .182 in late and close situations….had a .347 OPS in high leverage situations….got his most at-bats against the Cubs and hit .188.

Overview: There was always the idea that the end of Peralta’s contract was going to be problematic.  Even the Cardinals knew that, as they did a rare front-loaded contract to make it easier to move him at the end of the deal and there has to be some credit given to the front office for cutting their losses, even when there were millions of dollars on the line, instead of trying to keep him around.  All that said, this was a pretty terrible year and determining whether this contract overall was a positive or a negative is an interesting discussion, one that probably depends on your point of view.  It should not be forgotten, though, that Peralta hit 38 home runs while playing shortstop in the first half of the deal.  That’s gotta count for something.  Hopefully he can enjoy his money and his after baseball life.

Outlook: Peralta was seen with Carlos Martinez at a Blues game recently so he’s still got connections to the team and the city.  It seems unlikely anyone is going to want to gamble on a 36-year-old that is limited defensively and hasn’t hit in over a year, so most likely Peralta just fades into the sunset.

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