Newly acquired 3B Jhonny Peralta was unavailable for today’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays because he had to catch an early morning flight out of Cleveland and didn’t make it to the field in time for the first pitch. However Jim Leyland has indicated that Peralta will start at 3B for the team when they hit the field in Boston tomorrow night.
“Peralta gives us a little more presence in the lineup,” said Leyland, who intends to generally bat him sixth or seventh.
Peralta, 28, is having a down season, with a .246 average and 23 doubles, seven home runs and 43 RBIs. He knocked in between 68 and 89 runs each of the past five years.
Steve Kornacki of Mlive.com asked Peralta his thoughts on playing for a team that still might have hopes contending for a division title…
“Yeah, I think so,” Peralta said. “I need to be on a new team, and this is a good time to do it. I start fresh and see what I can do here.”
“I want to play for a long time here with the Tigers,” Peralta said.
Peralta is expected to fill in for Brandon Inge while he is out with a broken hand. When Inge returns in late August Peralta will most likely move to shortstop, his original position.
“It will be a little weird going back to short,” Peralta said, smiling. “But I will be ready for short, too, and take balls there.”

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