Indians 3B Jhonny Peralta has been traded to the Tigers.
UPDATED: 9:34 p.m.
Jhonny Peralta's eight seasons with the Indians ended with Wednesday's trade to the Detroit Tigers. Peralta hit 103 homers and drove in 456 runs with the Tribe while playing shortstop and third base.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Those Indians fans who love to criticize Jhonny Peralta -- the number seemingly grew exponentially each year -- finally can relax.
Peralta was traded to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday for minor-league pitcher Giovanni Soto.
The Indians promoted infielder Luis Valbuena from Class AAA Columbus to take Peralta's spot on the roster.
Peralta had been in Tribe manager Manny Acta's lineup against the Yankees. The trade was announced late in the afternoon.
Soto, 19, is a 6-4 left-hander. He has spent the entire season at Class A West Michigan, going 6-6 with a 2.61 ERA in 16 starts. He has allowed 75 hits and struck out 76 in 82 2/3 innings.
Soto was Detroit's 21st-round pick in 2009. His career minor-league record is 10-6 with a 2.10 ERA and one save in 29 games (22 starts).
Peralta, 28, is hitting .246 with 23 doubles, seven homers and 43 RBI in 91 games. He figures to immediately play for the Tigers, who have been hit with a series of injuries to their infield, including nominal starter Brandon Inge.
Giovanni Soto has been impressive as a 19-year-old at Class A ball with West Michigan, posting a 2.61 ERA with a 3-to-1 ratio of strikeouts to walks in 82.2 innings.Peralta has about $1.42 million remaining on a $4.6 million contract for this season. The Tigers inherit a club option for $7 million that increases to $7.25 million because of a trade. If the Tigers decline the option, Peralta receives a $250,000 buyout expected to be paid by Detroit.
It has been learned that the Indians will pick up the majority of the $1.42 million.
“We made a decision that we weren’t going to pick up the option (for next season),” Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro said.
“This was not really a money-motivated deal,” Shapiro said. “This is more about a combination of a projectable arm we’re getting back and the reality that we wanted to take a look at some of our internal third-base alternatives for next year, because we think they can help us this year and next year.”
The major-league mix at third base currently consists of Valbuena, Andy Marte and Jayson Nix. Marte replaced Peralta in the lineup Wednesday. Jared Goedert, playing superbly at Columbus, also will be getting a look at some point.
“I don’t think we’re going to take a huge step back [at third] the rest of this year,” Shapiro said.
Asked about trade rumors Monday, Peralta said: "It's out of my control. I'll go wherever they tell me to go. I've had a great time with the Indians, but if it's time to move on, it's time to move on.''
Peralta, signed by Cleveland as a non-drafted free agent in 1999, made his major-league debut in 2003. He became the Tribe's regular shortstop in 2005, hitting .292 with 24 homers and 78 RBI in 141 games.
Peralta, the franchise's all-time homer leader at shortstop, was moved to third base early last season to make room for Asdrubal Cabrera.
In 923 major-league games, Peralta is hitting .264 with 103 homers and 456 RBI.
Peralta habitually has struggled early in the year, then turned it on late to make his numbers respectable. His critics howled that Peralta only delivered when it didn't matter, but he did hit .469 (7-for-15) in the 2007 division series and .259 (7-for-27) with two homers and eight RBI in the 2007 ALCS.
Peralta's ultra-low-key personality makes him an easy target when he struggles. To Peralta's credit, he did not knock those fans who knocked him. He said he enjoyed playing in front of Tribe fans.
Valbuena broke camp with the Indians as the starting second baseman. He hit .166 in 49 games before being optioned to Columbus on June 24. He hit .313 with six homers and 20 RBI in 25 games for the Clippers.
Video of new Indians minor-league pitcher Giovanni Soto
Giovany Soto from Patrick Trotter on Vimeo.