DETROIT -- Jhonny Peralta isn't upset the Indians traded him to Detroit. He's not surprised either. "They do this every year," Peralta said. "I understood that this was the last year of my contract and that something was going to happen. In my mind, I was ready for that." The one thing that did surprise Peralta is that the...
DETROIT -- Jhonny Peralta isn't upset the Indians traded him to Detroit. He's not surprised either.
"They do this every year," Peralta said. "I understood that this was the last year of my contract and that something was going to happen. In my mind, I was ready for that."
The one thing that did surprise Peralta is that the Indians traded him to the Tigers.
"I had heard Colorado," he said. "I had heard the Yankees. But I never [thought] about Detroit."
View full sizeFormer Indian Jhonny Peralta holds no grudges toward the Tribe fans who weren't Peralta fans.
Peralta spent nearly 11 seasons with the Indians in the big leagues and minors. He knows he was not always a fan favorite.
"I know a lot of fans wanted more out of me," Peralta said. "I tried to do the best I can. Some people don't understand how hard baseball is.
"I had a couple of good years there. I had a couple of bad years there. That happens to everybody in baseball. I hope the people understand. Some of the fans liked me, some of them didn't. That's the way it is."
Peralta started at shortstop and batted sixth against his old team Friday night at Comerica Park. He's made 12 starts at shortstop, six at third and one at DH since the deal.
The Indians moved him from short to third last season. He's their all-time home run leader among shortstops.
"When I first went back to shortstop, it looked huge to me," Peralta said. "After the first groundball I had, I felt, 'OK, I can do this thing.' I thought it would be harder, but I got used to it fast."
Indians third basemen can't catch a cold since Peralta was traded. He made five errors in 91 games at third. Jayson Nix, who started at third Friday, has made five in nine games. Andy Marte has made nine in 23 games and Luis Valbuena has made one in five games.
"That's what I heard," Peralta said with a laugh. "What's going on over there? You know, third base is not easy."
Peralta said he's comfortable in Detroit. He knows the players, the coaches and he knows the AL Central.
"It's not too hard for me to be here," Peralta said. "I like it."
Peralta is hitting only .197 (14-for-71) with five homers and eight RBI since the deal.
"I'm not hitting for average, but more than anything, I'm not hitting in good luck," Peralta said. "I'm hitting the ball hard. They know I'm hitting the ball good."
There have been rumblings the Tigers might pick up Peralta's $7.25 million club option for 2011.
New arm: The Indians acquired right-hander Zach McAllister, 22, from the Yankees to complete the Austin Kearns trade. McAllister is 8-10 with a 5.09 ERA in 24 starts at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Pa.).
He will report to Class AAA Columbus.
McAllister (6-5, 230) was a Yankees third-round pick in 2006. This season he has 88 strikeouts and 38 walks in 132 2/3 innings. He's allowed 165 hits and 82 runs.
Brantley update: Michael Brantley returned to Cleveland on Friday to have an MRI exam on his left ankle. The Indians did not put Brantley on the disabled list, but it's still a possibility.
He is not expected to rejoin the Indians today.
"All the tests before the MRI were good," manager Manny Acta said.
Brantley twisted his left ankle coming out of the batter's box in the ninth inning Thursday after hitting a grounder to short that drove in a run. He had to be helped off the field.
Hot corner update: When asked about the dismal defense at third, Acta said: "We're just going to have to ride it out. We want Nix to be in the lineup because of his offense. We do feel Marte is in a funk right now. I know he's an above-average third baseman."
When asked if he felt there was a third baseman on his club right now who could be relied on for next year, Acta said: "That's what we're trying to find out. . . . But things are not looking too good right now when it comes to that."