Suspended Detroit Tigers veteran Jhonny Peralta is expected rejoin the team as a left fielder when it plays its final series of the season later this month against the Miami Marlins, manager Jim Leyland told reports during his pregame meeting, via Fox Sports Detroit's Dana Wakiji.
Tigers bringing back Jhonny Peralta as left fielder
The Tigers’ suspended shortstop appears to have lost his job to a rookie, so he’ll take a hack at becoming an outfielder.
Al Messerschmidt
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Peralta, who has never played outfield in the big leagues, will report to the instructional league in Florida this week, per Leyland.
“They have two games, then a camp day, then they play another game,” Leyland said. “He would be joining them after Wednesday. He’ll report, and then we’ll see how it goes.”
Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski has not made a decision on Peralta's future with the club, including whether he'll be added to the playoff roster, but moving the 31-year-old to the outfield suggests the team wants to go forward with Jose Iglesias as shortstop. The Tigers have struggled to find a right-handed batter to platoon in left field with Andy Dirks, which may be the driving factor behind trying Peralta in the outfield.
Peralta hit .305/.361/.461 with 11 home runs in 436 plate appearances before beginning a 50-game suspension for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.
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