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Tampa Bay Rays Pick Up $2.5 Million Option On RP Joel Peralta

By Ethan Finkelstein

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The Tampa Bay Rays have decided to exercise a $2.5 million option on relief pitcher Joel Peralta for the 2015 Major League Baseball Season.

The Rays are not sitting around. They just lost their long time manager Joe Maddon to the Chicago Cubs and now they need to make some moves if they expect to be relevant again next season. The club finished 77-85 this year, good enough for 4th place in the AL East.

That is why they have decided to pick up RP Joel Peralta’s $2.5 million option for 2015. The news comes courtesy of Jon Heyman via Twitter.

Many fans are probably asking themselves if a reliever who experienced one of the worst seasons of his career is really the answer the team needs. While it may not be, if Peralta, who will be 39 by the start of the season, can bounce back, it will help sure up the Rays bullpen. And this team needs to be fixed in stages; thus all progress is likely good.

Though he will likely not be a clone of his 2010 self, if Peralta can perform as well as he did in 2013, or preferably 2011 and 2012, it will still be of use to the organization. Jake McGee was outstanding last season in his closer role, and Brad Boxberger has all the promise of an equally as dominant setup man. Grant Balfour had an off year last season, but should he return to form, and should Cesar Ramos rediscover what made him so great back in 2012, this bullpen becomes one of the best in the game almost instantly.

Now they just have to figure out a ray to reconstruct that rotation around Chris Archer and Alex Cobb, following the departure of former Cy Young Award winner David Price.

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