St. Louis Cardinals: Jhonny Peralta DFA’d; Kolten Wong activated

This afternoon John Mozeliak and the St. Louis Cardinals made a move that fans had been hoping he would make for weeks.

In a single roster move the St. Louis Cardinals not only improved their team and did something that fans have been clamoring for. That move was designating Jhonny Peralta for assignment. After a stint on the DL with an elbow strain, Kolten Wong will return to the team. In what may be more exciting to fans, Paul Dejong will keep his roster spot.

The move is one that fans had been hoping to see for a while. Peralta had not been performing at the plate and his defense which started out suspect had become a detriment to the team. Peralta, who has had a successful career at the plate, saw a sudden and intense drop in production. The lack of success led to the team being open to parting ways with the former slugger.

Through fifty-four at-bats, Peralta found himself batting just over .200 and failing to produce a single home run or RBI.

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The real winner is Paul Dejong, who will get to continue his stint with the big league club, something I pleaded for with John Mozeliak in a previous post. With the return of Wong, at-bats will be at a premium for Dejong, but his bat and defense on the bench is much improved from Peralta.

Kolten Wong will return to the team for the first time since May 28^th, when he was placed on the disabled list with an elbow strain. Wong is expected to return to St. Louis and immediately be slotted into the starting lineup. In his final rehab appearance with the Peoria Chiefs, Wong went 1-3 with a solo home run.

The move is unexpected, especially for a front office that has held on to struggling players in the past to avoid paying the player to not be on the team.

Next: Maloney out as 3B coach

This year seems to be the exception to the old ways, Mozeliak seems to be willing to cut the fat on this team in hopes that it will cause a spark and we will see some wins. He previously cut ties with relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton who, much like Peralta, had become a detriment to the team. Hopefully this move is a sign of good things to come for a team that has been in desperate need for them.