David Peralta

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name = David Peralta

|image = David Peralta on March 11, 2016.jpg

|image_size = 250px

|caption = Peralta with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016

|team = Free agent

|number =

|position = Outfielder

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1987|8|14}}

|birth_place = Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela

|bats = Left

|throws = Left

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate = June 1

|debutyear = 2014

|debutteam = Arizona Diamondbacks

|statyear = 2024 season

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label = Batting average

|stat1value = .278

|stat2label = Hits

|stat2value = 1,166

|stat3label = Home runs

|stat3value = 125

|stat4label = Runs batted in

|stat4value = 569

|teams =

Arizona Diamondbacks ({{mlby|2014}}–{{mlby|2022}})
Tampa Bay Rays ({{mlby|2022}})
Los Angeles Dodgers ({{mlby|2023}})
San Diego Padres ({{mlby|2024}})

|awards =

}}

Senger David Peralta Guerreiro (born August 14, 1987) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres.

Peralta signed with the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 2004 as a pitcher. After getting released and playing in independent baseball leagues, where he became an outfielder, Peralta made his MLB debut in 2014 with the Diamondbacks. He won the Silver Slugger Award in 2018 and the Gold Glove Award in 2019. The Diamondbacks traded Peralta to the Rays during the 2022 season. He played for the Dodgers in 2023 and the Padres in 2024.

Early life

David Peralta was born on August 14, 1987, in Valencia, Venezuela, where he grew up with two sisters, Ivonne and Erika.{{cite news|last1=Ringolsby|first1=Tracy|title=Peralta a prime example of never giving up|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/david-peralta-prime-example-of-never-giving-up-c168758460|access-date=May 23, 2016|work=MLB.com|date=May 22, 2016}} His father is also named David Peralta, and his mother is Diocelina Peralta.{{cite news|last1=Nightengale|first1=Bob|title='It's never too late': David Peralta's unlikely renaissance in Arizona|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/bob-nightengale/2016/03/30/david-peralta-arizona-diamondbacks-pitcher-hitter/82438904/|access-date=May 23, 2016|work=USA Today|date=April 1, 2016}}

Career

=Early career=

Peralta signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as an international free agent in 2004 for a $35,000 signing bonus.{{cite magazine|last1=Reiter|first1=Ben|title=How David Peralta went from indy league player to MLB outfielder|url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2015/07/22/david-peralta-arizona-diamondbacks-independent-league-pitcher-outfielder|access-date=May 23, 2016|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=July 22, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Kepner|first1=Tyler|title=David Peralta's Relentless Push From Independent Ball to the Majors|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/sports/baseball/david-peraltas-relentless-push-from-independent-ball-to-the-majors.html|access-date=May 23, 2016|work=New York Times|date=March 25, 2016}} He began his professional career as a pitcher in the Dominican Summer League. He played in the Appalachian League in 2006 and 2007, but required two surgeries on his shoulder and spent the 2008 season rehabilitating. The Cardinals released Peralta in May 2009.{{cite web | url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-54553244 | title=Cal notes: Peralta shows perseverance |first= George |last=Alfano

|date=July 24, 2013|work=MLB.com}}

Peralta then played for three seasons as an outfielder in independent baseball for the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, Wichita Wingnuts, and Amarillo Sox.{{cite news|last1=Stavenhagen|first1=Cody|title=Hard-working Peralta makes transition to everyday player with Amarillo Sox|url=http://amarillo.com/sports/local-pro-sports/2013-06-15/hard-working-peralta-makes-transition-everyday-player|access-date=June 1, 2014|publisher=Amarillo Globe-News|date=June 15, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/just-a-bit-outside/story/david-peralta-chris-carminucci-scout-arizona-diamondbacks-independent-league-082114|title=Scout's honor: The discovery of David Peralta|author=Fox Sports|work=FOX Sports|access-date=March 31, 2015}}

=Arizona Diamondbacks=

File:David Peralta (49594265017) (cropped).jpg

On July 3, 2013, Peralta signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played for the Visalia Rawhide of the High–A California League after he signed and began the 2014 season with the Mobile BayBears of the Double–A Southern League.{{cite news|last1=Heneghan|first1=Kelsie|title=Peralta's perseverance paying off for Mobile|url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-73027574|access-date=May 13, 2024|publisher=Minor League Baseball|date=April 23, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602200236/http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140423&content_id=73027574&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb|archive-date=June 2, 2014}}

The Diamondbacks promoted Peralta to the major leagues for the first time on June 1, 2014.{{cite news|title=Surgery for D-Backs' Pollock; Peralta called up|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=11017015|access-date=June 1, 2014|agency=Associated Press|work=ESPN.com|date=June 1, 2014}} He made his major league debut that day. He tied a Diamondbacks record by recording seven multi-hit games in his first 15 games, hitting .328 with one home run and two RBIs.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Dbacks/status/479066503069724672|title=Arizona Diamondbacks on Twitter|work=Twitter|access-date=March 31, 2015}} In 2015, Peralta batted .312 with 17 home runs and an NL-leading 10 triples as the Diamondbacks' primary left fielder.[https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/9719/ Yahoo Sports]

Peralta played in 48 games for the Diamondbacks in 2016, hitting .251/.295/.433 with 4 home runs and 43 hits in 171 at-bats. In 2017 with Arizona, Peralta played in 140 games for the club, batting .293/.352/.444 with 154 hits and 14 home runs in 525 at-bats. In 2018, Peralta hit .293/.352/.516 in 146 games for the Diamondbacks, with a career high 164 hits and a career high 30 home runs. Peralta was awarded the Silver Slugger award at the end of the season. In 2019, Peralta batted .275/.343/.461 in 99 games for Arizona, with 105 hits and 12 home runs. He was awarded the Gold Glove award at the end of the season. Peralta would continue his success offensively in the 2020 season, hitting an even .300 with 5 home runs and finishing second on the team in RBI with 34.

On May 14, 2021, Peralta made his pitching debut, allowing 3 runs in an inning during a blowout loss versus the Washington Nationals. In the appearance, he notched his first major league strikeout, punching out Nationals outfielder Yadiel Hernández.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/d-backs-lose-series-opener-to-nationals|title = Peralta's lobbying leads to debut as pitcher|website = MLB.com}} In 2021, Peralta batted .259/.325/.402 with 8 home runs and 63 RBIs. He was tied for the major league lead with eight triples.

=Tampa Bay Rays=

On July 30, 2022, Peralta was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Christian Cerda.{{cite web |last1=Rogers |first1=Jesse |title=Tampa Bay Rays acquire veteran outfielder David Peralta from Arizona Diamondbacks, sources say |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34318923/tampa-bay-rays-acquire-veteran-outfielder-david-peralta-arizona-diamondbacks-sources-say |website=ESPN |date=July 30, 2022 |access-date=July 30, 2022}} Peralta singled twice on October 1, 2022, versus Cristian Javier of the Houston Astros to earn his 1,000th career hit.{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401356566 |title=Javier throws 6 strong innings, AL-best Astros beat Rays 2–1 |work=ESPN.com |agency=Associated Press |date=October 1, 2022 |access-date=October 2, 2022}} With Tampa Bay in 2022, he batted .255/.317/.335 with zero home runs in 161 at bats.{{cite web | url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=peralt001sen | title=David Peralta Minor, Winter & Independent Leagues Statistics }}

=Los Angeles Dodgers=

On February 16, 2023, Peralta signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.{{cite web|url=https://www.truebluela.com/2023/2/16/23595306/dodgers-roster-david-peralta-alex-reyes-jimmy-nelson|title=Dodgers finalize contracts for David Peralta, Alex Reyes, and Jimmy Nelson|work=SB Nation|first=Eric|last=Stephen|date=February 16, 2023|accessdate=February 16, 2023}} He played in 133 games, and hit .259/.294/.381 with seven home runs and 55 RBI.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/peralda01.shtml|title=David Peralta Stats|work=Baseball Reference|accessdate=October 6, 2023}} At the conclusion of the season, Peralta underwent a flexor tendon repair procedure on his left arm to repair an injury he suffered around mid-season.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/10/david-peralta-undergoes-flexor-tendon-repair-procedure.html|title=David Peralta Undergoes Flexor Tendon Repair Procedure|first=Darragh|last=McDonald|date=October 24, 2023|accessdate=October 25, 2023|work=MLB Trade Rumors}} He became a free agent following the season.

=Chicago Cubs=

On February 19, 2024, Peralta signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.{{cite web|url=https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2848765/report-cubs-sign-dom-smith-david-peralta-to-minor-league-deals|title=Report: Cubs sign Dom Smith, David Peralta to minor-league deals|work=The Score|first=Simon|last=Sharkey-Gotlieb|date=February 19, 2024|accessdate=February 19, 2024}} In 20 games for the Triple–A Iowa Cubs, he hit .217/.341/.348 with two home runs and eight RBI. On May 10, Peralta opted out of his contract and elected free agency.{{Cite web|title=David Peralta Opts Out Of Cubs Deal|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/05/david-peralta-opt-out-cubs-free-agent.html|access-date=May 13, 2024|website=mlbtraderumors.com|date=May 13, 2024 |language=en}}

=San Diego Padres=

On May 18, 2024, Peralta signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres.{{cite web | url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/05/padres-sign-david-peralta-to-minor-league-deal.html | title=Padres Sign David Peralta to Minor League Deal | date=May 18, 2024 }} After three games for the Triple–A El Paso Chihuahuas, he had his contract selected to the active roster on May 22.{{Cite web|title=Xander Bogaerts To Miss Significant Time Due To Shoulder Fracture|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/05/xander-bogaerts-to-miss-significant-time-due-to-shoulder-fracture.html|access-date=May 22, 2024|website=mlbtraderumors.com|date=May 22, 2024 |language=en}} He primarily played right field with Fernando Tatís Jr. injured,{{Cite web |last=Schwartzberg |first=Max |date=2024-08-18 |title=Behind David Peralta's offensive surge in Tatis Jr.'s absence |url=https://www.eastvillagetimes.com/behind-david-peraltas-offensive-surge-in-tatis-jr-s-absence/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=East Village Times |language=en-US}} and had a slash line of .267/.335/.415, his highest since the shortened 2020 season.{{Cite web |title=David Peralta Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/peralda01.shtml |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

Personal life

Peralta's wife Jordan gave birth to their first child in August 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.foxsports.com/arizona/video/1027021891646|title=New Dad David Peralta: 'The best feeling ever'|work=Fox Sports|access-date=December 22, 2017}}