Jhonny Peralta signed a 4 year, $53 million contract with St. Louis over the weekend, not a bad result considering the shortstop missed 50 games following a suspension for his involvement with the Miami wellness clinic, Biogenesis. While some of Peralta’s peers are wondering whether existing penalties are enough of a deterrent, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak all but admitted Peralta is in the right place (ie. healthy and out of contract) at the right time (ie. see below). From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Gold :
“The shortstop market was one that was not deep in free agents,” Mozeliak said at a press conference this morning at Busch Stadium to discuss Peralta’s new four-year, $53-million deal with the Cardinals. “For us it was really focusing on someone who could hit from the right side, someone who was a steady defensive player, someone who had experience and could fit right in. …
“A lot of the things that factor into how you put a club together — character and makeup — are some things that we weigh into our decision-making,” Mozeliak said directly about the PED question. “But I think in his case he admitted what he did. He took responsibility for it. At this point in the game, there’s nothing that says he can’t go play or isn’t free to go sign with another club.
“I don’t think it’s the Cardinals responsibility necessarily to be the morality police on potentially future employment.”