Jhonny Peralta: Released by Cardinals

Peralta was granted his unconditional release by the Cardinals on Tuesday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

This move seemed to be in the works for a while, as the Cardinals couldn't justify playing Peralta, and there seemed to be little reason to keep him at Triple-A, taking away at-bats from players with a potential future in St. Louis. He was hitting .204/.259/.204 in 58 plate appearances this year, and will likely have to settle for a minor-league deal if he wants to catch on with another MLB organization. The Cardinals will have to pay Peralta the remainder of the $10 million he was slated to earn this season.