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It's no secret that the Mets will be hunting for bats this offseason. There are some good ones out there, but they tend to get expensive and risky. One option that might not be as costly is Jhonny Peralta of the Tigers. The slugger, who was suspended this season because of his connection with the Biogenesis scandal, started the season as Detroit's shortstop but has been moved to left field because of the team's acquisition of defensive wiz Jose Iglesias.
Nevertheless, Peralta hit .303/.358/.457 in 448 plate appearances as a 31-year-old this season. That kind of slash line would look pretty good in the Mets' lineup no matter what position Peralta plays. New York Post reporter Ken Davidoff explains why a prospective buyer shouldn't worry too much about Peralta's connection to Biogenesis.
What makes Peralta and his fellow Biogenesis free agent Nelson Cruz so intriguing is this: Biogenesis shut down before the 2013 season began, and both men recorded strong 2013 campaigns.
So, to discuss this as cynically as possible, either the two men did just fine playing "clean," or they found something elsewhere that, like the Biogenesis products, managed to beat Major League Baseball's testing.
This differentiates them from last year's dicey free agent Melky Cabrera, the ex-Yankee and fellow Biogenesis client, who failed a drug test.
Per UZR, Peralta has been a plus defender at shortstop for the past three seasons, and even if he can't replicate his 2013 numbers at the plate, he should provide a significant upgrade over Ruben Tejada or Omar Quintanilla. No matter what you believe about how Peralta's performance was affected by PEDs, he is still an intriguing potential acquisition, especially if the Mets only have to offer him two or three years.