Indians trade Peralta to Tigers

The Cleveland Indians have traded third baseman Jhonny Peralta to the Detroit Tigers for minor league left-hander Giovanni Soto.

Peralta was in the lineup for Cleveland’s game against the New York Yankees on Wednesday, but was pulled at about 6 p.m. He’s batting .246 with seven homers and 43 RBIs in 91 games.

Peralta will likely fill-in for Brandon Inge, the Tigers’ injured third baseman.

The 28-year-old Peralta is in the final season of a five-year, $13 million contract, which includes an $11 million option for 2001. He’s making $4.6 million this season.

The 19-year-old Soto has spent the entire season at Class-A West Michigan. He is 6-6 with a 2.61 ERA in 16 starts.

Infielder Luis Valbuena has been called up from Triple-A Columbus to take Peralta’s roster spot.