Cardinals' Jhonny Peralta: Expected to play Tuesday

Peralta (knee) is expected to rejoin the Cardinals' Grapefruit League lineup Tuesday against the Mets, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Analysis:

There were some murmurs over the weekend that Peralta would return to action Monday, but the Cardinals opted to give him an extra day off to aid his recovery from the sore knee. The Cardinals are expected to go with Peralta as their Opening Day starter at third base, but both he and Jedd Gyorko are expected to split time at the position early on. The hot bat may ultimately win out between the two players.