Jhonny Peralta appeared to wear down in the second half of last season, which motivated the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire insurance this winter.

Peralta hit .298 with 13 home runs and 46 runs batted in prior to the All-Star break. After the break, the infielder hit just .243.

"Yeah, I played a lot of games, but I always like to play a lot of games. I don't want to say (I was) tired, but when you play a lot of games like that it's kind of hard with the schedule we have and everything," Peralta admitted. "But I like to play games. It doesn't matter how many games."

The Cardinals acquired Jedd Gyorko, who plays shortstop and second base. Gyorko may not be as strong defensively as Peralta, but his bat is expected to be more reliable.

"Gyorko is good for the team," said Peralta. "I know he's going to help a lot with rest with a couple of guys like Kolten Wong, me and (Matt) Carpenter, too, because he can play third base. It's good to have him here."