The Rays have agreed to sign Joel Peralta for about $900K, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The Nationals non-tendered Peralta earlier in the month, after a strong 2010 campaign.
Peralta, 35 in March, posted a 2.02 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 49 innings of work for the Nationals in 2010. A late bloomer who didn't reach the major leagues until his age 29 season, Peralta has a 4.22 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 260 career relief appearances. He has always generated lots of fly balls and this year ranked fifth in fly ball rate (55.6%) among big league relievers with at least 40 innings pitched.