Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joel Peralta has signed a new contract that will keep him in Tampa Bay, according to a tweet from The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin.

And now #Rays and Peralta have agreed to terms on a new deal. No details yet—
Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) November 05, 2012

Peralta has played the last two season in Tampa Bay, amassing a .333 ERA in 67 innings pitched with the team. However, Peralta’s performance dropped considerably in 2012, as his ERA jumped from 2.93 in 2011 to 3.63 in 2012, even while the number of innings he pitched stayed the same. No details on the duration or value of Peralta’s new contract are available yet.

Rays reliever Joel Peralta was suspended eight games on Thursday following an incident on June 19 in which he was found with pine-tar on his glove. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joel Peralta will reportedly receive an eight-game suspension from Major League Baseball for using pine-tar on his glove during a June 19 game against the Washington Nationals, according to a report from Mark Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times:

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joel Peralta was suspended eight games by MLB after being caught with pine tar in his glove on Tuesday. Peralta will appeal his suspension and thus will remain active until an appeal is heard.

Peralta, who was ejected from the game, played in the following game because a decision had not been announced by the league.

The league states that a 10-game suspension is standard for this kind of incident and it’s unclear why it was lenient with Peralta. Topkin said that the Rays expressed concern for the team moving forward in Peralta’s absence.

“It’s going to have a great impact on us,’’ Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

According to the report, Nationals manager Davey Johnson said prior to the announcement that perhaps the league will consider the game in which Peralta was ejected before deciding on a punishment. He said an ejection from the game was enough and that a 10-game suspension would be “way too severe.”

Johnson said he acted on inside information about Peralta from his days with the Nationals and asked the umpires to check his glove:

Crew chief Tim Tschida said they found “a significant amount of pine tar” inside Peralta’s glove “where the hand goes inside.” The glove was shipped to MLB officials in New York on Wednesday for evaluation.

Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman hoped that the league would take into consideration a situation with Peralta that is not so “cut and dry” and he said he expected a suspension of less than 10 games, according to Topkin.

This isn’t the first time a player received a suspension for using pine tar; Brendan Donnelly, a reliever who played for the Angels, was suspended 10 games in 2005, and Jay Howell, who played for the Dodgers, was suspended for three games in 1998 for using pine-tar during the NLCS.

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joel Peralta didn’t even get to throw a pitch in Tuesday’s game. As soon as he took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning, Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson asked the umpiring crew to check Peralta’s glove. The quartet converged near the mound, confiscated Peralta’s glove and ejected him for what crew chief Tim Tschida said was a “foreign substance on or in the glove.”

TheBigLead.com has video and stills from the telecast. Peralta can be seen tipping his cap toward the Nationals’ dugout as he walks off the field.

After the game, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune tweeted more details:

Umpires said they found significant amount of pine tar in #Rays Peralta's glove—
  (@RMooneyTrib) June 20, 2012

#Rays Peralta said he was using glove he uses during batting practice. Wouldn't say how pine tar got on glove.—
  (@RMooneyTrib) June 20, 2012

#Rays Maddon called it a "cowardly move" on part of Johnson. Upset Peralta will be called as a cheat for something a lot of pitches do—
  (@RMooneyTrib) June 20, 2012

Peralta pitched for the Nationals in 2010, including a stint at Triple-A Syracuse where his manager was current Washington first-base coach Trent Jewett.